the OYE documentary

Posted: November 1, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: editorials, NGO | Leave a comment

This is the story of four extraordinary young women. It’s easy to slip into hyperbole when writing an editorial like this, but “extraordinary” is the appropriate description. Occasionally you come across people who make a lasting impression on you, and that was the case with OYE scholars Neris, Rosa, Sandra, and Oriel during my three-week visit to the Organization for Youth Empowerment in El Progreso, Honduras.

Neris’ diminutive physical size (well under 5′) and infectious laugh belie her personal intensity and her desire to complete her education. Often in my travels, I see some pretty tragic circumstances. Neris, however, has a positive family environment and lives in one of the most beautiful areas that I’ve ever seen. Campo Monterrey is deep in the plantation region of Honduras. We drove an hour and a half through miles of banana, sugarcane, and palms (used to make palm oil) to her family’s modest home…

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The $1,000 NGO social media project

Posted: October 19, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: editorials, NGO | Tags: Central America, Honduras, Organization for Youth Empowerment, socai media | Leave a comment

the OYE social media project

the epilogue of a shoestring-budget communications campaign

This past February I started this WordPress blog for the Organization for Youth Empowerment in Honduras. The object of this campaign was two-fold: 1) to advance the global visibility of this small, but committed NGO that provides mentoring and scholarships for at-risk youth in Northern Honduras, and 2) to create a kind of “open source” social media campaign for non-profits with a shoestring communications budget. This project, which lasted about 5 months, had a total cost of approximately $1,000 USD in travel expenses (plus, a $99 WordPress upgrade), but attained substantial international exposure. Much effort was put into determining which platforms were the most effective in generating site traffic, dialog, and shares.

I hope that your organization can benefit from our experimentation, research, and analysis. Although this project came to a close in August 2012, I am going to keep this site up…

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Fishermen/ Dibba, Oman

Posted: September 21, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: world travels | Tags: Arabian Gulf, Dibba, fisherman, Middle East, Oman | 2 Comments

self-portrait with falcon/desert outside of Dubai, UAE

Posted: September 15, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: world travels | Tags: Dubai, falconry, Middle East, Persian Gulf, T.E. Lawrence, travel, UAE | Leave a comment

T.E. Lawrence said that he liked the desert “because it’s clean.”

Gizmo

Posted: August 10, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: cats | Leave a comment

watching a fly

LAMILL COFFEE/ Four Seasons Hotel, Baltimore

Posted: May 4, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: coffee | Tags: baltimore, coffee, four seasons hotel | Leave a comment

This was as good as it looks. Shot on iPhone.

Flamenco dancer/Madrid, Spain

Posted: April 24, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: world travels | Tags: Corral de la Moreria, flamenco, Madrid, Spain | Leave a comment

Corral de la Moreria, Madrid. Shot on iPhone.

chicken in mole sauce/ Mexico City

Posted: April 22, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: food, world travels | Tags: chicken, Mexico, Mexico City, mole, Paseo de la Reforma | Leave a comment

Geez, was this good mole sauce! Paseo de la Reforma. Shot on iPhone.

Mini Cooper police car/ Istanbul, Turkey

Posted: April 16, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: Mini Coopers, world travels | Tags: Byzantine, iPhone, Istanbul, Mini Cooper, police car, Turkey | Leave a comment

High speed chases in narrow Byzantine alleys would make a great segment in a movie. Shot on iPhone.

cheese/ Volendam, The Netherlands

Posted: April 15, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: food, world travels | Tags: cheese, Holland, Picasso, Renoir, The Netherlands, Volendam | Leave a comment

In het vroege deel van de 20ste eeuw, werd Volendam daar iets van een terugtocht van kunstenaars met zowel het besteden Picasso als Renoir tijd.

In the early part of the 20th century, Volendam became something of an artists’ retreat with both Picasso and Renoir spending time there.

Turkish çay/ Istanbul

Posted: April 14, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: food, tea, world travels | Tags: çay, glass, Istanbul, tea, Turkey, Turkish | Leave a comment

Why does tea taste better in a glass?

Cappuccino/ flight from Washington, D.C. to San Salvador

Posted: April 14, 2012 | Author: Richard Lakin | Filed under: coffee, food, NGO, world travels | Tags: cappuccino, coffee, NGO, san salvador, TACA | Leave a comment

TACA airlines actually has cappuccino on their international flights…not “cappuccino” like you get in gas stations, but the real thing. Also, they upgraded me to first class just because I was doing NGO work. Shot on iPhone.