Sounds weird, I know, but it’s true. The reason for this post is because twice in the last 5 months I have caught men taking pictures of my girls with their digital camera’s.
Back in August, Simone, had a wedding shoot to do in Vancouver. So, we packed up the kids and went to Van. for the weekend. My mom and dad came up as well to hang with us and hit the aquarium.
While Simone was at the wedding, my parents and I took the kids all over Vancouver via the Skytrain (Vancouver’s subway system). We had a great time riding the rails and the sea bus. As the sun began to move lower in the sky we decided to head back to our hotel. It was a  10 block walk from the train station to the hotel and the kids were tired. So with kids in hand we headed up the street.  Dad had one kids hand, mom had the other two girls and I had our son in my arms.
We were half way to the hotel, as we walked past a bus stop beside a little cafe with a patio. Â As we walked by I saw an older man standing in the bus stop. He had a camera in his hand. As my two oldest girls walked by, I noticed the camera move as if it was following the girls as they walked by. As I passed the man I glanced over the mans shoulder and sure enough, on the little screen on the camera, a picture of my girls.
I called to mom and dad to stop, I passed off L. to my mom and confronted the man. Â I walked up beside him, and bumped him roughly with my elbow, he was surprised. And in a loud voice, loud enough for the people at the bus stop and the people sitting at the cafe could hear, I said, “Did you just take a picture of my kids?” All the people that heard turned to look at him with this look of disapproval, as he replied, “I don’t know, I might have!” I grabbed the camera out of his hands and began to look at the pictures, and as I did he said, “if I did, I wasn’t going to use them!” Sure enough, there was a picture of my kids. Â He continued to tell me that it was a new camera (Lie), and that he really didn’t know how to use it (Lie, there were a bunch more pictures on there). I made sure the image was deleted and contemplated smashing that camera and beating on the guy, but I had made a big enough scene and my kids were watching, so I just walked away.
The whole experience was a little creepy, but we enjoyed the rest of the weekend.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Halloween, Simone, my mom and I took the kids to the mall to Trick of Treat. As we were going from store to store, I saw a man with a camera trying to take a picture of my kids. I would move so that I could block his view of my kids and he would move to get around me. This went on for a couple of seconds. I turned, when Simone asked me a question and as I did he moved and snapped the pic of the girls. Â I turned back to confront him, but he slipped into the group of people and I lost him. Â As we continued through the mall, I was constantly scanning to see if I could find this guy. Â As our time was winding down, I finally found the guy. I left the kids with Simone and my mom and I went to talk to the guy. Â I asked if he had taken a picture of my kids, and he said he might of. What shocked me was he asked, “You don’t like that!” (What a stupid question!!!) Anyway again I took the camera and scrolled through the images on the camera and sure enough there was the pic of my kids. Again I deleted the image. I should have wiped the whole card as there were over 100 other images of kids trick or treating in the mall.
So parents, when you’re out and about with your kids, keep an eye out for “creepers with camera’s.” They’re out there.
This summer my wife, Simone, had the opportunity to take engagement picures Jenni & Dave. Jenni used to work Hope For The Nations. Today I came across this article in the local paper and I thought that I would share it with you. Hope for the Nations is looking for people to help and make a difference in Cambodia.
It‘s not every day an opportunity like this comes along.
Ralph Bromley, president of Hope for the Nations, is looking for people who want to transform an entire city and help the lives of thousands of people.
The city of Poipet, Cambodia, has a population of 130,000. It is a city rife with gambling and is a major hub for human trafficking.
Located on the Cambodia-Thailand border, it has no government departments and no organized infrastructure, so Bromley is putting out the call for anyone who wants to help develop a master plan for the city.
Developing a master plan, creating departments — such as a works department — to run the city and creating a sense of pride and ownership in the community is part of a long-term strategy to battle human trafficking.
The city was incorporated in March, and the city‘s first mayor and the federal government asked HFTN for help.
“It was just a lame-duck, dirty border town that was a major trafficking city,” Bromley said. “It was like the wild west — you just show up and set up shop.”
Bromley hopes Kelowna residents can change all that by helping to create a city where traffickers are not welcome and youth are looked after instead of exploited. The work HFTN is doing is part of the United Nation‘s Millennium development goals.
Bromley said the City of Kelowna has recognized HFTN as a humanitarian agency and “endorses our work in Cambodia. Basically, the city backs us.”
Mayor Sharon Shepherd stated in a letter to HFTN, “Council passed a resolution acknowledging the support of the City of Kelowna for the United Nation‘s Millennium development goals, and, in principle, the commitment of your local organization, Hope for the Nations, in your pursuit of informal education, housing for children, water projects and anti-trafficking activities in the City of Poipet.”
Shepard said it is “expected that council will consider a more formalized relationship” with Poipet in 2010.
Bromley is looking for people willing to volunteer their time to help develop education, health care, water, city planning and youth activities in the Poipet.
Bromley said developing such departments and programs will “go a long way” in discouraging human traffickers from operating in the city.
“The invitation of the (Poipet) mayor was, ’You come and point us in the right direction and we will do all the work,‘” said Bromley, adding officials are keen to do the work.
To help or for more information, check www.hopeforthenations.com or call 250-712-2007.
HFTN has been active in Poipet for some time and has already established centres to help children.
If you are able to help them out in anyway please contact them.