Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/19

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Subject: [Leica] luggers -- you make me proud -- xmas in bucharest
From: "kyle cassidy" <kcassidy@asc.upenn.edu>
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 23:40:45 -0800

Sorry I haven't had a chance to update everybody on 2001's LUG charity
relief project "Christmas in Bucharest". I'm happy to report that when all
the smoke had cleared, we'd raised slightly more than $2,500 to help
homeless children in Romania. This is twice what we raised last year for the
Kids in the Dump project. Much of the success was due to Linda who
dilligently kept track of prints and checks and made everything run
smoothly. Mondo mondo amazing thanks to Tina who once again donated
fantastic prints to the effort, as all of you who bought copies can attest.
It was Tina's first hand experience and concern for children in the first
place that started this project two years ago -- living as we all do in a
world of $30 lens caps and $100 cardboard boxes, we're all very lucky to
have someone like her to occasionally ground us. We are the richer for her
presence.

The money went to Ron and Sue Bates who run inasmuch and came at a critical
time. Two of the kids I met in Bucharest (Julian age about ten and Flora age
about 16) have both come down with syphilis and are in the hospital. Their
hospitilization wouldn't have been possible without your help. STD's are
rampant among these children who often find prostitution the only way to
stay alive on the streets and are preyed upon by organized groups of foreign
pedophiles who take advantage of an already cruel situation.  LUG money is
also being used as part of a large scale AIDS/TB testing to determine rates
of infection. Ron and Sue also run two orphanages, the number of children
they can take care of is directly related to the amount of money they get
through donations. Also, Ron and Sue took all of the kids at the four star
out and bought them new shoes -- some of them had been barefoot.

For a little more on the situation in Bucharest as it was when I was there:

  http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/travel/bucharest-2001/

if anybody has suggestions for 2002's fundraiser, please e-mail me. I'm
thinking perhaps we could give a grant to a young doccumentary photographer
to travel. Perhaps with an ad in the back of a photo magazine or sent out to
colleges with a submission process and a vote....

Thank you all again. Feel good about yourself when you go to sleep tonight,
you did a great thing.

keep pushing that button until you've told your story,

Kyle





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Replies: Reply from "Eric" <ericm@pobox.com> ([Leica] Re: luggers -- you make me proud -- xmas in bucharest)