Her Dream Assignment - raise T1 awareness

Michelle Rago, awesome CWD mom and photographer extraordinaire, is trying to win a contest at NameYourDreamAssignment.com. Here is what she says:

I would like to photograph children with Type 1 diabetes doing two things: 1. testing their blood sugar or injecting insulin and 2. doing their favorite thing. I would like to exhibit the photos to raise awareness about Type 1 diabetes.

There are approximately half a million children with Type 1 diabetes worldwide. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the child's body thinks that the pancreas is a virus and attacks and destroys it. It is partly genetic and partly triggered by environmental factors, but scientists still do not understand why children develop it and which children will develop it. In today's society where Type 2 diabetes is on the rise due to less than healthy diets and sedentary lifestyles, children with Type 1 are often told that if they had only exercised or eaten better, they would not have developed diabetes. This is not true.

I would like to photograph children with diabetes throughout the world engaging in diabetes-related care taking activities and doing something they enjoy. I believe that an exhibit juxtaposing children engaging in these two starkly different activities will put real faces on the children who suffer from this disease and bring empathy to their plight instead of misunderstanding.

My inspiration for this dream photo shoot comes from raising a son and daughter with diabetes and from the enjoyment I have received taking photographs at Children With Diabetes conferences in the past. I have watched the joy that children receive from having their photos taken and seeing their portraits in print.

I have many contacts in the world of diabetes throughout this country and Italy and South America. I believe that these contacts will help me identify and photograph children readily. I also believe that, as with the Quilt for Life exhibit put on by Children With Diabetes, an exhibit of photographs of children with diabetes will have an impact on funding research for a cure. The award money would go towards my travel and photography expenses. I would hope to find lodging with my diabetes "family" throughout the world in order to minimize costs and allow me to reach as many families as possible.

Please register your email address and vote for Michelle!
http://www.nameyourdreamassignment.com/the-ideas/Michelle/insulin-is-not-a-cure-for-children-with-type-1-diabetes/