Thank you so much for coming on over to celebrate the official launch of my new website and blog. A lot of love, determination and passion from the very depth of my soul have gone into what you see here and I hope you will experience that more and more as you spend some time here and over on my website www.leahkua.com. To celebrate the launch of this new life passion and direction in a very real way that will hopefully bless people and change lives I am also launching ‘The Smile Project’ today.
What is ‘The Smile Project’?
Our smiles are a reflection of the joy we feel in our spirit. For most of us, while we don’t always feel like smiling, can when the mood strikes us. But what if we couldn’t? What if that experience, that physical joy of feeling our lips twitch and move up as our joy pours out of us and onto our lips, our cheeks, our eyes, for the world to see was literally cut from our faces? This brutal image is a reality for many women in Africa and from the first moment I saw not only the devastation of this reality, but also the joy and hope in a woman whose smile was restored through a program developed by Watoto called ‘Living Hope’ my heart to find a way to support this incredible program and help restore the smiles and lives of these women whilst capturing the smiles of your lives, your families, your precious moments as your friend and photographer was born.
The most marginalised and wounded people in Africa are women. Left abandoned or widowed and many of them HIV+, they are destitute fearing that their children will soon join the ranks of Africa’s countless orphans. The Living Hope project is making a difference in the lives of many of these women. Launched in 2007, Living Hope has already committed to transforming the lives of an estimated 1200 women in Kampala and 900 women in Gulu. The target group is HIV+ single women, returnees from abduction into the Lord’s Resistance Army and teenage mothers.
Over the past 2 years, working in Gulu with returnees from abduction into the LRA through the Living Hope program, Watoto have become aware of a desperate need amongst women that have been tortured through facial disfigurement. Many of these girls were abused when they tried to escape from the LRA and have had ears, noses and lips cut off. As a part of the Living Hope program, in order to restore their dignity, Watoto are working with international surgical teams to rebuild their faces. Each operation costs $3000AUD.
These women don’t want to come into the community and spend much time hiding from the world because of the shame they feel. Not only are their faces disfigured, but this has made them feel unworthy of love, of respect or even of life. These are courageous women who stood up to their oppressors and fought back by escaping or daring to say no to what they were asked to do. We can applaud their bravery by helping to restore their dignity and rebuild their smiles.
How can you be involved in ‘The Smile Project’?
There are two ways to be a support and light to these courageous women and in both these opportunities I am seeking to bless you and your loved ones as well.
1. Enter The Smile Project competition :: The Smile Project competition is your opportunity to win a lifestyle photography session with me and image box collection to the value of $2000. Included will be my travel to come to you wherever you are located in Australia (that’s right – ANYWHERE), a full lifestyle photography session (for your immediate family group), a stunning, custom designed 11 x 14 leah kua signature image box with 20 professionally printed and mounted heirloom prints and a gorgeous easel to display them. This prize also includes a custom designed disc with 25-30 full resolution images (your full session), lovingly and professional edited for you to share with family and friends or make additional prints. The Smile Project competition is open to all residents of Australia. In order to enter please use the ‘Donate’ button below to make a donation of $2 or more to ‘The Smile Project’ via paypal or credit card. Please ensure that your correct email address, contact phone number and address is included when you enter the competition and make your contribution to the project. If you would prefer to donate and secure your entry using any other payment method please email me directly at mail@leahkua.com. All proceeds will go directly to the Living Hope program. Only one entry per couple/family please. Entry is open until June 5th, 2010. The winner will be announced on Monday June 7th, 2010. Please note: whilst your contribution over $2 will be gladly and excitedly received, please be aware that any amount over and above $2 will not increase your chances of winning. This competition has been designed to be fair and reachable to all people who have a heart to be involved.
Enter The Smile Project Competition now by clicking the ‘Donate’ button below…….
2. Book a ‘Smile Project’ lifestyle session :: All of my lifestyle sessions for the remainder of 2010 will help to support the project, with 50% of all session fees (that’s $75 per session) going directly to Living Hope. So if you are a couple in love, a family or anyone who has a reason to smile and wants to remember this time in your life forever then please feel free to contact me at mail@leahkua.com for more information or to book your lifestyle photography session. These sessions are limited in quantity due to my commitment to each couple and family I photograph so please contact me early if you would like to be involved in this way.
If you got this far then I thank you for your commitment to reading all of that and I hope your heart has been stirred to respond and get involved. I’m so excited to be offering this and I can’t wait to meet some of you as you take part in these opportunities alongside me.
Joining the Leah Kua facebook page will be a great way to keep up to date with the progress of the project and ensure you are first to know when the winner is announced, but the joining of this page is not compulsory to enter the competition.
Before I finish up I have one very important request. Please find ways to let as many people as you can know about what is going on over here. Whilst the opportunity to win is exciting, the chance to share the reality of these courageous women and be involved in restoring their hope and dignity is the primary goal.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them in the comments section below or email me at mail@leahkua.com
Thank you so, so much.
Warmly,
Leah xx
by Leah
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