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I have some exciting news. In August, I’m joining a team of people from different parts of the country and going to Zambia with an organization called Poetice.

Let me back up for a second. For the past year or so, I’ve been on personal journey with feeling of dissatisfaction with my life.  I have everything, really. I have a loving husband, three healthy children, a beautiful home, a nice car, a business, nice friends, and every need I have in my life is met. But over the past few months as we’ve finished decorating the final rooms in our home, I got the feeling that while I was very pleased, I’m not content to spend the rest of my life just surrounding myself with pretty things. In small steps, I decided to open myself up to opportunities that come my way. One thing led to another and then I recently I got an email saying there was a group going to Zambia and they were short a photographer. I’ve decided I’m in.

The Organization

Their Mission: Poetice International exists to cultivate healthy & sustainable communities through the arts, education, & enterprise. Our mission is to engage, equip & empower leaders to create sustainable, grassroots-driven, community development programs.

Photo Credit: Megan Koch, Life Every Day

Poetice works in grassroots movements throughout Zambia, a country stricken by epidemics of poverty and HIV/AIDS. Poetice uses the arts to inspire creativity and holds regular camps to instruct youth in the arts, such as music, painting, photography, and the writing. In addition to this, youth attend the camp from outlying areas, and receive arts education and are equipped with AIDS education and tools to prevent abuse and trafficking.

Photo Credit: Megan Koch, Life Every Day

Poetice is a Zambian organization, run by Zambians. As Americans, we go and support their efforts in ministry, equip them with tools and finances, and help.

My Part

Photo Credit: Megan Koch, Life Every Day

I will be traveling to Zambia with a group of artists to assist in an art camp for Zambian youth. As described by Megan, who has gone in the past and will be going again on this trip, “The camp will last about a week, and over that time we will have the opportunity to interact with hundreds of local Zambian youth, to hear their stories, to laugh with them, and to bring their stories home. We’ll empower them, and in telling their stories we will give them a voice. In addition to this camp, we will be doing home visits, visiting shut-ins in the community (AIDS victims) as well as visiting academy students in their own homes. We will also most likely visit orphanages and AIDS hospitals, loving people, hearing their stories, and experiencing the realities of the third world. Yes, it will be difficult, but it is also INCREDIBLE. You will laugh hard and often, and have an amazing experience. The realities of Zambia are hard (but there is ugliness in every place, including America.) The goal of sending people like us on these trips is to open our own eyes, to empower people to justice and action (Zambians AND us) and to give a voice to the voiceless.”

Photo Credit: Megan Koch, Life Every Day

I’ll admit that I’m a little nervous about this, but very excited. With only three months to prepare for this trip, part of my preparation involves getting the financial part sorted.

If you’d like to help me get to Zambia, you can consider purchasing one of my online Lightroom or Photoshop classes, either live or recorded. 100% of my sale profit is going towards funding my trip.

Would you like to donate to make the camp happen? Click below.

Or, if you’d like to give a tax-deductible gift directly to Poetice to help fund the camp on my behalf, you can do so by mailing a check to Poetice International with the code PIT-0813-THRA-RADU on the memo line.

Radical Lives: Richman Syabbamba from Ryan Humm on Vimeo.