The real reason

Students meditate as part of a camp held to boost morale and educate them about HIV and AIDs Monks make their way to AID and HIV class as part of their High School class so that they can return to their temples and educate their community.(above)

HIV positive women (caught from husbands who worked in the city) care for a baby, one of the women's - who doesn't dare give the baby a HIV test as she's afraid of the results being positive.

HIV positive women learn how to sew for their livelyhood as most have lost their jobs after catching the disease from their husbands.

A funeral of a villager who died from AIDs. Most funerals in Thailand resemble carnivals where games and ferris wheels are erected as part of the celebration of life.

Recently, i've been meeting up with new and old friends which whom conversations have sparked regarding the work we do versus what we give back to society.

And this got my already active mind thinking even harder about the future and about where I was and what I am doing.

The real reason why I took up photography _ and as beauty queen as it may sound (shudder) I had always wanted to use photography to help other people. To be a voice, to generate awareness. I for one was really bad at painting - I doodle and sketch, and I'm really too lazy to write. So photography for me, was a quick and easy, well, and romantic was of recording the world.

I was also very inspired by an old friend from the sailing club who would spend her free time in Nepal, teaching kids english, and building schools.

That, was really honourable and wonderful to watch.. someone giving back.

So at the age of 16, I decided I wanted to take up photography.

I wasn't a typical photography enthusiast.

I didn't know any famous photographer. I had no idea who famous people like Henri Cartier Bresson was?!

But I took whatever path I could find to take me where I wanted to go.

At that point, it was Temasek Polytechnic. Where they offered photography and graphic design also known as Visual Communications at their Design School. I couldn't afford a trip to Brooks in Santa Barbara. Therefore I stayed.

As my major project, I was lucky enough to meet up with a friend who knew the project manager of a UNICEF and USAID funded project in Chiang Mai, called the Sangha Metta project which actually tries to educated people about HIV and AIDS.

It aims to get rid of the stigma which comes with people suffering from HIV and helps rehabilitate these victims and their family members. It's a social economical problem in Thailand and many women are left jobless and sick, many children are then ophaned and even people who are not living with HIV but are related to someone with it, lose their jobs. So the problem goes on and on, and passes along the whole village. It basically encourages people to LIVE with HIV.

I've been documenting them for many years, starting when I was all of 20 years of age - that was a decade ago when i was still shooting film on my Nikon FM2. I knew NOTHING about photojournalism... but I knew that these people needed a voice and I had a camera.

These photographs would then be given to the project manager where he would use it when he attends conferences during the World AIDS day in various countries, to explain what they have been doing and how Thailand, Chiang Mai is moving along. The photos was also to be put together in a handbook, which can be circulated, to generate public awareness, and generate funding...

I made it a point to save my own money and go up once or twice a year for about 5 years to document their progress and process. It was a humbling experience. It fed the soul and the best part was, the work I did was used for some good.

I will go back some day.

I found some pictures hanging around my hard disk, just 5 of maybe hundreds that I took. This work is still in progress but i've put it on hold for 5 years now because I got busy with work and making money to pay the bills. Had a baby and less time to do anything else. But now i'm inspired again, and settled. I'm also starting to feel famished in photography. Its such a powerful tool that can be used to help others. Maybe it doesn't have to be that complicating. Maybe it doesn't have to change the world. But maybe it can be used again, for just one person, to voice one voice.

Anyways.. it's been a while since i've given back.

Think it's time to start cracking again and not go on blindly or too focused on what doesn't really matter in life in the end.

Let's inspire and be inspired... there's so so so so much to be learnt in this journey together... the momentum of dialectics overflows!