NGOs in the Spotlight - Dog Meets World

The mission of Dog Meets World is to "put a photo in the hands of all children and families in need."  Founder and admitted shutterbug Carolyn F. Lane realized that w

hile we Westerners have thousands of photos and videos documenting our lives, 

few people in developing countries have access to a camera, let alone a printer.  Many of these folks have little, if any, photographic evidence of their lives on earth.  Imagine not having one photo of yourself or of your childhood!

"You've documented your own life, now its time for you to help document the lives of all children from around the world"                                                                - Caroline Lane, Founder

Caroline and her husband Austin set out to change all this when they founded Dog Meets World as

 a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in late 2008.  Now, w

ith the help of a digital camera, a little stuffed dog named "Foto" and a portable printer and photo paper, volunteer 

"phoDOGraphers"

can print and hand out photographs on the spot.   In addition to spreading the gospel of what Caroline calls "Photo Diplomacy,"  

Dog Meets World provides travelers with helpful tips and ideas for how to safely and effectively share their photos.

So far, more than 160 volunteer "PhoDOGraphers" have given over 5,200 photos to people in 37 countries.  Caroline says that i

t is "like giving tangible joy," something that can be witnessed often in the organization's promotional You Tube video (see above).

From personal experience, it is a wonderful gift to be able to share photos with people who you know will treasure a snapshot of their childhoods.  The lack of photo developing facilities and the realities of world travel make it a real challenge to get hard copies of those photos into the hands of your subjects afterward though.  My husband took some amazing pictures of our neighbors during our four months in Fiji last Fall.  We have been meaning to send along copies these shots as a small thank you for their amazing hospitality.  Unfortunately, our schedule since our departure and the realities of the Fijian postal system have made this task surprising difficult. Oh how I wish we'd know about this worthy organization before our departure!

Waivunia, Fiji.  Photo courtesy of Ben Drury. 

For more information about Dog Meets World, click on the information sheets below, or click here.