love, light & melody

My friend Brian spends most of his time traveling and taking incredible photos of surfers in their various habitats around the world from Senegal, Japan, and New Hampshire to The Antarctic. This year he'll reach his goal; seeing all 7 continents by his thirtieth birthday. Somewhere along the way in his globe trotting mission to capture the spirit of surf, a tendril of deeper purpose has grown. Through organizations such as Surf Aid, Brian has volunteered to help children with malaria & AIDS as well as supporting those affected by the Tsunami of 2004.

His recent mission, however, resonated in a way he had not previously experienced. He went to Nicaragua with Love Light & Melody; "a nonprofit organization dedicated to battling the physical, emotional, and spiritual affects of extreme poverty." They spend time with families who work and live in landfills. Under extreme circumstances of impoverishment the dump is a last resort for resources and food. Children live amongst syringes, bio-hazard, jet fuel, decaying animals and are subjected to toxins from methane fueled fires that burn constantly.

Love Light and Melody are "committed to becoming expert on the life and culture inside the dump, identifying and meeting the immediate physical needs, raising awareness about and fighting social injustice, and using music and the arts to rebuild, restore, and bring healing to communities ravaged by extreme poverty."

For more information and photo documentation:

 http://lovelightandmelody.org/ 

Wed, Mar 12, 2008  Permanent link