Two days ago I sent Samuel Darko - a fellow political commentary wonk who is a committed member of the Rotaract club in Andenta - an email to support a blood drive the club is organizing this Saturday. A day later Edward Tagoe - a blogger/entrepreneur and another school mate from Presec - brought up support for the same blood-drive and asked if I would be interested in joining the Blogging Ghana photo-walk for the event. I thought I'd do one better; create an honest, gimmick-free, compelling video why you should donate blood at Legon this Saturday.

Donor card | A friend watching the video I just made

So at Florida, my line brother and I, were awarded by LifeSouth for recruiting the most African American males to donate blood in one afternoon during a fraternity drive. They were super eager to offer us LifeSouth jobs. I was a serial donor as well as bone-marrow registrant and through Sammy & Eddie, I am interested in getting plugged in donating in the country as well. What I learnt from their testimonials was that, unlike LifeSouth, the need for blood donations is much dire than anyone could imagine. Maternity mortality rates attributed to blood loss was 50% in 2011! If two women were pregnant in a hospital bed, one would NOT make it alive. Check last August's MyJoyOnline News article for more shocking statistics: http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201110/74774.php

Decided to share on social media through team 1000 words to create as much of a buzz as possible. If you're in Accra, come through:

I'm sure a lot of readers are used to  the itake photos est. 1985 brand & mantra. Early this year, however, I did something that I've been wanting to do for many months. Collaborate & partner with like-minded, progressive team of creatives who are just as passionate about photography as I am. team 1000 words is a group of young Ghanaian men and women who want to set the standard on wedding photography and videography in the country and beyond.

Each photo/video man has a super hero pseudonym that helps identify his work among the team. Mine is...wait for it... red shutter. I always 'acted' as the red ranger when we played Power Rangers as a kid. Go figure.

My first installment with the team is this valentine's day video to you all (see below). Happy valentine's day to you and yours! I pray that you find your group of team members who can truly help with your collaborative success!

 

Do you notice my profile pictures blended in the background? Credit: Timmy

 

At Pajohn's in Kanda. Photo Credit: Enam

Click to watch my first video as the red shutter!