Hi everyone!

Long time no see. It's beet two years since I've finished this campaign - wow! I've been studying photography in Austria and so much has happened so far! You all are still on my mind, and in case you missed - I've been doing video blogs about my life in Austria and beyond on my YouTube channel - have a look and subscribe, soon I'll be announcing some exciting news. 

https://www.youtube.com/user/rennesphotography

In October I'm graduating from the media college in Vienna! I'm so thankful that you made this dream possible. And as a way to thank you all, I would like to share my short film and my book, that I did as a part of my studies and diploma project. If you would like to get access to those - simply contact me at yeroshkoiryna@gmail.com. 

I hope it finds you well and all the goodness that you showed to me will come back to you,

Ira

http://irynayeroshko.com

Last funding chart as of today.

Update #6 : Thank you!

Thanks to my dad, who fixed the computer and enabled me to upload the video update I shot yesterday. I love you, dad!
Also, thank you all, who allowed me to go this far! But more about this in the video below.

Because my relatives recently presented me with a generous contribution to my campaign in cash, I can now buy a new camera lens! I've been shooting with the same lens - my 50mm 1.4 - for four years. It's definitely time for an upgrade. Hope to be able to buy it this week! Also, yesterday my home computer crashed 5 times in the middle of me rendering a video update I shot for you. I gave up on the 6th time.

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When I went to Vienna for the creativity exam at Graphische media school, I was vlogging the whole experience with the camera I borrowed from a friend.

Update #5: Final week

It is hard to believe that it has been more than a month since the start of this crowdfunding adventure. I remember telling my friend, after she asked where I would get money for my education, that I will crowdfund it. And now a year later – I’m doing it. You know you’re on the right way when you’re doing things you’re actually terrified of.

As it is the final week and there is still a big chunk of money to raise - I would like to ask you to share my story with as many family members and friends as you can. It will be so much more exciting for you to be a part of campaign that succeeded than just the one that raised just something.

During the last week I was packing and moving from Kyiv to my hometown. I’ve left my NGO job and it was bittersweet, everyone there was really excited for my future. I hope I won’t let them down and actually do something useful with the opportunities I’ve been given.

Also, there has been a lot of people who joined this campaign over the past week, among them – some of my favorite photographers. I won’t mention anyone by name in order not to underestimate the importance of other people’s donations because all of them are really important and life-changing. It just gives you wings when people who you look up to contribute to your education and cheer for you.

The updates funding charts are here again. Little colored cameras mean actual donations, the empty ones – donates yet to be made to real the goal.

I am so happy that "Laptop" bag finally started to get filled. There is no future for a photographer without a good laptop.

What were you dreaming about when you were 21 and how did you achieve your goals? I would really love to read your comments down below.

Ira

Update #4 : What keeps you going?

The past week was quite hard for me emotionally and physically. Multitasking exhausts you more than anything else and I got to the state when sleep doesn’t help – I just need a change of scenery. I’m finishing my last week at the NGO I was employed at and slowly moving stuff to my hometown.

The hardest part of the race is when you’re in the middle of it. There are voices in your head telling you that you will not make it, you’re not good enough, you’re too tired, just relax and stop striving.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way out of it, you need to ignore the voices and finish what you’ve started. In order to do that one needs to find something that will keep him going - a friend, a quote, a song or a film. In my case one video of Mimi Ikonn always boosts my energy and brings my spirit up always when I feel discouraged. It reminds me that I can always do better than I’m doing now. Also, recently I had a really long walk with a friend of mine and we talked for two hours straight. Meaningful deep conversations always inspire me and help me regroup.

I can not to mention some incredible comments and personal messages over some articles that were written about me during the last week, some of them really saved my day when was feeling low.

17 more days of crowdfunding left, 10% funded and we keep going.
Here’re the updated funding charts.

I almost forgot to mention that my campaign is finally featured on the main Fund Dreamer page. Thank you for all your votes!

“Good things come to those who have strong faith”.Please pray for me to have a strong faith.

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Ira

Update #3: Good news!

The reason I haven't made an update in such a long time is because I was waiting a lot. Anticipation becomes an inevitable part of your life when you face bureaucracy.

 - My visa madness is over! A day before the deadline at the Austrian embassy, I finally received a necessary document from my college and applied for the residence permit. Again, a God's miracle happened for me to do that. I still need to wait for around 3-4 weeks (of course) till the decision is made, but at least I did everything that depended on me. 

 - You've been very kind and supportive and now we have only 25 votes left till I reach 100! I belive we can get the rest of them by tomorrow, so please kindly make everyone you know to vote. This way my campaign will be featured on FundDreamer homepage. 

 - I've got my postcards printed! Really happy the way they turned out and can't wait to start sending them. You can get one by donating $10 or more. 

 - Here comes an updated funding chart. Thank you for filling the baby-cameras with your amazing donations!

- Ukrainian student platform Studway decided to make a set of stories about my campaign and the way it develops. It's in Ukrainian, but you can always use Google Translate if you're curious :)

- The campaign is 9% funded and  has 23 more days to go. If ten people donate $2 each, I'll get first thousand by the end of this week. Let's make it happen!

Again, thank you for not waiting the miracles to happen, but being miracle yourself and taking action in order to change someone's life. For my part, I'm currently in the negotiation process with some Ukrainian NGOs regarding a joint project, so stay tuned for the next updates! This week was not an easy one for me, but God proved me again that He's faithful and always in time.

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Ira

Update #2: Visa madness

It's been almost a week since my first update, so I thought it is time for a new one, as a lot of things have happened.

1. Today was a very important day because I went to Austrian Embassy to apply for a visa. I know that for many Europeans and Americans visa is an alien thing, most of you have never dealt with that. Basically it is a striker in a passport that allows all people from non-EU countries to enter EU. And you need tons of papers and quite a lot of money to get it. 

 On a side note: I'm pretty scared of embassies. I had a dramatic experience once, when an embassy employees were acting disrespectfully, to say the least. Most embassies are like that in Ukraine, I guess. So from that moment I have an embassy phobia. 

2. After the first update many of you wrote me a lot of kind words of support and joined the campaign, and it makes me so happy and grateful no matter how hard and stressful this adventure is.

3. I'm 7% funded, yey! May not look exciting to you, but definitely does to me because I'm 7% closer to my dream than I was two weeks ago. Here's the updated funding chart. Coloured cameras stand for factual donations, empty - for potential ones.

4. For the next two weeks I expect a funding block, which is a campaign midpoint when no one donates. You can make it less silent by voting for the campaign at the bottom of the page - we still need 75 votes to get it f featured on the Fund Dreamer homepage! Also, you're always more than welcomed to join it financially and share it with your friends and family.

I hope there will be much more good news in the next update. Enjoy the rest of the summer to the fullest and plan something exciting for September!

Ira

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Update #1

Since my campaign launched four days ago, I've been blown away by the response of supporters like you! Thank you so, so much! It warms my heart to know that so many people are excited and willing to give to the campaign.. I know that, with each new donation (whether big or small) I'm getting closer to reaching my goal. Here’re a few things I would like you to pain attention to:

1.      My amazing friend Olia created an infographic to give you an idea
of how many people need to give and at what amount to get me to 100%. The
painted cameras represent support given while the unpainted ones represent
support remaining. I would be honored if you chose to give and take up one of
those empty slots. I will continually update my progress through this
infographic.

2.      The
first10
days of a campaign are important for support raising. As more and more support
comes in, you create energy and momentum. When this happens, others take notice
and see the campaign as worthy of support. Statistically, the vast majority of
campaigns that reach 80% in support receive end up meeting their goal. I want
to create momentum in these first few days of the campaign.

3.      I'm so excited about this campaign, because it's success will allow me to fulfill a dream I've had for a long time. But I can only do this with your help. I need fans to help me get the word out and tell others about what I'm doing. There are a number of ways you can do this. First, you can share the link to my fundraising page on your Facebook wall along with a personal message. Second, you can vote for my campaign at the bottom of this page. If I get 100 votes, my campaign will be featured on FundDreamer for a week. The more people see the campaign, the more the word will get out on the internet. If you could do one or both of these things, I would greatly appreciate it. Once again, thank you for all your support and encouragement. Your kind words give me confidence and belief that I will meet my goal. Because of you, something that once seemed impossible is getting closer to be possible.

Ira

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