Project Rice.Org - 1st Year Anniversary online

This website is now 1 year old with the very first post going up on May 29, 2006 featuring the children of Laguna Province, Manila (click on the archive section for May 2006)

It had completely skipped my mind until last night around 1am while I was editing images, and I just happened to glance at the archive listing and suddenly remembered I now have a year's posts from May 2006 through May 2007!

During the past year we had 222 posts with many, many images - and a total of 16 people in 2006 who donated resources for rice, clothing for the Children & Families pictured here, and even a few medical visits for the kids.

Thank you to everyone who donated something, as I would not have been able to support these Families otherwise, and I sincerely hope that those 16 will be able do the same in 2007, before the November 2007 trip.

Thank you to my friend & Webmaster Guru Steve Griffith, who donated this website and who pays for it every month.

Thank you to graphic designer & fellow photographer Milo Hess in New York, for designing & donating the red Project Rice Logo.

Thank you to Concha & Enrique from the TULAY blog in Spain, for the bi-lingual translation of Project Rice that they link to on their home page - TULAY deals with inter culture child adoption issues concerning children from the Philippines.

Sponsors:
I am deeply grateful and fortunate to have had 2 very special people sponsor me in 2006 - my dear friend Judy was my primary sponsor who, after reviewing my photography & this website, donated support costs that allowed me to shoot in Philippines 6 weeks longer than originally planned.
...had she not done this for me, my last month in Philippines which was my most productive month with shooting & Family issues - especially with LittleFish/Rosalinda on Bantayan Island, would never have happened.

My second sponsor in 2006 was Michael Ferenci, a talented musician who found my images online and offered support costs for a few extra hotel nights in Manila (inbound & outbound) and for 2 flights from Manila to Cebu & vice versa in February 2007, so I could get back from Cebu to check on Rosa, Edison & the other street children in Manila.
...had he not done this for me, I would never have had the extra few days with Rosa & Edison's Family to take care of their needs (I would have also missed the opportunity to get Rosa to a doctor for 2nd degree burns she suffered to her hands in April 2007 - her treatment was paid for by my friend & fellow photographer Kevin Weir), and I would absolutely have missed meeting & helping Rodelyn in Manila during Feb. 2007, who was homeless & hungry and had been taken in by Auntie Josie, Rosa & Edison's guardian & caretaker.

These images and accounts of the Children & Families pictured here belong to all of you mentioned above, including the 16, and I will never be able to thank you enough for all of your kindness, and for allowing me to promote and address the food & clothing needs of a few Children & Families from the street, and from what I call the 'working poor' class - through my photography.

I have no Corporate sponsors at all - but I'm giving thought to reaching out to a few during this upcoming summer, possibly including companies who's products I use and recommend to others (Olympus Imaging [I use their E1 digital SLR], SanDisk & Lexar CompactFlash Media, Gateway computers, WACOM pen/tablet, Western Digital Passport hard drives, G-Tech for their G-Drive250, and Samsung for their LCD monitors.

I really don't have have any experience in dealing with and seeking these types of sponsorships, so if anyone out there would like to assist or advise me in doing this, I'd welcome an email from you.

To the donors & sponsors from 2006 - I'll be in email contact with you all about asking for you to repeat the same for November 2007's trip into 2008, so for now all I'm asking is that those groups just begin thinking about it.

Thank You & God Bless,
PJAMES