Gary S. Chapman, A Humanitarian Photographer for NGO's and Non-profits » Haiti

World: The Begging Conundrum

admin — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:41:54 +0000

Street beggar comes to my window in India

Street beggar giving thanks in India

Beggars in Nepal, Haiti, Israel-Arab Quarter, Israel-Christian Quarter and India

Begging. It makes us nervous. We squirm. We try to look away. We attempt to ignore.

But many places I go in the world I can’t ignore those that are begging. My heart screams to help. My head, in frantic fits of logic tells me why helping is a bad idea.

While the poverty is real, beggars in some countries beg as part of organized crime. Babies have been rented by beggars for better results. Children have been maimed to attract soft hearts.

Will my giving actually help (other than ease my conscience)? Will it reinforce a culture of dependency? Will it just reward criminal gangs that “own” the beggars?

I don’t have any hard and fast answers. I have given. I have ignored. I have laughed and played with children beggars without giving them anything. I have bought food for obviously hungry beggars. I have said NO when pushed by overly aggressive beggars that don’t sit right with me.

All I know for certain is, that in a few weeks, I will have the same battle of choices during my next assignment.

Haiti: “I will return”

admin — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:03:24 +0000

Dr. Ines Espallargas from Barcelona, Spain, a general practitioner, spoke of her recent time in Haiti with the Christian aid group Manto de Guadalupe:

My greatest desire was to be able to doctor and heal, or at least relieve, the physical suffering or raise the morale of all the people I could treat. However, my friends insisted that in only a week I wasn’t going to be able to do much. Therefore, what was important wasn’t so much the physical help, but sharing joy and Christian hope and making the most of the experience to learn from them how to be more humble, thankful, generous…in short, to value what is truly important in my life: God and others.

The best gift of this trip has been receiving the thanks and love of the people I was attending to, even though in some cases I wasn’t able to help alleviate their physical need or sickness. I was only able to offer a smile, a hug or words of encouragement and with that they were happy.

The director of the orphanage (several hours outside Port au Prince), his family and the people that work there have taught me what it is to be happy and optimistic in spite of the difficulties. Some mothers of the children I attended mentioned to me that the worst thing for them was that some days they have nothing to give their children to eat. However, they don’t lose hope that God always provides, even though sometimes they need to fool their small stomachs with “mud pies.”

This has been one of the best experiences of my life and if God allows, I will return…

(All images Canon 5D2, 24-105mm)

Photos ©Copyright Gary S. Chapman 2010

Dr. Espallargas examines a very sick child.

A child waits her turn to see the doctor.

Dr. Espallargas speaks to families about health care.

After examination, this woman was sent to a hospital for further tests.

Dr. Espallargas spends time in prayer before starting another day.

"I was only able to offer a smile, a hug or words of encouragement and with that they were happy"

A young girl leads Dr. Espallargas by the hand to see the home the aid group is building for her and her eight brothers and sisters.

Haiti: Fasting and Praying

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:19:30 +0000

Worshipers gather daily outside the shell of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption to fast and pray. The cathedral, built in the 1800′s, was destroyed by the January 12th quake that also killed the Archbishop.

(Canon 5D2, 24-105mm @24mm , 1/800 sec, f4.5, ISO320)

Haiti: Hell on Earth

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:07:49 +0000

Just got back from Haiti. I did not spend much time in Port au Prince, really just passed through on the way to an orphanage way out in the country. The amount of debris and trash left on the streets in the capital is staggering. Months after the quake, many people, even now, consider life in Port au Prince as “hell on earth”. We were told of one family that has to walk each day by the school where their daughter’s body is still entombed. My heart goes out to those that have to live and work there.

(Canon 5D2, 24-105mm @24mm , 1/250 sec, f4, ISO400)

(Canon 5D2, 24-105mm @70mm , 1/2000 sec, f4.5, ISO500)

Wakeup call

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 23:03:46 +0000

It has been a while since the world has had a tragic wakeup call like that unfolding in Haiti. The massive destruction and loss of life cannot be ignored. Images of pain, suffering, desolation and frustration are criss-crossing the airwaves and internet at an unbelievable rate. We are all a bit numbed.

But, our own fragility and mortality cannot be ignored either. This time it happened “there”. What about tomorrow? How would we react if it was us and not “them”? What if the body bags were for people we knew dearly? What if you were lying in the dark, inching closer to death, crushed between tons of concrete?

Until wakeup calls come, we rarely think about death. We cruise through life thinking tragedy won’t touch us. As we each consider what to do to help those suffering in Haiti, let us also look inward. Let us look toward God, our creator. We can’t let life as usual return without thinking about the deeper issues of life.

Below is a photo of a Mexican woman that goes every morning to this church, to pause, reflect and pray. Her day is centered on this time. We all need moments like these to put aside the distractions and pressures of life to focus on what is really important.

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27