HUMANITARIAN TRAVEL:
PHOTO WORKSHOPS
THAT GIVE BACK BY TONY HOFFMAN
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never heard of the organization before that, and I hadn’t ever been
on a travel-photography workshop when a notice for the trip popped
up on my Facebook feed. I immediately knew I wanted to go. I’d visited
northern Morocco in 2014, after discovering that my direct paternal ancestry
was Amazigh (Berber). I had thought of returning on my own to visit southern
Morocco (Marrakech and the Sahara), where most of the people I met I could
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that professional guidance and a chance to travel with avid photographers and
to serve the community, and I was thrilled to have my application accepted.The Giving Lens adds a humanitarian dimension to the travel-photography
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or marginalized ones—largely through teaching young people the basics of
photography and guiding them on photo walks. I have gone on a Giving Lens
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Jordan. Each has been an extraordinary combination of travel to special places,
learning from the leaders and other participants, and forging a strong personal
connection with the communities we’ve worked with.Each TGL workshop is led by two professional photographers. Trips are open to
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trip, participants procure simple cameras for the NGO and its clients either
through donation or purchase. Workshops generally cost less than a standard
professionally led photo workshop would, and between 30 and 60 percent of
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