Seeking PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER for Humanitarian Project
Dates: June 27 – July 1, 2024 Location: Tijuana, Mexico
My name is Neil Millman and I am director of Love At Work, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to rescue children in extreme poverty (street kids, orphans, refugees, and special needs children). For the past 20 years we have conducted dozens of service projects in Mexico City and Tijuana. Usually, I record the projects myself and incorporate them into documentaries on my YouTube Channel. This time, however, I wish to include an assistant capable of producing a professional-quality documentary. This expedition provides a very favorable opportunity for a student in film production, as well as for someone interested in obtaining firsthand knowledge in Mexican/Latin Studies, sociology, international development, or nonprofit management. The ability to speak Spanish is an asset but not a requirement (I will have an interpreter along). In addition to free transportation and lodging, the photojournalist will be paid $250 for five days work. (Credit hours for the film project might also be obtainable.) Our primary purpose is to obtain information from several partner organizations for planning future operations. The assistant should be available to help me drive to and from Tijuana. A current US Passport is required.
Projects:
1. CANOA Foundation. This is a clinic that provides services to impoverished children with extreme physical and cognitive disabilities (some abandoned by their parents). CANOA’s foremost need is to secure facilities that are exposed to frequent theft. An upcoming construction project might also improve the workshop where the children manufacture pinatas for sale. The Director is Father James Hagan. Because he is aging and in failing health, I wish to produce a documentary about his exemplary life of service, and the innovative programs he created.
2. A refugee center/encampment in downtown Tijuana that currently houses thousands of migrants who survived the arduous journey from many countries. Each migrant has incredible tales to tell, and their daily living needs are immense. More than half the residents are children, therefore providing health and educational services is vital for their development. The center’s director is overwhelmed by their many needs. Tijuana also has a large Haitian population which faces difficulty assimilating into Mexican society. We are partnering with a successful Haitian entrepreneur who needs assistance in serving his destitute countrymen. We collaborate with several other grassroots leaders who share their talents in helping the poorest of the poor. They include Flor Zunun, a joyful mother with several children who inhabits a shanty town and who is our intermediary in distributing resources to the community.
3. The Padre Chava soup kitchen located in downtown Tijuana feeds thousands of homeless people every morning. It provides other services as well, dispensed through volunteers. On this trip we will focus on providing aid to homeless families with children.
4. Time permitting, we will visit the basuaros (ragpickers who inhabit the municipal dump and recycle trash). They occupy the lowest rung of society and include many children vulnerable to predation.
Watch videos on the Neil Millman YouTube Channel for a preview of what our projects involve.
If interested, please contact me soon: 801-372-1766 / rescuestreetkids@gmail.com.