cameras

t asked a while ago on what to do with her old working DSLR. I suggested she contact khs and cypress college since they both had photography departments when we were there, altho i wasn't sure about now. a while later, my dad told me he was going to give his old working semi-manual camera to good will or whomever did a collection next. I asked he hold onto it for a while for me to do some research, since I had a point and shoot, and was certain others did too.

turns out there are very few groups that want digital point and shoots! film cameras are still in demand, as as DSLRs but simple cameras, not so much. did find one tho: project kare, which distributes the cameras at the "Mae Ra Moe refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border and to Karen State in Burma." 

"Our annual Student Photography Project has become a highlight the students look forward to every year! Dozens of students will be excited to take your used digital cameras home to photograph their family, friends, neighbors, and interesting scenes in their community...  Cameras are rare in the refugee camp and Karen State so students are very excited just to hold a camera. Having the opportunity to take one home and take photos is awesome! We award your donated cameras to winners of the photography contest, for students who produce the most compelling photos, their overall collection of pictures."

long story a little shorter, I asked friends and put up a post on FB and ended up shipping 9 cameras. thank yous to my dad, sophia (she's asked a friend and they donated 4 total!), ting, and alex (from dragon boat).

hit a snag in the mailing tho, apparently you can't mail that many lithium ion batteries in a single box that isn't its original packaging. but anyway, I emailed the org and they said that they normally purchase extra batteries for all the cameras anyway so I should just send them without. 

also, be sure to follow their facebook for photos from the cameras you donated! this set probably won't g up for a while since they're not planning on traveling there soon, but hopefully within the next year our cameras will be useful again :)