Ty Lawson

Describe your background in community and/or social action causes.

Since 2004 I have been active as a founding member of the Haiti Christian Missionary Support Group. We have been providing healthcare and clean drinking water to thousand of people in the village of Cabaret. We travel to Haiti twice a year to run medical clinics. In between the trips we send supplies and monetary donations to help. Our support group has built a school there and dug a well to provide clean drinking water. My very first trip to Haiti reminded me how grateful I should be for the opportunities I have been given. Oddly enough a year after my first trip to Haiti my hometown of New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. At that point I realized that there is not much difference between the suffering of people in the poorest country in the western hemisphere and those living in the richest one. If I said I did not know the plight of the poor existed I would be lying. I think like most I simply chose to ignore it. Fortunately, the resiliency of people helped revive New Orleans, the place I will always be proud to call home. Now as an international media producer I would like to shed some light on the stories of the people who are often ignored and neglected. Does this mean I will avoid making films that entertain and provide viewers with an escape from their normal lives? Absolutely not. I just want to make sure my time and talents are used to make a gumbo variety of films.

What current issues are of interest?

The plight of impoverished people in the global community, the importance of something as simple as a clean drinking water, and ensuring that in a world full of happy meals no child is starving.