Changing worlds with photography.

Grace House - Cambodia - Claudia Quigua

"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much" Helen Keller.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to visit my page.

My name is Claudia Quigua. I’m a photographer, filmmaker and visual artist. I was born in Cali, Colombia where poverty is a fact of life. It is not hidden away as in the culture that I live now, USA. It is very confronting to see extreme poverty first hand, while knowing you have such fortunate life. For this reason, I've always had  the urge to do what I could to help, and using my photography and video skills is the most effective way to do that.  I believe in the power of storytelling and how we can create empathy by sharing our life experiences. 

During my working life, I realized that the projects where I feel deeply connected with others and inspired me the most are the ones that link my passion for traveling and my joy of working with people which stories are in need to be told, shared and heard. I am extremely excited to have been selected for this mission by Photographers Without Borders so I can once again make my dream of donating my skills as a photographer to a noble cause in Cambodia. My work aims to generate cross-cultural understanding and thought-provoking imagery to help give a voice to people who may not have one. At the same time, these images will be used for the Not for Profit Organization (NPO) to display on their website, for promotional material to attract donations and interest in their life changing work. NPO need quality photographs for a number of reasons, but can rarely afford the budget to hire a professional photographer. 

With deepest gratitude, I appreciate each and every donation that is made to assist me in this important project and work in Cambodia. This is a 100% volunteer trip and is completely self-funded. All donations are tax-deductible and any overage of funds goes directly to the Grace House Community Center and PWB.

To learn a little more about me and my work, please visit: http://www.claudiaquigua.com

ESPAÑOL

"Solos podemos hacer tan poco, juntos podemos hacer mucho más" Helen Keller.

En primer lugar, gracias por tomarse el tiempo de visitar mi página. 

Mi nombre es Claudia Quigua. Soy fotógrafa, cineasta y artista visual. Creo en el poder de la narración y cómo podemos crear empatía compartiendo nuestras experiencias de vida. Nací en Cali, Colombia, donde la pobreza es un hecho de la vida. No pasa inadvertida como en la cultura en la que vivo ahora, EE.UU. Es una situación confrontacional ser testigo de primera mano de la pobreza extrema y de todos los lastres de la guerra mientras cuentas con una vida afortunada. Por esta razón, siempre he tenido la necesidad y voluntad de hacer lo que está en mis manos para ayudar, y estoy convencida que al usar mis habilidades de fotografía y video es la forma más eficaz de hacerlo. 

Durante mi vida laboral, me di cuenta que los proyectos en los que me siento profundamente conectada con los demás y que más me inspiran son los que enlazan mi pasión por los viajes y el entusiasmo de trabajar con la gente cuyas historias están en necesidad de ser divulgadas, compartidas y escuchadas. Por este motivo, estoy muy emocionada de haber sido seleccionada para esta misión de Fotógrafos sin Fronteras, ya que una vez más puedo donar mis habilidades como artista visual a una noble causa en Camboya. Mi trabajo tiene como objetivo, a través de la imagen, generar el entendimiento intercultural y llevar a la reflexión para así ayudar a dar voz a las personas que pueden no tener una. Al mismo tiempo, estas imágenes serán usadas por la organización sin ánimo de lucro (ONG) como material promocional para atraer donaciones e interés a un proyecto que está cambiando muchas vidas de manera positiva. ONGs usualmente necesitan fotografías de calidad para una serie de razones, pero rara vez cuentan con el presupuesto para contratar a un fotógrafo profesional.

Con profunda gratitud aprecio cada donación que cada persona aporta para hacer de este importante proyecto una realidad. Este es un viaje de voluntariado y es completamente autofinanciado. Si te encuentras en EE.UU, todas las donaciones son deducibles de impuestos y cualquier excedente de fondos va directamente al Centro Comunitario Grace House y Fotógrafos sin Fronteras.

Para conocer un poco más sobre mí y mi trabajo, por favor visite: http://www.claudiaquigua.com

ABOUT GRACE HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER

Grace House Community Center is situated 4 kms outside of Siem Reap. Siem Reap is famous for the Angkor Wat temple complex but little of the wealth generated by the tourist trade finds its way to the poorer farming villages in the area.

In providing opportunities to learn vocational, craft and language skills families will increase their ability to earn an income or run a business, enabling them to become self sufficient. Grace House Community Center intends to achieve this by supporting families while learning new skills and setting up new business. Offering access to health care sanitation, clean water, dry homes, safe electricity and micro loans. Educating the children in English Language and ensuring they receive a state education. Encourage inclusion of children with disabilities in Siem Reap Province by enabling them to receive specialist education and a safe, caring environment for respite or long-term care.

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Donors like you have helped photographers fundraise 100% of project-related costs since 2014!

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For those making a donation of :

$25 A personalized post card from the field while in Cambodia.

$50 A 5x7 professional signed print from my trip in Cambodia.

$100 A 8x10 professional signed print from my trip in Cambodia.

$100 and $500; I will send you on professional signed print of any size up to 20x24 of your choice from my trip to Cambodia.

$500 or more; I will schedule a two hour photoshoot with you which can be used for any purpose.

The work of our volunteer photographers and videographers is integral to what we do. You can help us by supporting our photographers and videographers.

Each of our photographers/videographers is assigned a GroupRev fundraising page by PWB upon acceptance. These pages are a privilege, that are intended to make our programs accessible to all and enable our volunteer photographers/videographers to subsidize or cover their necessary project-related expenses. Specifically the following:

• Airfare
• Visa's
• Vaccinations
• Health Insurance
• Travel Insurance

In order to ensure your donations are being spent responsibly, we do not cover anything beyond the items indicated above. The following expenses are the sole responsibility of the photographer/videographer:

• Privately arranged travel
• Equipment
• Software
• Extra Baggage Fees
• Donation perks
• Clothing
• Postage/Postcard/Prints
• Etc.

All donations for any PWB project must be made through these pages. PWB is not responsible for any donations made outside of these pages.

Photographers Without Borders® (PWB) envisions a world where we all put ourselves in each others' shoes and work together. Our mission is to inform and inspire positive change by visually communicating the ways that grassroots initiatives are addressing problems in their communities. PWB is registered as a charity in the United States with 501(c)(3) status and is registered as a not-for-profit organization in Canada. All donations are calculated in US Dollars and are tax-deductible for Americans and Canadians with US income.

Any overage amounts raised on GroupRev will be donated with the photographers direction, 100% to the Organization, 100% to PWB or split 50/50, between the photographer's/videographer's assigned cause and PWB, which is also a volunteer-run organization.

PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY ! 

Please Note: All funds are donated in US dollars.

Learn more about PWB.