the smiles foundation...

The Smiles Foundation project March/April 2008

Thanks to the generous support of the Swansea Metropolitan University and the overwhelming hospitality of The Smiles Foundation, Vision Quest Photography was able to carry out an extensive photography project in the Oradea area of Western Romania. Kevin Hoy, chief executive of The Smiles Foundation, invited us to photograph some of their projects to help them produce a calendar which will be sold to aid their fund raising efforts. The work that the foundation does is extraordinary. Kevin can best be described as a visionary and has worked extremely hard to raise enough money to carry out extensive building projects in Cihei and Tileagd that include a school, church and medical centre, as well as a multitude of other projects that aim to help those who need Smiles special kind of help the most - particularly the impoverished Tigan communities. Work that the foundation does can be seen on their website (link above or on the links page).

For us, not only did we produce hundreds of photos for Kevin to choose from, but in so doing, we developed an important photo-documentary on three seperate Tigan communities, as well as Romanian families that rely on food parcels, medical and social care provided by Smiles. The work that Smiles carries out in the communities helps the people to survive extreme poverty and creates an opportunity for change.

Photo Galleries

Bratca Hospital	HomeCare	Tigan Salard	Tileagd Market

Tileagd Tigan Community	Tileagd Tigan Reservoir	Lucia's House Redecoration	Tileagd School Complex

Photos are for sale from £15 each plus p&p.

The gallery images are low resolution and do not represent the quality of a print.

Tigan (Gypsy) communities still live in extreme conditions and many experience the harsh reality of ignorance and prejudice.