Saturday night I enjoyed long conversations with Jodi and Kristin about travel and global issues - a significant part of that was sparked by the film "Born into Brothels" which we watched late that night. It is an Acadamy Award winning documentary about a group of children in the red light district of Calcutta, India. I would recommend watching it sometime if you have the opportunity.

Just the night before, I had begun a blog entry bemoaning my large load of homework over this past week... After watching a young prostitute's daughter (Kochi or Puja - I think?) basically say "Sometimes I wonder what I could become if I could get an education...", I quickly realized that I should be thankful for all the homework I get. And it really wasn't so much the things the kids said. It was the message they conveyed in their eyes.

The woman who began filming the documentary realizes how hopeless their futures are unless she can help them into boarding school. She connects with them by teaching them photography and giving them their own cameras to document the life around them. The children's pictures have become famous since then - shown in art galleries and are even featured on Amnesty International's new calander.

The point of all this is that once again I see how bad the world is in some areas of the world and how just a little bit of action can make a huge difference to people. Go check it out here: http://kids-with-cameras.org/home/ This along with what I'm learning from Amnesty International continues to impress upon me the importance of making a difference somehow. NOW!