Tag / Education For The Children Foundation

Last week i posted about giving my camera across to the kids at the school i was at in Antigua, Guatemala. They loved swapping around and taking turns at being the photographer with varying levels of success. The focus and composure wasn’t always evident but they had a great time playing around, learning as they went on.

Click anywhere on the photo to see a larger version which you can zoom in on to see it better.

My Lightroom catalogue currently shows that i’ve taken 1205 photos whilst in and around the school. For every photo i take i usually have to show the result to ten or so children as they shout “Quiero Ver” (show me!) after each click of the shutter. I started doing the maths here……. 1205 X 10 = so yeah, i needed to turn the roles.

Initially, i set a camera up on a tripod giving the children the chance to take photos without smashing the camera on the floor but then i noticed the care they actually take when handling the camera so progressed onto letting them handheld the camera, albeit with a cheaper lens attached!

Alas, my job here is done. My group of assistants are now the main faces behind Tim Lloyd Photography.

Stay tuned for the results…..

Yesterday was an action packed day in and around the school and in the evening i was lucky enough to be invited to a part of the town where a large majority of the children who attend the school live. Vista Hermosa is an area which tourists seldom see. Tucked away on the hillside is a community devised of basic living arrangements with very little infrastructure. Housing there mainly consists of corregated metal pieces; i actually saw a vintage Coca Cola sign as an improvised living room wall.  The headmaster of the school was our guide as we climbed the maze of alleyways and rocky paths to the summit looking down at Antigua far below us.

What we found up there was an amazing sense of community spirit and i loved how welcoming each family was allowing us into their homes. These people don’t have much in the way of material goods but the smiles are plain to see all around you. I’m pretty sure i received a “good afternoon” from every single person i encountered which was into the hundreds.

Some of the kids who attend the school were back home at this stage playing with other children in the last light of the day. One of the kids, Kimberley, leaves her house every morning at 6am to climb down the mountainside to make it to school. It takes her an hour each way and she’s only 6 years old.

Sitting down looking at my images its difficult to select a group to show you from my visit but i think these portray it pretty well.

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I’m a firm believer that all the best stories have a twist near the end. Mine was panning out as usual the other day as i packed my bags in Los Angeles after a successful season over in the states. While this was going on a volcano over in Iceland was doing what volcanos do bringing the entire european air network to a standstill.

As soon as my flight got cancelled i was told that the next available flight out of LA was the 28th April meaning i had 10 days to kill until i could head home. Now i’m one of the few people who actually loves LA. Every time i pass through there i always manage to have fun and this time was no exception. Great for one day? sure. Ten days? Absolutely no way.

Knowing the cost of living in LA got me quickly thinking about what to do next. Last year i wrote a post about a charity one of my good friends Amy works for (read it here) The charity is called Education for the Children and it focuses on bringing education to children over in Guatemala. A few phone calls here and there and 6 hours later i was on a flight to Guatemala city completely unaware of where i was heading….

Anyway, enough talking. Here’s a selection of shots from my first day around the school.

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