MdC Photo Event Brings Smiles to 100+ Families At The Border
On a cold December morning, dozens of families could be seen swarming excitedly around MdC’s water distribution site. Normally, they would be busy filling their water jugs and chatting with friends, but today all eyes were riveted on the 100+ photos laid out across several tables. These photos were family portraits taken by our MdC photographer Unervi a few days before. They had been developed and framed so that the families could take the pictures home as a Christmas gift, along with the blankets, hot coco and cookies we gave out.
Despite the cold temperatures, warmth and laughter was in the air. Happy shouts erupted whenever someone spotted their photo, and children held up their family portraits proudly. Many of the people gathered had participated in various programs run by MdC. Francisco, Jean, and other MdC staff took the opportunity to check on how they were doing.
Jean lays out framed photographs to be collected by families.
Top: Children from the community enjoyed being part of the photo project.
Bottom: Jean greets a woman who graduated from MdC’s weight loss program
Francisco helps families find their photos.
The Story Behind The Project
What began as a plan to document the 100+ families we serve became a joyful way to give back to the community. After our second medical fair in November, our team was left with pages of data that we had collected about the families we had seen. This data was very important because it would allow us to understand their needs in context, but it was also overwhelming!
Co-founder Francisco came up with an idea to match hundreds of faces with the names we had on file - a photo event that could double as a family portrait project! Our very own Ivanna and Unervi built a jaw-dropping photo booth, complete with Christmas lights, a Christmas tree, gifts, and one giant teddy bear! Over 100 families showed up, many in their best clothes, to have their picture taken.
Maria and her brother Junior search for their family photo.
Women search for their family photographs.
Shelly’s birthday fell on photo day, so we sang happy birthday and gave her book. Her family could not even afford to get her a cake.
We recognize that for many of these families, having their photo taken and framed up is a rare occasion. Our hope is that this gift can help them celebrate - in a small way - the most important relationships in their lives.
At MdC, we feel honored to journey with these families and to witness their beauty and resilience.
Jean, Ivanna and Michell work behind the scenes to frame every family photo before distribution, carefully matching the family name to the correct photo.
To us, every photograph tells a story of love, courage and sacrifice unique to every family and individual.
Scroll down to see some of our favorite shots from photo taking day and photo collection day!
To cap off our wonderful photo shoot, our MdC team decided to sneak in some of their own photos. After all who can resist a photo with that giant teddy bear?
Above: Jean and Francisco
Below: Some of the MdC team behind the photo project
A BIG THANK YOU
From MdC to all our donors who helped make this project happen!
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