You won’t believe your eyes! Many families in rural Africa must resort to collecting water from open, dangerous sources which are often shared with domestic livestock. A solution has been found, however, to bring clean and safe water to families in otherwise desperate need using a new purifying process by American consumer products company, P&G. Here, 9-year-old Johnan, of Uganda, instructs us on the proper steps to take to perform this transformative, life giving, magic trick.
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Making New Ground
Farmland that had reverted to dust after years of drought is being reclaimed through innovative methods. Thanks to Matemai Mbira Group of Harare, Zimbabwe for the use of their beautiful music in this piece.
Read MoreSevu & the Sand Dam
Want to know what real hunger is like? Don’t ask an American. The video below, narrated by Sevu, a small farmer in Kenya, gives the most poignant description of hunger I’ve ever heard. Luckily, that’s not all this video is about. It used to be that the seasonal river that runs through Sevu’s village would quickly become dry again a few days after the rain. Now, however, a series of small sand dams stationed throughout its course have kept the river flowing and have allowed Sevu and his family to farm year-round, thereby increasing their income and access to food. Sevu and the family are doing so well now, in fact, that he was able to place an international phone call to me yesterday just to see how my wife and I are doing. The dams are part of a larger program introduced in the area by Lutheran World Relief to[…]
Read MoreHard Labo(u)r
Recently I photographed for the first time as a still photographer on a film documentary. The dynamic was a bit different working alongside a film crew and not having the subjects to myself. Still, I feel was able to get some compelling images. The documentary is produced and directed by Christy Turlington Burns (below, right), who in recent years has made efforts to bring the issue of maternal health in the developing world into the spotlight. Entitled “No Woman, No Cry,” the film highlights the difficulties of bearing children in four different parts of the world. I was happy to be part of the crew here in Tanzania. Some photos from this shoot also appeared in Marie Claire. I also contributed to another Marie Claire article on UNICEF education programs. You can read that here. Look for the release of “No Woman, No Cry” soon.
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