Hi. I’m Heidi.
Sometimes in our lives we have to take risks. Risks as small as asking
someone to share in coffee conversation or risks as big as traveling to a
third-world country suffering extreme poverty, environmental damage and losing
indigenous traditions to tell them that there is someone who hasn’t overlooked
them. Someone who wants to share their
rich culture’s beauty with the world.
This July I will be traveling to Cusco, Perú on a tropical ecology and
community field study with the University of Washington. I was chosen along with 13 other students to
travel to remote areas of the Amazon to sit in the sacred valley of the Incas,
to weave baskets with the indigenous women tribes, to explore wildlife and
nature conservation of the cloud forest of the eastern slopes of the tropical
Andes, and to explore the historical and majestic Machu Picchu.
After being accepted to this program I realized that I could do more for
the people of the country. My strength is my photography; my ability to
creatively and uniquely capture people and places in a way that maybe others
have not seen, to present beauty and personality and also to capture the
connection that we all can feel through a photograph. I will be photographing
my trip start to finish and upon my return I will be publishing a full color
photo journal to raise money for a non-profit organization in Perú that helps
to build community from the foundation; their children.
In order to take this trip, I have to leave my own children. They will be making rounds to stay with
friends who have offered their homes for a week at a time and I am forever
thankful. Leaving them is the hardest thing I will ever do. However, out of it
will come so much good benefiting not only our community but also a community
struggling with poverty and the loss of their culture. That is a gift I want to share with my boys.
After the loss of both my parents I wondered how I could continue to
live without their direction and encouragement.
I realized that they live within me, they are my driving force, they
watch over me and when I feel scared and alone, they make it apparent that they
are watching out for me. It is from losing them that I recognized life is
short, do good, be everything and take risks that you know in your heart are
worth it.
If you would like to help me realize my dream of publishing my photo
journal and help hundreds of people in Peru as well as educate the people of
our own community, I am accepting donations to make this trip successful.
For more information about me or my project, you can email me at hvladyka@gmail.com
To support me, you can deposit money to my paypal account: hvladyka@gmail.com
or send it to Heidi Vladyka, 2906 N. 21st #3, Tacoma, WA 98406
Thank you.
