Picture Day.
School and family pictures are something we take for granted here. Most American schoolchildren have a school picture day at least once a year. Many families coordinate their outfits for a family photo to adorn the front of the annual holiday card. But, in Guatemala, portraits are a luxury.
Because of this, Project Indiana support team member Ron Holcomb makes it a personal mission to host a picture day on every trip he takes to Guatemala. By day, he’s the CEO of Linden, Indiana-based Tipmont. However, his personal passion is capturing images of the people of this land he’s come to love through Project Indiana.
On each trip to the remote areas of Guatemala, Holcomb takes the equipment needed to host a picture day for all who are able to come. The village school usually offers a central gathering spot. “Everybody within a couple of miles is here it seems like,” said Chris Todd, marketing director at Northeastern REMC and the volunteer documenter of the Pena Roja project trip.
Those who live in these remote villages have rarely, if ever, seen images of themselves in a photograph. On this trip, Ron brought with him prints of the photos he took on his last trip to the region.
Imagine the emotion of seeing a photograph of your child for the first time. Or, having a photo of a parent to look back on many years from now. It’s the little things we take for granted. The purpose of this trip was to bring electricity, but the photographs are one more little thing we can offer.