Every time you turn on the news, it seems like there's more and more to worry about. Planes dropping out of the sky, global financial meltdown, environmental crises, suicide bombers, corporations selling tainted food in order to save a buck, war, famine, disease, you name it. It's on every front page, on every news program, on every radio show; it's screamed from the rooftops by everyone who makes money selling fear. And that's a lot of people.
But there's so much more than that in the world. There's laughter and fun and playing and singing and children blowing dandelions and all the things that make us happy to be here. And that's all anyone really wants. No matter where we're from or who we are, we all want the same thing: To be happy. I want to spend six months traveling the world, visiting some of the most impoverished and challenged regions of the globe to find people who manage to find a piece of that happiness, even under the hardest of circumstances. Whether it's Filipino street children playing patintero or Malawian men enjoying a game of soccer or a band playing Appalachian music in rural America, I hope to capture the little things that bring people such profound joy. I'll maintain a blog as I travel, and share the images and stories of the people I meet every day. Once I've returned to the States, I'll collect the stories and photos into a book, the full proceeds of which will go to the people I have visited and experienced. I really want to see this idea come to fruition, and I have a chance to make it happen, but I need your help. All I need you to do is follow these three simple steps:
This can happen, and it can be an amazing thing, but I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Thank you, Mike p.s. You can see some of my work at my photoblog or at my portfolio. |