Dog Meets World Days in South Africa
What success. The morning was spent at the local winery’s preschool (which they call creche) and then to the workers in-the-fields to snap the mothers and other women. I just printed up the pictures right on the ground right beside to the young grape vines. The children and adults alike found the printer mesmerizing, garnering big grins when the photos emerged.
In the afternoon I joined Wendy Robain, a waitress I had met earlier while visiting another winery (yes I did consume the best of many vintages of the Cape finest wines), who eagerly encouraged me to bring my project to her town of Macassar in the Cape Flats. We begin at her child’s school, invariably in this and other random locations over 3 days events unfolded in a repeatable manner. Wendy’s explanation of the project (mostly in Afrikaans) was met with skepticism and quizzical looks. Eventually someone steps up to the plate, we photo a few kids and set up the printer. Curiosity abounds, the word gets out and we can never actually finish all those seeking. Receipt of their photos created much delight, intense starring at the image, laughter, silent joy, exclamation, smiling, sharing, running home to show “mother” and humble gratitude. The photo was felt to be a truly meaningful gift and something valued immediately.
Adults would help organize those waiting their turns. Wendy’s husband Glen and friend/driver Shavonne were immensely helpful operating the printers on the ground or in the car. Together their calm, deliberate and sensitive mannerisms amid the crazy chaos of the operations evoked a seriousness and honor to the project and bespoke the value of the photographs.
Off to Africa
After spending 2 days with my children in NYC, which includes collaborator Austin, I departed JFK for South Africa. Cape Town and home of good friends Ursula and Richard Wagner is the destination. This most intrepid and philanthropic couple moved to South Africa in 1996 and founded the nonprofit Affordable Medicines for Africa (www.AMFA.org) and have impacted the delivery of pharmaceuticals on the continent.
Cape Town has it all. Geographically it’s Big Sur meets LaJolla, San Francisco and Napa Valley all rolled into one. From the iconic profile backdrop of Table Mountain to the penguin colony at Boulder Beach, the busy V&A Waterfront and the endless vineyards it is a treat. Likewise the dollar is strong against the rand, making many things very cheap. The reality of South Africa also includes vast tracks of modest, substandard and shantytown housing for much of the non-white majority population.
I intend to take Dog Meets World to some townships and bring personal photography to those that have limited means.
The business of business-catching money
There’s a boatload of business details to attend to…I been busy writing and re-writing and filling out forms to make it all legit in the eyes of discriminating donors and of course Uncle Sam! Top of the heap is to apply for tax-exempt status as a public charity…meaning everyone will be able to throw tons of money at Dog Meets World and take a tax-deduction for being so generous. To complete this very comprehensive application one must script out bylaws (to run the corporations), obtain an EIN (like a SSN for a business) and open up a banking account and generally act like you know what you are doing.
NOTE HERE: A real IRS agent (yes there are real and nice IRS agents) confirmed that since all organizing documents are completed and the tax-exempt form has been submitted in good faith (very good faith I might add) Dog Meets World may NOW conduct business as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
Feel free to be amongst the first donors to this bow-wow of a charity!