Sometimes we meet people online and we are just shocked that we can meet such people. In my particular case, I was shocked when I met Nic Wirtz because I couldn’t believe what a curmudgeon he was 🙂 However, I am now shocked that I have the privilege of helping Nic with an absolutely amazing project he is working on down in Guatemala.
If you are not familiar with Guatemala’s history, the country, like so many in Central America, has been torn apart by war and violence for decades. According to Nic:
“Internal conflict” – 36 yearsMore than 200,000 killed.160,000 in massacres40-45,000 in forced disappearances – more than all other Latin American countries put together.70% of Guatemalans are under 30 so they don’t have any recollection of that time, especially the most brutal period, the 1980s.Media age in Guatemala 19.8
Nic, together with photographer and activist Jean-Marie Simon, is raising funds to create a new textbook that would include some of Ms. Simon’s photography from the height of the violence in Guatemala. Nic and Jean-Marie do not want these young Guatemalans to lose track of what their country, what their parents and grandparents, had to endure as things get better.
How you can help
Nic and Jean-Marie have an extremely aggressive deadline and goal – they want to raise $14,000 in 16 days. The project can only move forward if we help them get this done.
We can get this done, right?
Just click to this Kickstarter page and make a donation. If you can’t do that, help me spread the word. Nic is extremely passionate about this and the way he talks and writes about it has been enough to kickstart me.
How about you?
Oh, and by the way – there are prizes!!!
PS, check out Nic’s thoughts about the importance of these efforts!
Image by Heriberto Herrera. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/boletin