Check Out Richard Nesbit’s Story

Richard Nesbit

Hi Richard, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I am a local photographer, originally based in NYC, who uses his skills to promote two nonprofits. The first is Carolina Human Reinvestment, SC. a Georgetown County mentoring and educational program that created a successful community garden in Pawleys Island during the Covid epidemic. I was instrumental in attracting volunteers and donors at the very beginning of the community garden. I also do hands-on physical labor, plus the majority of their social media, some public relations and event coordination.

Displaced from my home in NYC while visiting my recently widowed father in Pawleys Island in that fateful March 2020, I have never returned to live in the city because of the responsibilities I have assumed here.

The second nonprofit, Let’s Send These Kids to School, is an international educational mission that funds the education of young Ugandan adult refugees and orphans living in poverty; young adults who have no access to school fees. I created, founded, and maintain this nonprofit, which is now going on its eighth year. We have had nine university graduations and are actively funding the educations of 12 other students. We are also looking into other ways to serve the Ugandan people. I have been traveling through Uganda now for the month of July and am participating in this interview at a Capuchin friary in Fort Portal, Uganda, where I’m based while traveling through the country.

Randomly contacted by a young Sudanese war refugee on Facebook Messenger, I spontaneously started Let’s Send These Kids to School. The young man’s world had been completely shattered due to the South Sudan conflict. All he asked of me was to attend school. I got to thinking how little it would take from me to completely change his world. Through a chain of contacts and events, we are now a small, yet firmly established 501(c)3 nonprofit. Recently, I’ve gotten many members of the Pawleys Island community involved in this mission. My Christian faith plays a huge role in the ongoing development of Let’s Send These Kids to School. One of my chief philosophies is that by giving, we also receive. By helping over there, we end up helping over here. We are all in this world together and are meant to help each other, regardless of our own personal difficulties.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
In starting a nonprofit, there are more doubters than encouragers. Most people try to leave you with you the feeling that what you’re doing is useless, unnecessary; and also with the feeling you are incapable of accomplishing it. Sadly, much of this comes from people in positions of authority in the nonprofit world, mutual church members and clergy, friends, and family. So this is where my faith came strongly into play. A force greater than me has kept me focused, confident, and persistent. Eight years later, we are changing (and have changed) the lives of 21 poverty-stricken young adults who would be living in a cycle of poverty without us. Many of these young adults return home after graduation, using their success to help lift their communities out of that cycle of poverty.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I received a BA in theater arts from Hofstra University in 1978. I am an accomplished singer and have dabbled in the acting world all my adult life. I’m a member of Screen Actors Guild, Actors Equity, and AFTRA .

However, a more profound phase of my life came in 2005 when I discovered my photography gift on a Habitat for Humanity trip in Romania. Returning to the US with a huge Eastern European body of work, my images caught the eye of the CEO at Carl Zeiss Lens in Pleasantville, New York. They hired me to decorate their walls, hallways, offices, and conference rooms with my photography. This somewhat instant success allowed me to upgrade my life, getting me into the cyber world, an online presence (something I had resisted), and an opportunity to hone my photography skills.

For many photographers, the final objective is the photography itself. For me, it is about creating something larger than my photos. So I have been shooting for the past three years with my iPhone 13 and now 14. The convenience of having a computer in your pocket and instantly communicating on social media has been an important element in raising awareness and my nonprofit fundraising. People can argue the quality differences in shooting with an iPhone, as opposed to a DSLR, but I have sold quite a few large prints of my work with no apparent compromise in quality.

What’s next?
Being in Africa now, and seeing the struggles of the Ugandan people, I envision different ways of helping. One thing I am considering is bringing small groups of Americans over to perform mission work. I feel it’s important for Americans to witness the joy and happiness that is part of Ugandan life; joy and happiness despite their hardships, and in many cases, dire situations. We take our creature comforts for granted in the Western World; in most instances we rely on buying our fun, buying our comfort. Most Ugandan people don’t have that luxury. Their joy comes from a higher place and an inner place; their relationship with God. I also have aspirations to get into public speaking, using my photographic images and stories to raise awareness. I’ve recently been approached by a local publisher interested in me doing a book on my photography.