A young boy from a township near Cape Town is highlighted today in honor of Nelson Mandela’s 93rd Birthday….we recognize and honor that to truly “see” and acknowledge each other is a simple act of kindness. Photo Diplomacy as practiced through Dog Meets World is a simple act of kindness for the world. A photo says I see you, you matter and we are much alike. It is tangible joy and a seed of peace. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Celebrate “Mandela Day” by showing kindness and compassion to all.

I’m Robert Karp, I work in Admissions at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and I recently traveled to South Africa where I was born to celebrate my 40th Birthday and other family events in the Cape Town area. Wanting to practice Dog Meets World without a contact in a local township I turned to Google where I found a link to Liziwe’s Guest House and Tours. I emailed the house and immediately got a reply from a guy named Andrew who helps organize the tours through a local township. We emailed back and forth as to the specifics of what it was I was trying to do and accomplish. The more we talked, the more excited I became at the idea of doing something like this.

Andrew picked me up and provided transportation both to the township Guguletu and then to the airport afterwards. Once there, and after some briefs tests of my camera and the printer, we started out on our adventure. We began in the neighborhood creche which is what a preschool would be here in the States. I took and printed around 50 pictures of the children there and the process was incredible. For some of these children, the pictures were the first of them ever and they were enthralled with the process and the camera and printer. Tentative glances turned into true smiles, followed by excited chatter and laughter. I was surrounded by a swarm of amazing little children who were taking this all in.

After the creche, Andrew and another man took me into the shacks where the poorest of the poor lived. The pictures I took of the children and families here were the most meaningful and had the most impact both on myself and on the people whose pictures I took and printed. For one family, it was the first and only family portrait they have ever had.

The rest of the trip was spent walking around and taking and printing pictures until my supplies ran out. Afterwards, Andrew told me it was incredibly moving and fulfilling for him as-well because although he loves doing the tours, no one has given back in such an immediate way. He invited me back for my next trip to do a longer day of taking pictures and meeting new people.

Thank you Dog Meets World. It was the highlight of my trip back home.

Samantha visited DMW offices in Washington DC yesterday. She told us she still communicates with the students in the township where she volunteered while studying abroad last year. She sends them packages and thinks about them everyday! They tell her how they are going to attend University and someday come visit her in the United States. She loves them. Samantha says:

The children I worked with meant the world to me, however doing Dog Meets World and giving them a photograph of just themselves meant more than the world to them. These photographs started a photo family, a bond so unique and everlasting. Thank you for helping me to make my own Dog Meets World family in South Africa and Zambia too!

Here’s Samantha having fun with Foto and her afterschool students!

Phodographer Carolyn Lane in Smartietown, South Africa, Feb. 2009

Dog Meets World embodies the words spoken yesterday on the birthday of Nelson Mandela by his wife Graca Machel:

Today is an opportunity for millions of people around the world to look inside themselves and find those beautiful qualities as any human being has and say: “I am able to make a difference to my neighbor, to someone underprivileged, I can extend my goodness to other people”

Sharing a mere photo makes a difference, a simple act of kindness. This 28 year old man, John said this was the first photo he had ever had of himself!

Phodographer Carolyn Lane in Somerset, South Africa, Feb. 2009

I, Carolyn Lane, founder of Dog Meets World was in the Cape Town and on the suggestion of my fellow local assistants took pictures of the kitchen staff at the very lovely Lord Charles Hotel (4 star). This Afrikaans speaking chef was cajoled into to having his picture taken. He removed his hair net and apron and I posed him against the beautiful foliage in the outdoor dining area. When I returned moments later from the lobby with his printed picture, his eyes turned red, tears welled, his wiped his eyes and hugged me warmly…….his first picture in his life.

How often to we exchange pleasantries and seek help from hotel staff? My astonishment at this gentleman, despite his regular job and nice uniform, had never had his own picture. I suggest we take more time to notice and appreciate those that cater to our needs. So all those traveling, attending World Cup events and more, find time to interact and give back. Dog Meets World makes it simple to share a basic photo!

Dog Meets World founder Carolyn Lane spent days taking and printing first photos for kids and families in need, in and around Cape Town including in this area called Beverly Hills…can’t make this stuff up! As you can see everyone was a star!! Over a year before the games would commence, anticipation, conversation and preparation were underway for WORLD CUP….first time to be held on the African continent. So for whatever reason you are traveling, you can easily stop to give back though the power of photography! Become a phodographer.

Dog Meets World was founded to share personal photography with those in need in the world. Children are thrilled to see their first photos, but the most poignant moments come when moms behold their children’s pictures. It’s a priceless gift and honors the eternal mother-child bond. Happy Mother’s Day to all moms in the world!

Samm is an enthusiastic supporter and volunteer phodographer for Dog Meets World. She’s spending her semester abroad at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Busy as she is, Samm finds time to help out at an afterschool program in a nearby township and has taken tons of pictures for the DMW project. These girls demonstrated that one of the best things about having a personal photo is showing it to your friends. Wouldn’t you agree? Thanks Samm.

Samm is doing a semester abroad at Stellenbosch University near Cape Town in South Africa. She decided that Dog Meets World would be part of her experience! In the township of Kayamandi, she volunteers at the local school. She enthusiastically wrote that “DMW generated lots of screaming, excitement and tears. I had boys sharing one tie, and making sure each other looked as perfect as possible. It was great! ” For most of the students this was their first photo that belongs to them…..small act, big impact.