Nancy McGirr

I am the founder of Fotokids and have been privileged to be at the helm for 30 years. My previous work was as a combat photographer covering the wars in Central America as Reuter’s staff and I also worked on contract for Black Star. 

Fotokids has kept me excited and committed for so many years. I have seen the kids, blossom into artists, critical thinkers and compassionate adults able to find employment, in a severely depressed economy. They have taken over the program to share with others the opportunities they have had in Fotokids.

I have organized Fotokids exhibitions and given interviews in over 14 countries, taking the young artists with me. And I have found photography to be the perfect teaching tool to get kids excited about learning. We have used photography and writing to explore the rights of the child, the Guatemalan civil war, help with HIV positive children, kids with spinal difficulties, to look at cultural identity with children of farmworkers in California’s central valley, give girls a boost with a 3 year IT program, and teach environmental education in the jungles of Honduras.  I have lived continuously since 1989 and it is where my heart is, it is my home.

Royce Nicolaisen

Royce currently serves as a chairman and COF at Otis McAllister, Inc. He is committed in supporting Social Responsibility programs in Asia and Central America. He has been happily married for over 40 years and has three beautiful daughters. Royce speaks about Fotokids-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYbg4DvOh0

Deborah O’Grady

I have had the privilege of knowing Nancy McGirr since the late 1960s. When she founded Fotokids some 30 years ago, then called“Out of the Dump,” I visited her in Guatemala and saw first hand the challenge she had set for herself. There were many obstacles to overcome – the resistance of the parents who relied on the help of their children to forage in the dump for anything of value (that value often being a penny for plastic bags!), the paranoia that a gringa would somehow take the children away. But, she persisted. From those early days, Fotokids has become a model program for valuing and developing the potential of children in challenging, often debilitating, circumstances.

I have had the privilege of knowing Nancy McGirr since the late 1960s. When she founded Fotokids some 30 years ago, then called“Out of the Dump,” I visited her in Guatemala and saw first hand the challenge she had set for herself. There were many obstacles to overcome – the resistance of the parents who relied on the help of their children to forage in the dump for anything of value (that value often being a penny for plastic bags!), the paranoia that a gringa would somehow take the children away. But, she persisted. From those early days, Fotokids has become a model program for valuing and developing the potential of children in challenging, often debilitating, circumstances.

With diligence, discipline, and dignity, the children of Fotokids are given the tools to achieve things their families could never have imagined. I’m proud to be a supporter of this exemplary program.”

Logan Robertson

Fotokids has been part of my life since 1998, when I joined the staff to teach creative writing and photography.  What I imagined as a 6 month stint in Guatemala became a lifelong commitment to this vital work.  I now live with in Central California and work as an educational consultant, workshop facilitator, and grant writer. 

For me, Fotokids is about family.  My husband and I met while we were working for Fotokids.  We have brought our own children to visit Guatemala with us.  Our former students are now teaching Fotokids classes, managing the organization, passing on what they have learned to a new generation of students.  Fotokids has been as impactful in my life as in the lives of the children and families it serves, and I am so grateful to help sustain the vision and mission of this organization.”

Walter Trask