The holidays are on us, the year is coming to a close and it's time to reflect back on what OMPT has accomplished over 2018.

Today, December 5th, is International Volunteer Day, a day when non-profits across the globe celebrate the incredible work volunteers do on behalf of our missions. OMPT relies on its amazing network of volunteers for so much, from small but important things like preparing our equipment kits for a workshop to editing videos and even, in the case of our Videomakers Without Borders, helping us host entire workshops--your continued support means the world to us.

The first Giving Tuesday was the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, November 27th, 2012. An international day of giving, Giving Tuesday serves as a counterpoint to the excessive consumerism that immediately follows Thanksgiving. For several years, OMPT has been participating in this global coming together and we thought it might be time to look back at the history of Giving Tuesday and what the future might bring.

For several years OMPT has been supplying our partners with the same projector—the reliable, affordable and eminently transportable Philips PicoPix Pocket Projector. Today, we are sad to announce that the PicoPix is no longer available in the United States.

Anyone who has been watching the news over the past week may have heard mention of the incredibly destructive fires that have broken out across California. One fire in particular, the Camp Fire (named for the location where the fire originally began), has had a profound impact on OMPT.

Matt reflects back on our September workshops in Burkina Faso and Malawi and looks forward to a busy end of the year, with all the trials and tribulations that entails.

September 27th was, as they say, the first day of the rest of my life. Trite though the expression may be, I finally understood what it meant firsthand. As I boarded the first of many planes that would take me through New York, to Johannesburg, then finally on to my final destination, Lilongwe, Malawi, I remember thinking that I had absolutely no idea what my life would look like for the next eight days.

In September 2018, OMPT traveled to Burkina Faso to implement a workshop with UNICEF partners. Matt and I were on the ground in the capital city, Ouagadougou (pronounced Wagoo) to facilitate the workshop. Burkina Faso is an entirely French speaking country, but luckily our Local Video Trainers were fluent in both French and English.

Our second trip this September, this one to Malawi, has been a major success! Everyone is safe and home and have a whole lot of photos to share.