How did FairMail start off?
The idea behind Fairmail started in June 2006 in Peru, where the two Dutch pioneers, Janneke Smeulders and Peter den Hond, where already living for 3 years by then and working in their own vegetarian restaurant (see www.otracosa.info). In their spare time they volunteered at a boys home for streetchildren (see www.mundodeninos.org) and a community centre next to Trujillo’s garbagedump (see www.ymcaperu.org). There they got to know the teenagers that later entered FairMail. During her volunteering Janneke noticed that other volunteers always took pictures of the teenagers but never let the teenagers use the “interesting” camera, afraid it would get broken. So for her next class Janneke decided to bring her own digital camera and finally “empower” the teenagers to take pictures themselves. They absolutely LOVED it! Taking pictures was fun, the camera a high-tech gadget and the pictures where actually quiet interesting. Still Janneke felt strange though she was teaching the kids a new hob
