When Kids Grow up...

Little Corn Island School, Nicaragua

2013-07-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

We just came back from one of the friendliest and most welcoming place in the Caribbean: Little Corn Island. We enjoyed every moment on this island which included scuba diving some beautiful sites, sharing laughs with locals and expats alike, and eating so much lobster that we managed to get sick of it.

The trip to get to this remote island included three planes and one tiny boat and our dive gear took a lot of space in our suitcase but we still managed to fit our printer, a few costumes and a few shirts to take our project to the only school on the island.

It was a beautiful and warm day the morning we showed up at the school. Our new friend on the Island decided to join us and help us out since she liked the project and it was great having extra help. The kids were slowly arriving to school and we weren't quite sure how many prints we were going to have to make but as soon as the first kid was dressed up, I grabbed the camera and started snapping shots while Sara was printing the pictures surrounded by a hoard of intrigued kids.

Once again we were happy we had a rechargeable battery on our printer because the school had no electricity but we printed so many pictures on site that we did run out of battery before the last few pictures were printed. We took a group picture of the remaining kids (most of them had already run back to their house, eager to show their pictures) and we headed back to the hotel....where the electricity was down. We waited until the day after to print the last pictures and took them to the director of the school who was enchanted by the project.

Once again the smiles and the joy on these kids' faces enlightened the day and we were happy to share this moment with these incredible souls. The teachers also got a few prints on their own and were grateful for the break they enjoyed while we took over their school.

While on the island we also had a chance to witness the start of the lobster season. Hundreds of Lobster traps were piled on top of each other days before the season started. Apparently lobsters are attracted to cow skin and the stench coming from the traps was barely bearable when we would walk by them. These traps are also quite heavy and an army of men is required to get them from the shore to the boat. A few years ago, a giant pipe got stranded on the island after being lost at sea. The locals found a great use for it and they cut a huge piece of it that they use as a ramp during fishing season and as a water slide when the kids take over. It allows them to move the traps much faster from the shore to the water where they are then pulled on the large fishing boat by a system pf pulley and a lot of manpower. It takes them days just to get all the traps on the boat. They are then dropped off at sea in the hope of catching many lobsters.

We also went up to the lighthouse which is the highest point on the island where a breathtaking 360 view awaited us. The climb up the ladder to the top of the old tower, which was honestly a little scary but the reward was well worth the effort.

Thank you. We couldn't do it without you!

2012-05-09T13:43:00.003-07:00

We received lot of items from our Amazon Wishlist this week and we wanted to thank you all for your amazing support! The kids will definitely love these new items! Make sure you take a look at the Wishlist if you haven't done so already there are dozens of costumes to choose from.

AMAZON WISHLIST

Another trip to the 99 Cents Store

2012-05-02T18:30:00.002-07:00

The other day I discovered a dollar store at the end of my street and I picked up a few item for our project such as these firefighter hats, basketball and football and music instruments that we can give the kid when they pick their careers. The more toys and costumes we have to offer them the happier they will be!

An easy way to help our project is to donate a costume through our Amazon Wishlist. Take a look

Fiji after the flood

2012-04-27T14:09:00.003-07:00

Some people leave a lot of sadness footprint on this earth, we try to balance it out by leaving a lot of happiness footprint.... with our prints

A few months ago we booked a trip to Fiji to go scuba diving and enjoy a relaxing week of vacation in the sun and I had tried to contact our hotel to take "WhenKidsGrowUp" to some of the local schools in Fiji but didn't really get any response.

However, a week before our departure a storm passed through Fiji and flooded the villages and streets of the Island. We weren't sure if we would still be able to go but a few days later our travel agent contacted us to tell us that all the roads had been cleared and everything was back to normal.... at least at the resort we were going to stay at.

The weather did not get that much better and we enjoyed tropical rain every day of the week during our stay so we did not get to dive as much as we would have liked but we did end up visiting the Island and meeting some of the kindest people in the world. Roads were damaged, beaches were still dirty from the storm and Fiji did not quite look like the postcards my friends had mailed me in the past.

One rainy morning we decided to hire a cab for the day and visit a traditional village on the island. We grabbed the few costumes we had brought on the trip, the printer, and a few bottles of water and headed out. After what seemed to be a long drive the cab driver dropped us off in front of a small store to buy a bag of Kava (A local drink) to bring to the village as a gift which is a traditional thing to do. Kava is made from a local root that they crush into powder and mix with water.

After another long drive, we arrived in the village where tourists were welcomed by their spoke person. We thought we were going to get a private tour when just seconds later, a giant bus filled with tourists pulled up and unloaded its group of curious Australians.

We ended up visiting the village with the group and, even though most of the villagers' houses had been damaged during the flood they all welcomed us and were smiling as if nothing had happened. Kids were running around playing in the mud with wooden sticks and broken toys and old family pictures were drying out in the sun. We could see some of the household items that were damaged by the water and the spokeperson told us that some of the families had to move in the chief's house because it was the only house that had been safe from the flood since it is located at the top of the hill.

At the end of the tour we had the opportunity to take part in a Kava ceremony where the chief made a giant bowl of Kava to welcome us in their community and we all drank from it. It has a very particular taste and leaves your mouth numb for a while. After the locals performed their traditional dance we all joined in and danced together for a few minutes. Once the ceremony was over we were invited to take a look at their handcraft and buy a souvenir. While the group of tourists gazed at the displays I started printing a few photos I took during the ceremony to thank them for having us. I handed the first prints to the elder people in their community and everyone was pleased with their print and they all wanted to pose for the camera.

Once the herd of Australians left the village we took the costumes out of our backpack and put the printer to work. We didn't have as many choices as usual since we hadn't brought our entire collection of costumes but the kids had a lot of fun picking their career and we ended up leaving the few toys we had with them. At first they were a little shy and understandably curious and somewhat fearful but they quickly warmed up to us and it became a fun activity for everyone in the village.

It was a good thing I had a few memory cards on me which sped up the process. I could take a few pictures and put the memory card in the printer while taking pictures with another memory card. Everyone was impressed by the quality of the prints and looking at the images coming out of the printer becomes a bonding experience where we get to actually talk to the villagers and get to know them better.

The grown-ups probably had even more fun than the kids this time around and I apparently put my foot in my mouth yet once again when I mockingly told the Chief that we had to re take the group picture because he was the only one not looking at the camera... I hadn't realized he was the chief!

We were happy to be able to give new prints to the families who had just lost everything they had during this natural disaster and be able to leave our footprint on the island.

Fundraiser Party

2012-04-27T10:23:00.001-07:00

Our Kickstarter attempt to get more funds through pledges just ended and it didn't get funded this time but we want to thank every one of you who made a contribution. However, we did get a lot of support from all of you during our very first fundraising event last month.

We were at "Main on Main" in Santa Monica where we raised 258$ with the sale of Raffle Tickets during the art show "ELEMENTS 2". The prizes were all donated by the amazing artists showcasing their artwork that night and included prints, books and craft by Liz Brizzi, Christian Shenouda, Peter Shenouda, Deborah Phipps, Julie Goulin and and Sarah Huber.

The event was a success and a memorable evening.

We would like to thank everyone who attended and bought tickets to help this project.

Fundraiser Event

2012-03-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

It's been more than a year since we started this project. We have met some amazing kids, devoted parents and teachers, and we have gained a lot of supporters. However, this is only the beginning of a long journey and our desire to become a real non-profit organization is turning into a reality.

"WhenKidsGrowUp" will be hosting an art show in Santa Monica on March 29th at "Main on Main" from 9p to 1.30am with a few other amazing artists who all donated one of their creations that you can win by participating in the raffle we will be having during the event.

Tickets are only 2$ and you can buy them at the show or from any of the artist before the show. We will be announcing the winners at 11pm. All the proceeds will go towards the legal fees to become a non-profit, to buy more costumes and more photo paper and for marketing tools.

PRIZES:
Signed Print by Liz Brizzi
Canvas Print by Sebastien Roche-Lochen
Framed Print by christian Shenouda
Book "Kill/Marry/Fuc" By Sarah Huber
Purse by Moka's vintage Melange
Necklace by Deborah Phipps
Book "That's How We Roll!" By Sebastien Roche-Lochen

If you can't attend but would still like to win of these amazing prizes and help the project you can buy raffle tickets online on paypal (I will write down your name on the ticket and will be posting the winning tickets on this blog after the event).

Buy Online

Here is one of the beautiful prints you can win:

http://www.lizbrizzi.com

I will also be selling Shirts with our "WhenKidsGrowUp" logo on it for 10$

We are hoping to see all of you there. Please be aware that nobody under 21 will be admitted.

The Tennis Player - Los Angeles

2012-02-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

Beckham wants to be a tennis player when he grows up and he already has the entire outfit. He tried a few action shots as we were shooting by the pool and the tennis ball ended up in the water.

We started another kickstarter Fundraiser and we are inviting you to take a look at the link and share it with as many people as you can

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/758485899/when-kids-grow-up

Thank you for your support!

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Beckham veut devenir joueur de tennis quand il sera grand et il a déjà la tenue. Il a essayé quelques services à coté de la piscine oû nous prenions les photos et la balle de tennis a fini dans l'eau.

N'oubliez pas de jeter un oeil à notre page Kickstarter oû vous pouvez nous aider en donnant un don afin de nous aider à continuer ce projet.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/758485899/when-kids-grow-up

Merci d'avance

The Athletes - Roatan

2012-02-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

Four of the boys at the Sand Castle Library wanted to become athletes. We had two soccer players, one baseball player and one kid who wasn't sure what kind of athlete he wanted to be so he put on everything that was related to sports in. I was a bit confused at first when I saw the basketball jersey with the baseball glove but who am I to say anything, if he wants to play more sports than one, let him do it!. The kid wants to be a basketball professional and a baseball player so he can look at one of our role models: Michael Jordan who pulled it off....or almost.

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Quatres des enfants de l'école de Roatan voulaient devenir sportifs quand ils seront grand. Nous avions deux joueurs de football, un joueur de baseballs et un garçon qui était indécis sur son choix de carrière sportive et qui a donc mis tous les accessoires de sport qu'il a trouvé. J'étais perplexe quand il s'est presenté devant moi avec son maillot de basketball et son gant de baseball mais si son rêve est de participer professionellement à plusieur sports à la fois, qu'on le laisse faire! Il veut devenir joueur de basketball et de baseball et il peut déjâ s'inspirer d'une légende du basketball: Michael Jordan, qui est arrivé a devenir profesisonel dans les deux sports....ou presque.

Group Picture at the Sandy Castle Library - Roatan

2012-02-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

After the ceremony was over, we took a group picture and all the kids went home to enjoy their first day of vacation. We worked with forty-four kids at the Sand Castle Library in Roatan and took a few pictures of their teachers and the people who volunteer their time to educate these kids. Everyone received a print. It was an amazing day filled with laughters. We can't wait to do it again.

Après la cérémonie de remise des diplomes, nous avons pris une photo de groupe et les enfants sont parti afin de profiter du début de leurs vacances. Nous avons photographié quarante-quatre enfants, leurs professeurs et les employés de 'lécole qui ont tous reçu une photo. C'était un jour merveilleux rempli de sourires et de bonheur.

The Hairdressers - Roatan

2012-02-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

These two cute girls want to be hairdressers when they grow up. Hopefully they won't actually put the hairdryer that close to people's hair when they use a real one.

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Ces deux petites filles veulent devenir coiffeuses quand elles seront grandes. On espère qu'elles n'utiliseront pas le sèche cheveux aussi près de la tête des gens quand elles se serviront d'un vrai.

The kids picking up their prints

2012-02-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

Since it was their last day of school the kids were allowed to go swim in the ocean that was literally a few feet away from where we were shooting, which gave us plenty of time to print all the pictures before it was time for them to receive their certificate of completion. It took us a while to print all the pictures but we finished right before they came back into the room.

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Comme c'était leur dernier jour d'école, les enfants ont eu le droit d'aller se baigner dans la mer qui est à quelques mètres de l'école. Cela nous a laissé assez de temps pour imprimes les photos avant qu'ils reviennent pour le cérémonie de remise de diplomes. Nous avons fini à peine quelques minutes avant qu'ils reviennent de leur baignade.

The Airplane Pilot - Roatan

2012-02-05T12:12:00.000-08:00

This time we didn't forget to bring the pilot costume. We only had one kid who wanted to become a pilot but we were glad we could offer that option this time.

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Cette fois nous n'avons pas oublié d'emporter le costume de pilote d'avion. Seulement un enfant voulait devenir pilote quand elle sera grande et nous étions content d'avoir ce costume avec nous.

Thank you for your donations

2012-02-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

This time we were able to offer a lot more options to the kids we worked with in Honduras. Not only did we learn a lot from our first trip in Haiti, but we also received a lot of generous donations from our supporters. This day wouldn't have been the same without all your contributions and we wanted to thank you again.

We are always looking to grow our collection of costumes for our future events.

Help us by ordering something from the Wishlist

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Grace à votre aide nous avons pu offrir plus de choix de costumes aux enfants que pendant notre premier voyage à Haiti. Cette journée avec les enfant de Sandy Bay Castle Library n'aurait pas été le même sans votre soutien et nous tenions à vous remercier de nouveaux pour vos donations.

Nous cherchons toujours à agrandir la colleciton de costumes afin de pouvoir offrir plus de choix de carrières aux enfants et vous pouvez nous aider en commandant un costume de notre liste sur Amazon

Roatan - Kids wearing the new shirts

2012-02-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Almost all the kids at the sandy castle library winter camp left with a print and a new shirt "Whenkidsgrowup". We were missing a few but it seemed like they handled it pretty well because I don't remember hearing any crying.

You can help our project by getting your own shirt for you or your kid(s) on our website for 10$ (One shirt you buy allows us to give away three shirts to the kids who participate in the project)
http://www.whenkidsgrowup.com

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Presque tous les enfants à la bibliothèque de Roatan ont reçu une photo et un nouveau "T-shirt Whenkidsgrowup". Il nous en manquait quelques uns mais cela n'a apparament pas tourné au désastre car je ne me souviens pas avoir entendu quelqu'un pleurer.

Vous pouvez aider le projet en commandant un T-shirt pour vous ou vos enfants au prix de 10$. Un T-shirt acheté nous permait de donner trois T-shirts gratuits aux enfants qui participent.
http://www.whenkidsgrowup.com

Roatan - The Firefighters

2012-02-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

The few kids who decided to be firefighter when they grew up were all having so much fun with the costume that all the pictures came out great because of their smiles. It was hard to pick my favorite ones.

Les quelques enfants qui décidèrent de devenir pompiers quands ils seront grands s'amusaient tellement avec le nouveau costume qu'ils souriaient sur toutes les photos. J'ai eu du mal à choisir mes préférées.

Roatan - The cops

2012-01-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

The teachers at this winter camp found it interesting that so many of the kids chose "police officer" as their career of choice. Especially since they usually don't seem to like cops very much.

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Les professeurs de cette école ont été surpris du nombre d'enfants qui ont choisit "Policier" comme choix de carrière. D'autant plus que les enfants n'aiment en général pas la police locale.

Roatan - The Lawyers

2012-01-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

We just came back from Roatan (Honduras) where we had the chance to work with the kids at the winter camp of the Sandy Castle Library. These kids were amazing and a lot of fun to work with. It was the last day of their winter camp and they received their prints at the same time as their certificate of completion. These two kids who wanted to become lawyers were so adorable in their costumes.

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Nous revenons tout juste de Roatan, au Honduras où nous avons eu la chance de travailler avec les enfants du "Sandy Castle library" pendant leur dernière journée avant les vacances. Ils ont reçu leur photo en même temps que leur diplôme de fin de trimestre. Ces deux enfants voulaient devenir avocats quand ils seront grands.

Firefighter Costume

2012-01-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

This beautiful firefighter costume for kids just came in the mail. Thank you all for your support and you donations.

For the costumes donations Visit our Amazon Wishlist
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Ce magnifique costume de pompier vient d'arriver par la poste. Merci à tous vous vos dons et votre soutien.

Pour les dons de costumes visitez notre Wishlist sur Amazon

The Chocolate Maker

2012-01-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

- Los Angeles -

I hope she sends me some free chocolate when she becomes a chocolate maker

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J'espère qu'elle m'enverra du chocolate gratuit quand elle deviendra fabricante de chocolat

WhenKidsGrowUp Shirts For Sale!

2012-01-12T02:12:00.000-08:00

The T-shirts are now available in Adult and Kid Sizes, Get yours today

As a fundraiser we are offering Kids T-shirts with our logo on it for the small price of 10$ (+Shipping). Get yours now and help us inspire a lot more kids in the future.

Adult Size T-shirt: 10$ (Women S, M Men M, L)

Kid Size T-shirt: 10$ (T4, YM, YL)

Note: Write your size preference in the "special instructions" section when your order on Paypal.

Les T-Shirts sont maintenant Disponibles en tailles adulte et enfant.

WhenKidsGrowUp est dans le processus de devenir une organisation non-gourvernementale. Nous voulons grandir et pouvoir faire participer beaucoup plus d'enfants à ce projet. et nous espérons être pris plus au sérieux en tant qu'organisation. Malheuresuement, comme beaucoup d'entre vous le savent déjà, le processus est coûteux et nous avons plus que jamais besoin de votre aide.

Afin de récolter les fonds nous vendons des t-shirts au prix de 10$ (+ frais de transport)

Achetez votre T-shirt aujurd'hui et aidez nous à inspirer plus d'enfants dans le futur.

T-shirt (Taille Adulte): 10$ (Women S, M Men M, L)

T-shirt (Taille Enfant): 10$ (T4, YM, YL)

Note: Indiquez votre préférene de taille dans la section "special instructions" lors de votre achat

A lot of new donations!

2012-01-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your generous donations from our Amazon Wishlist, we greatly appreciate your support! We received a pilot uniform, a military helmet, a soccer jersey, a painter's palette, and the most useful items we received: a box of printing paper! We can never have too much printing paper!

We are also always looking for more kids to participate in this project.

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Merci pour votre générosité et tous vos nouveaux achats de notre liste sur Amazon, nous en sommes très reconnaissant. Nous avons reçu un uniforme de pilote d'avion, un casque de militaire, une palette de peintre, un maillot de football et l'achat qui nous est le plus utile: une boite de papier photo. Nous avons toujours besoin de papier pour imprimer les photos.

Nous sommes aussi toujours à la recherche de plus d'enfants qui désireraient participer à ce projet.

Shirts for Sale

2012-01-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

WhenKidsGrowUp is now officially in the process of becoming a non-profit organization. We want to grow and be able to offer more to the kids and we are hoping that the public will take this project more seriously once we become a legitimate organization. However, as some of you may already know, this process is not cheap and we need your help more than ever.

As a fundraiser we are offering Kids T-shirts with our logo on it for the small price of 10$ (+Shipping). Get yours now and help us inspire a lot more kids in the future. Click on the picture to buy the shirt

WhenKidsGrowUp est dans le processus de devenir une organisation non-gourvernementale. Nous voulons grandir et pouvoir faire participer beaucoup plus d'enfants à ce projet. et nous espérons être pris plus au sérieux en tant qu'organisation. Malheuresuement, comme beaucoup d'entre vous le savent déjà, le processus est coûteux et nous avons plus que jamais besoin de votre aide.

Afin de récolter les fonds nous vendons des t-shirts (Taille enfants) au prix dérisoire de 10$ (+ frais de transport)

Achetez votre T-shirt aujurd'hui et aidez nous à inspirer plus d'enfants dans le futur. Cliquez sur l'image pour l'achat du T-shirt

Video Summary of Haiti

2011-12-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

After a few months of editing the hundreds of pictures from our trip to Haiti, here is a video that recaps the first trip in three minutes. Please Share this video.

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Après quelques mois passés à retoucher les photos de notre voyage a Haiti, voici la video qui résume notre voyage en trois minutes. N'hésitez pas à partager cette vidéo avec tous vos amis.

Costumes, toys and clothes donations

2011-12-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

I just received this package from amazon today and it put a big smile on my face. A generous supporter of the project bought these twelve boxes of crayola from our Amazon Wishlist. I want to thank all the people who have been sending donations for this project, we couldn't do it without your help. Every little donation counts! We will be leaving in a month and there is still plenty of time to look at the list and/or donate costumes and props from your attic.

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Je viens juste de recevoir cette boite qui m'a rendu heureux à la fin d'une journée de travail. Une personne généreuse vient d'acheter douze boites de crayola depuis notre liste de costume et de jouets sur Amazon. Je tiens à remercier toutes les personnes qui ont envoyé des donations, votre aide est toujours précieuse. Nous partons vers notre prochaine destniation dans un mois et il reste encore assez de temps pour regarder notre liste ou envoyer de vieux accessoires et costumes de votre grenier.

"99 Cents Store" Toys

2011-12-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

I went to the 99 cents store a couple days ago picked up a few items for the project when I go there. They didn't have that many toys when I was there but you can always find a prop or a piece of clothing that will make a kid happy. Last week I grabbed these two toys: a gardener set and a hairdresser set. I was very excited to find the "gardener" set since so many kids wanted to be "arborists" on our last trip.

Take a look at our Amazon Wishlist

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Je susi allé au magasin où tout est à 1 dollar la semaine dernière et j'essaye toujours d'acheter un ou deux jouets pour le projet quand je vais à ce magasin. Ils n'avaients pas beaucoup de choix la semaine dernière mais on peut toujours trouver un vêtement ou un accessoire qui intérssera un enfant. La semainder dernière j'ai acheté ce set de jardinier et le set de coiffeuse. J'étais très content de trouver les jouets de jardiniers car nous avaons eu beaucoup d'enafants qui étaient intéressé par ce métier lors de notre visite à Haiti.

Vous pouvez commander des jouets et accessoire pour le projet sur ce link;
Amazon Wishlist