Gong show day

So at 5 am today I caught a bus going from Arusha, Tanzania to Mbeya, Tanzania (north to south). It is a 16 hour trip.

About half an hour in I went to grab my camera out of the bottom of my bag, and could not find it. I then proceded to empty out the entire contents of my bag- still no camera.

So I had to find someone to interpret to the conductor that I needed to get off the bus and go back to Arusha to find my camera.

Got off without a hitch, and quickly caught a mini-bus heading back to Arusha.

Good right?... until a passing mini-bus collided into the side of our bus. No biggie, kept on driving.

All the sudden, at the next stop the conductors of these two buses got out, and started a huge fist fight! All the passengers got out screaming and shooting in what is normally a sleepy little town. The villiagers all come running.

Ten minutes later it stops just as it had begun, everyone got excitedly back in the buses.

Good now, right?...

The buses proceded to having a pissing match over passing each other. Passengers yelling like it was a sport. All the way until the next town when they were pulled over by the police and brought to the police station.

Caught another ride back to Arusha, but my cemera is gone. One of the cleaning staff must of stolen it as it never left my room. :(

Greeting Cards for Sale

Hello Everyone,
As part of my work in Kenya, with Kenya Network of Women with AIDS (KENWA), I have been working on "Focus for Change," a photography project documenting the lives of those living positively, as well as those children whose lives are affected by AIDS. Locally, a photo exhibition will be taking place to mark World AIDS Day on Decemeber 1st. The aim of this documentary photography project is to raise funds for orphaned and vulnerable children who receive support from KENWA. Samples of the photographs can currently be viewed on this blog
and will be uploaded to http://www.kenwafosterchildren.org/ very shortly. This website speaks about many of the children Focus for Change is aiming to support.

The cards have been printed in Vancouver, BC and can be mailed out to interested parties. They are presently being sold as Craft Fairs in the Vancouver vicinity. Proceeds from these sales will go directly towards the care of children being supported by KENWA.

The cost is $2.50 for 1 card + shipping if applicable
$10.00 for 5 cards + shipping if applicable

Each card tells the personal story of the person featured in the photograph.Attached is a brief description of the project. If interesting in purchasing cards, or sending a donation to please contact myself at samrkaplan@gmail.com

Thank-you for your time,
Sam Kaplan
HIV/AIDS Advocacy and Education Officer
Canadian International Development Agency
College of the Rockies

Ok so I'm a bit slow on the update!

I just came back from an amazing week travelling to Uganda (due to the need to renew my visa for Kenya). i somehow got stuck in the oh so lovely town of Jinja, Uganda. Went white water rafting on the Nile River 3 times (an escaped with only a few bruises), quading in the countryside, and a bit too much late night partying at the hostel. It was fantastic! If you are on facebook you can see photos there.

In more work related news I am working on a couple of websites for 2 orphanages- one being for the orphanage in Murang'a that Kenya Network of Women with AIDS runs. they currently have 30 children in their care who range in age from 2 months to 13 years.

Also have compiled a list of 20 orphan and vulnerabel youth who would like to attend secondary school but lack the means to pay the school fees. Some of you should be receiving information about this shortly.

Anyways all is well!
xo Sam

Hey There,

So I'm obviously not much of a writer, but wanted to let everyone know that things are ging great. I've been really busy, doing lots of workshops, and trying to get two websites up for orphanages but internet is sloowwwwwwwww here!

Anyways here is just one picture, Ayub and me with a guilty addiction- Fanta!

Masai Mara National Park

I just came back from a 3 day in the Masai Mara. It was absolutely amazing- better than I could have ever dreamed of. Anyways here are some of the 500+ photos I took. It is the annual wilder beast migration where a couple of million wilder beast migrate through the park along with many other animals.





















These ostriches did everything in unison!





















Do I have something in my teeth?















Lion cubs!















Hippos are huge and EVIL. They wade around in the water waiting for some poor innocent animal to come along so that they can kill it. Once dead they just let it go- the joy is in the kill and much later chomping down on some rotten meat.














A hawk post kill (has something in its' talons)














Giraffes are such sweet, curious creatures. They are also very awkward looking (much like you Carter!)














This lone elephant came stampeding towards us. He was not happy to have the company.














Mama cheetah and baby.

I will post more photos later as it takes a long time to upload them!

KENWA- Starring Maureen and Ayub

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Two of my favorite kids! Both are orphans who spend a lot of time at KENWA.

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The kids at KENWA

114 kids came to KENWA last Saturday for support and fun. All of them are affected or infected with HIV. We did face-painting, made a hand print banner, and sang songs. Then they ate lots of food and learned some basics about HIV/AIDS.

Anyways all is well here, and I will try to upload more photos tomorrow. Below is Marua. He is 7 months old and lives at KENWA as his mom passed away the day after he was born. He is so easy-going and very sweet.