#06 / Managua again!

(español abajo)

Dear friends of Street Children with Babies,

It’s definitely time for a quick update on the project you are supporting!

The most important news is that today I have returned from Managua. I was asked to serve on the jury of the Icaro Film Festival in Nicaragua and to give some workshops, and used this opportunity to stick around for ten more days to be able to continue with the photo project.

You’ll remember that there are six original portraits taken in 2008 of mothers aged 12 to 17 with their babies. When I left the country last April, we had found and photographed only two of the six girls. This time, I photographed one more and ‘found’ another one.

Along with some new photographs of recent young mothers in the shelter ran by Casa Alianza, I am confident that we have enough material. The next step will be to select the images and design the exhibition. Of course I’ll keep you posted on that process.

About half of you should have received your incentive by

#05 / Managua!

(español abajo)

Dear supporters of Street Children with Babies,

Last Monday evening I arrived in Managua in order to start the photo project, a moment I have been dreaming of for the past year and a half. My first appointment on Tuesday was at Casa Alianza, the street children NGO which manages the young mothers shelter where I took the original pictures in 2008. They had done some pre-work, and within a few hours I was sitting opposite one of the girls I was hoping to find, the now 20 year old María Isabel and her 7 year old daughter Nathalie. She lives with her partner and two more children in a village outside of Managua, where I spent some time taking photographs in the past days (see enclosed).

Meanwhile, with the help of Casa Alianza, I was also able to locate young mother number two: the now 21 year old Joselín. Tomorrow, Sunday, I will spend all day at her home taking photos, too.

Some confusion remains about a third girl. At first we thought she wasn’t alive anymore,

#04 / We made it! / Lo conseguimos!

(español abajo)

Dear supporters of Street Children with Babies,

THANK YOU for your support!! As you know by now, we reached the funding goal of 5.500 euros and even raised some extra off-line for a grand total of 6.340 euros towards this beautiful project. I am extremely grateful for your trust and your encouragement. The additional money will come in very handy, since during the course of the campaign I had several requests for exhibitions. So we can put the money to good use.

I need some more info for the incentives. There are two questions below, which I ask you to answer. Simply reply to this message and fill in the blanks underneath the questions. Please do not change the subject line of this message.

How do you want to be credited in the thank you section (first name, last name)?

Please share the postal address where we can send your incentive:

For your information: you will be added to a mailing list and will periodically receive updates on the project via a newsletter.

#03 / La casa de acogida (español)

Queridos mecenas de Niños de la calle con bebés,

Gracias de nuevo por tu generosidad! Con este mensaje, quería contarte un poco más sobre la casa de acogida donde hice las fotos originales en el 2008. Es un ‘shelter’ especializado en el cuidado de chicas que se han quedado embarazadas mientras vivían en la calle. Esta casa de ‘Jóvenes Madres’ pertenece a una organización que se llama Casa Alianza, que a su vez tiene varias casas en la ciudad de Managua y otras capitales centroamericanas.

Cuando visité la casa aquel primera de muchas veces, hice también la foto de abajo. Aquí se aprecia perfectamente qué jóvenes son algunas de estas madres. Y las que están embarazadas también! Algunas solo tienen 12 años.

En la casa, estas jóvenes mujeres no solo reciben un techo y tres comidas diarias, pero también atención médica y terapia psicológica. Algunas, cuando entran, están adictas a alguna sustancia y requieren estar un tiempo en un programa de desintoxicación. Mientras viven allí, más y

#02 / The shelter (English)

Dear supporters of Street children with babies,

Thank you again for your generosity! With this post I wanted to tell you some more about the facility where I took the original pictures back in 2008. It's a home specialised in care for young girls who got pregnant while living on the streets. The 'jóvenes madres' shelter belongs to a larger organisation called Casa Alianza, who run several facilities in Managua and other Central-American capitals.

When I was there that first of many times, I also took the below picture. Here you can really see how young some of the mothers are. And the pregnant girls as well! Some are as young as 12.

At the shelter, these young women not only receive a roof over their head and three meals a day, but also medical attention and much-needed psychological help. Some are still struggling with substance abuse as they come in, and have to undergo a specialised detox program. During the course of their time there, the focus turns to preparing them for a

#01 / Thank you / Gracias

(español abajo)

Thank you for supporting Street children with babies! With your contribution, we will make sure these girls have a voice.

We have finished the first week of fundraising and I am extremely happy with the result. Twenty percent of our goal has been reached, and we have had pledges every single day.

This week I also finalised our agreement with Casa Alianza in Nicaragua. They are the ones that manage the shelter where the young mothers who are the protagonists of this photo project were living back in 2008. Casa Alianza is committed to helping me find them. In exchange, I will spend some time in their larger shelter (a facility for street kids ironically called The Hilton, since it was constructed with a grant from the Hilton Foundation) and take some photographs they will be able to use for promotional use. They will also be the recipients of some images of the project itself, so they can create their own mini-exhibition at their offices in Managua.

Nicaragua is the