Making of 316:LOVE Project – Take Love Global

This past week we launched a new 316 Valentine’s campaign at Operation Blessing. It was an incredibly fun process of collaboration by our media team. It started with a brainstorming meeting where we came up with the idea to make 316 a symbol of love. This symbol came from John 3:16, “For God so loved the world.”

From that dialogue I created a script that developed the concept seen in the finished video. There were a couple levels of adaptation as it went through editing and approval processes. Once it was approved, we had about 48 hours to get the physical money in multiples of 316, shoot the stop motion, draw the cartoon intro, edit, animate, find music, record the voice over and upload for distribution.

As you can see in the “making of” video above, Chris Free and I had to experiment and do a lot of tweaking to light the change with minimal amounts of reflection and limited equipment. We learned a lot and have a better idea of what we need to do if we have to do it again in the future. One of the things we lacked that would’ve helped is a big soft source of light. We simulated it by shooting our group of lights through the diffusion, but we didn’t have any c-stands to lock them in place, so the light changes slightly from shot to shot based on how we held the diffusion each time. It is minimal, but it is this type of scenario when you realize how beneficial it is to have the right gear for the job. It isn’t necessary, but it helps. In the end, we were able to use work arounds and the editing process to cover any “video crimes” we may or may not have committed. I plead the 5th.

To see how it turned out, watch the finished video below.
To make a 316 donation, click here.

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A Greenhouse For Suliman | West Bank

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Celebrating Hadiara’s Gift Of Love

This Christmas, as we begin to celebrate the gift of God’s love, I can’t help but think of the ways that Operation Blessing shares the gift of love on a daily basis all around the world. A few weeks ago I was in Niger and met a 4-year-old girl named Hadiara.

She and her sister were playing with a crude little toy that their father had made for them out of a scrap piece of plastic that had a nail through it and hair that was sticking out of the top that the girls sat and braided.

I was amazed at the joy they found in this simple little toy. I couldn’t help but think that this toy represents the poverty they live in every single day.

But there is hope for them because Operation Blessing partners gave them two goats. To us, two goats doesn’t seem like much, but for her family it is milk that the children can have on a daily basis.

Even more important than that, the gift of a goat becomes the gift of an education. Their father is able to raise the baby goats and sell them at market, and the money they make through this repeated process allows them to send their children to school.

It is exciting to see that something as simple as a goat can become the gift of an education, and the gift of an education gives them hope for a better future—that they’ll be able to rise out of the poverty that their family has lived in for generations.

Read the rest of my story at the With My Own Eyes blog

Give a gift to support families and help make the future brighter for children like like Hadiara.

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Distributing Mosquito Nets To Help Prevent Malaria In Niger.

Every 30 seconds, a child under the age of five dies from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Learn how something as simple as a bed net can prevent this tragedy.

Imagine that 9 month old Aichatou is your baby daughter. Now imagine that she was just bitten by a mosquito. What would you do? Are you worried? In the comfort of my home in Virginia (where we happen to have a lot mosquitoes), I would put hydrocortisone on the bump and forget about it until it needed more ointment to keep her from itching it. That, however, is not the reality for Aichatou’s mother, Chafa. They live in the small village of Moli, Niger – a country where Malaria is endemic. Her village is blessed to be along a river where they can fish, bathe, wash clothes, have rice fields, and irrigate their gardens. This branch of the river, however, gets cutoff from its main source during the dry season, causing the water to stand stagnate – becoming the perfect breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

While talking to the mother, I learned Chafa had been diagnosed with malaria just over a month ago, was treated at the hospital, and is now taking medication. That led me to realize that Aichatou easily could have been the one to get Malaria. She is usually strapped to her Mother’s back, in her arms, or lying down next to her on their single mattress in a small home that has unscreened windows opened to let in a breeze. Did I mention how hot it is here?

As I held little Aichatou in my arms, I started imagining the fear a single mosquito bite would bring me if I were her parent. My boys get bit by mosquitoes while they sleep all the time and we don’t have to open our windows because we have central A/C in our home. What would I do?

I stated that malaria is endemic in Niger, that knowledge came from the Operation Blessing Niger’s Medical Director, Dr. Idi. He has worked for the World Health Organization, and was the countries Health Inspector before coming to Operation Blessing. Dr. Idi also told me that the people of Niger are becoming resistant to the medications that doctors have used to treat it. For babies, it can be especially hard to treat because mother’s wait too long to bring in their sick child. They assume their baby is only sick and will get better soon. When they do finally go, it is too late and it can turn into cerebral malaria which can cripple or kill the baby. Malaria is curable, but best solution is to find ways to keep from getting it. There are many ways to keep from getting bit by a malaria-carrying mosquito – one simple solution to combat this complex infectious disease is a mosquito net. An that is what we gave to 126 mothers of Children under the age of 3.

It was a privilege to be a part of the mosquito net distribution that Operation Blessing held today in Moli, Niger. I am honored to have the opportunity to personally give one mosquito net to Chafa and Aichatou on your behalf so that they will have a shield of protection from malaria. I am thankful for Operation Blessing donors that give to our “Join The Net” program because they are making a difference in the lives of children like Aichatou.

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Rebuilding A Life After Escaping Sex Slavery

Today I met a woman that I will call Elena to protect her identity. She came to Israel from Eastern Europe more than 10 years ago and was forced into sex slavery. At first she refused and was beaten and stripped of all her earthly possessions. Eventually she made the difficult decision to stop fighting because she feared she would be killed.

As she spoke, I couldn’t help but think about her horrifying scenario—leaving her homeland to enter a foreign country with no friends, unable to speak the language, having everything taken away, and without anyone to turn to. Her identity was stripped from her and Elena became a commodity for people to buy and trade.

After entering the sex slavery industry against her will, Elena was bought and sold by many different men and moved from one place to another. She told us that she was very close to committing suicide until a man claimed to have fallen in love with her. He asked to buy her from her owner but was unable to come up with all the money he needed.

Read the rest of my blog at My Own Eyes.

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Coming Up For A Quick Breath Of Air After Hurricane Irene

Last weekend I had to cancel a work trip to California to shoot Nike endurance runner, Jason Lester. Hurricane Irene came up the Eastern shore and posed a potential threat to my family and community. I packed up my wife and kids and sent them further inland and stayed to help my team from Operation Blessing get the word out about safety preparations and the people who we helped after the storm passed. I’m finally coming up for a quick breath of air after spending the weekend working and already prepping for a trip to Israel next week. Here are a few of the videos we created.
 

 

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An Interview with Michael Pritchard, Inventor of the Lifesaver Bottle.

Yesterday I had the privilege of interviewing Michael Pritchard, the inventor of the Lifesaver Bottle, for an upcoming video that Operation Blessing is putting together to show how we are using his technology to bring clean water to remote areas of the world. Not only was it great to be able to interview him, but it was also fun to create an atmosphere for the interview in our office space.

I had a few ideas going into the shoot about using black and the striking yellow Lifesaver jerrycans, but creative juices started flowing as I inspected the space. One piece in particular caught my eye and  changed our “set” for the better. It was an old light table that is usually unused and in our way. It became my third light source and put an interesting aura under the jerrycans. But lighting aside…let’s talk about the Lifesaver technology.

As an employee of Operation Blessing, I spend quite a bit of time out in the field and have had the privilege of using and distributing Lifesaver bottles and jerrycans. Their ultra filtration system removes viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other waterborne pathogens. It was great to hear his story about the creation of the Lifesaver systems and his goal to end water poverty. I thought I would use this inspiration to talk a little bit about my hands-on experience with Mr. Pritchard’s Lifesaver systems.

I carry a Lifesaver bottle with me on every trip I take because I never know what situation I will be in where I won’t have access to safe drinking water. Even when I have access to water in a hotel room overseas, it isn’t always safe for drinking. I’ve saved a ton of money by avoiding the expensive bottled water provided in hotel rooms. In disaster scenarios, it can be even more crucial. I used it daily when our team was in Haiti right after the earthquake and helped distribute Lifesaver jerrycans during the cholera outbreak. Operation Blessing was able to deliver safe water to the hardest to reach places because these systems are small enough to pack into 4 wheel drive SUVs that can handle the worst terrains.

Because the Lifesaver jerrycans are so portable, we were able to give one to every family in the water-locked village of Luben. They were completely surround by the cholera-infested water and these systems were a real “life saver” for this and other communities in the area that were unreachable with larger purification systems. Having been back to the village of Luben, months after the outbreak of cholera, I heard firsthand from villagers, like Wilna, who are using their Lifesaver Jerrycans daily to protect their families from the cholera that is still in the river where they get water. (See her video story below.)

Even though I am currently in the US and don’t personally have to worry too much about the water I am drinking, I don’t forget about the people who are less fortunate.  It was truly great to hear the passion that Michael Pritchard brings to his innovative technology because he cares about others and wants to bring a solution to this water crisis that over 1 billion people face. 

You can learn more about how the Lifesaver technology works at http://www.lifesaverusa.com/
To make a donation to Operation Blessing to give this technology to families in need, Click here.

Videos:
Waterlocked Village In Haiti Battles Cholera With Clean Water

Wilna’s Story – Surrounded By Death: Cholera in Haiti’s Waters

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Video: Critical Supplies For Nuba Mountain Refugees In South Sudan

A team from Operation Blessing just arrived in South Sudan to bring relief supplies to refugees that have fled the fighting in the Nuba mountains. Watch the video to find out more.

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Video: Extreme Blessing, Joplin: John & Debbie

I’m very honored to have been a part of John & Debbie’s story as a producer and videographer of this story for Operation Blessing.  As I listened to their story and talked to people that had worked with them or been blessed by this family, it was very apparent that they were more than deserving to be blessed.  The Operation Blessing disaster relief team worked for 7 days gutting and rebuilding this home that had been ruined by the tornado that struck Joplin.  On the day of the reveal a large crew of volunteers from Home Depot and Joey Logano and his pit crew came in to help pull it all together for family.  Watch and see how it all came together.

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Buy A Print. Change Lives.

I’m excited to announce that Operation Blessing International is giving away one of my best photos when you give a gift of $25.  It is a limited time offer and only available from the Bless The Children donation page. With your gift, you will receive 3 8×10 prints of Yerramma and Lalitha’s Water Burden.  Keep one for yourself and share the other two with family or friends (or be somewhat selfish and put it in your office).  It can be a conversation starter to let people know that you are passionate about changing lives around the world.

To make a donation to help bless children around the world, visit: www.ob.org/BlessTheChildren

Thank you for helping me make a difference by telling their story.

About the photo:

I met Yerramma and Lalitha in a very remote village in the Khammam District of India.  Operation Blessing International was installing multiple wells in the region and their village of Angargudem happened to be one of them.  Soon after we pulled in, the team was busy inspecting the well site and I happened to wander down a few paths in the village with my translator and saw a group of women gathering their metal buckets to go fetch water.  Several of us from the team wanted to see their current water source and how far the women walked retrieve it.  We walked down narrow paths following the women carrying their empty pots on their heads and children on their hips.  At the end of the path there was a small area where the small stream pooled and the women washed their pots and clothes.  Next to that was a smaller area where they skimmed water for cooking and drinking.  They were very skilled at skimming the dirty water so that it appeared clean – though we know the real problem isn’t visible to our eyes and was actually causing sickness in the village.  After they gathered the water, the heavy pots were stacked on top of their heads and again the children rode back on their hips.  After walking the narrow and winding path back to the village, Yerramma ducked into her house and the small bowl used for skimming the water clanged against the inside of the pot as she struggled to set it on the shelf.  Wearily she looked down as baby Lalitha stared at me and I snapped the picture.

Yerramma knew that the water wasn’t good, but didn’t have any other choices.  She told us that it was very hard for her to carry the heavy pots such a long distance and it gave her pain in her neck and back.  Not only was there the sickness caused by the water, but there were also villagers who lost their lives from snake bites and scorpion stings as they walked the path – something I’m glad I didn’t know before walking the path and standing ankle deep with them in the water.  As we told her about the new well coming close to her home, she was overjoyed.  Three days later, she was there to greet us with a big smile as we dedicated the new well and she filled her first pot of clean water. 

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