On the work front I was offsite giving a presentation to our premiere broadcast customers from around the world. Over the past year my team has made huge strides in addressing some quality problems we were having in the field. Although our latest software is extremely robust, I got my chestnuts roasted for the pain we had caused during the interim. Despite the grilling, I am proud of the work my team has done and of the product we are now delivering.
Jeanine and Nico return from Tanzania eboulient from their adventure together.
Great photographers connect with their subjects and establish trust. It is clear to me from this image that Nicolai and this little girl established a special rapport based, perhaps, on a common understanding of what it feels like to be the object of unwelcomed stares and pity.
Make no mistake, Nicolai is very deliberate in his photography. If you study this collection of images you can see a very artistic and creative mind at work.
Great use of lighting.
He could beat me at chess when he was in the first grade. I don’t know that I have ever taken such a poignant photo.
My personal favorite.
One of the boys from the orphanage.
Nico has become a fine photographer. Today’s entries are of his artistic images.
Today is International Disability Day and Nicolai and Jeanine are in Tanzania attending the ceremony for distribution of the wheelchairs that Nico raised funds for by climbing Kilimanjaro. Nico’s message as he addressed the crowd of one thousand was that “one person can make a difference.” Nicolai presented the first ten wheelchairs on stage and pushed the recipients back to their seats. As dignitaries continued to address the crowd, Nicolai went behind stage to help present the remaining 90 wheelchairs. He told his mother that the feelings he experienced seeing people receive their wheelchairs was better than the feeling he had when he reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The remaining 1500 plus wheelchairs will be distributed at similar ceremonies around the country over the coming months.
Nico with the Bishop’s niece and nephew, both orphaned due to HIV, who now live with the Bishop. Jeanine and Nico were welcomed with open arms by the family and treated like royalty during their stay.
While in Dar es salaam, Jeanine and Nico stayed with Bishop Mgullu and his family for three days. Pictured here is his wife, Desola, preparing the evening meal.
In the evening, the TunaHAKI kids performed at the hotel using skills they acquired while training with the Cirque de Soleil in California last year.
One of the volunteers made contact with a California elementary school and set up a pen pal program. Jeanine and other volunteers assist the children as they prepare their letters of introduction.