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Volunteer Photographer Offers Flashes of Hope

By Marvin Buenconsejo

(KHNL) - Each year in Hawaii, close to 5,000 foster kids are out there, floating about in the so-called "system."

These children long for a permanent home.

The "Heart Gallery Hawaii" project aims to help do that.

We meet volunteer photographer who's descibed as the program's "magical eye", as well as its "heart and soul."

Perfect.

That's the word, Christine Bregar, uses when she describes her two years-worth of volunteering from behind the camera lens.

''This was the perfect fit was to utilize photography and help the kids," says Bregar.

"Heart Gallery Hawaii" helps foster kids find homes, through a traveling professional photography display.

Updates come with the finding of new kids, who may have slipped through the cracks.

The exhibits are effective.

After a recent gallery showing, of the 21 children photographed, 19 found a home.

''Initially, it's a little difficult when you see the realities of the foster care system, when I first started doing it. See so many children without families and that was really difficult," says Bregar. "And now, I see the work is actually paying off."

''Every single activity from taking the photos, to working with the children, to handling the frames, and setting up the displays," says David Louis, founder of Heart Gallery Hawaii. "She's spent countless hours, sweat and tears, and countless hours just to help kids find some homes."

Bregar captures this images of joy -- and of hope -- with no plans of stopping, anytime soon.

''The hope would be that don't have that many children to photograph as the years go on because they don't have permanent homes," says Bregar. ''I think, unfortunately, there will always be children in foster care. But, we can continue help facilitate the adoption process and it will be a greater and greater success every year."

Until it's picture perfect.