Supporting girls education through photography
How your purchase supports the Fior di Loto Foundation in Pushkar, India.
The dream is that every girl could make her dreams become reality. Be a doctor. Be an engineer. Anything she desires. In many cases in India, this not only depends on the dedication and hard work to achieve such a dream, but as well as the opportunity to do so. Families might see their education as an unnecessary expenses, especially if the girl could be married as young as 12 years old. The purpose of the Fior di Loto (eng. for "Lotus Flower") Foundation is to provide more than 500 girls with such an opportunity by running a school in the town of Pushkar, in Rajastan.
Every photograph you select in one of the four galleries (about moments, views, portraits up close and smaller details) or directly purchase in the shop will contribute to the cause. Aside the price of printing and a little help to cover the costs of this website, a margin is applied as a direct donation in your name to the Foundation and their activities. The bigger the print, the bigger the donation ;)
I hope you will be able to find a picture that speaks to you, and by so doing contribute to a bright future for these amazing girls!
Already and forever grateful,
About the Fior di Loto Foundation
Fior di Loto is an NGO registered in India, for which the main purpose is to provide not only free education to 1001 girls, but as well the system supporting that, including uniforms, transportation to the school, insurance and medical assistance. So far, more than 500 could register from the rural areas around Pushkar, but more help is needed if the goal is to be reached. The first and major milestone would be to purchase the land necessary to build a bigger school with a library and more classrooms to fill with the rising numbers of girls.
Purchasing a picture is not the only way to support the cause - you are more than welcome to donate directly to the foundation from their website, and by volunteering as a teacher at the school itself. For any question, do not hesitate to contact me or the foundation directly!
You will not regret taking the time to watch the video below from 2010, a small documentary about the school's daily life and activities. There is no better way to get an idea of the impact you can have by supporting the foundation.
How I got involved with Fior di Loto and the exhibition "A World for Lalita".
The last country I visited in my travels in 2013 was India. There, I planned to visit Pushkar for about 3 days, to see the famous - and only - temple dedicated to the Hindu god or creation Brahma, and the holy lake. By chance I met Mara, the founder, and Deepu, the president, of a local school for girls. I got interested, and I was welcomed to the school to meet the girls. I've visited several schools while travelling, but this one struck me because of the dedication of the people committed to it, and the professionalism with which it was run. It deserved my attention and time, and thus I ended up staying more than a week. One of the girls kept following me around, and I decided to become her "sponsor". Here below you see some pictures of her, and one of us when I visited her at her house outside in the countryside.
After I completed my travels, I decided to have an exhibition to raise funds for Fior di Loto. In December 2013, with the essential support of family and friends, I could welcome dozens of people to the exhibition "A World for Lalita", in which I sold prints of my photographs from around the world. Together, we raised almost $6000, a number I am still astounded by, as I could have never expected so much generosity and support. Today and forever I am grateful to every single person who was there. So much.