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Post Tagged with: "humanitarian"

What We Hear

July 2, 2016

What we hear is the sound of metal scraping metal. It was that deliberate, unsettling sound that echoed across the compound of this remote village in Luangwa District, Zambia and drew me to discover its source. What we see is a three year old boy scavenging for every morsel of charred and hardened cornmeal leftover from his neighbor’s cookware in a vain attempt to quell his hunger. As I frame this stark picture I’m reminded of an occasion when I myself scraped a bowl with such vigor. I’m reminded of the times growing up when my mom made cake or chocolate chip cookies and I relished the sweet remains in the mixing bowl as the batter baked in the oven and the sweet aroma filled the house. The comparison of pleasant childhood memories and the dismal situation before me is a vicious reminder of the reality at hand, the reality[…]

Below the Surface

March 9, 2016

Every year it seems I return to Emali, Kenya to document families experiencing water shortages in the extreme. ChildFund New Zealand is and has been working tirelessly in Emali to provide water access one community at a time. This year villages have been impacted by the El Niño weather pattern that is raging in neighboring Ethiopia (see previous blog entry). With families living in such remote areas, 100% access to the earth’s most essential resource may never be achieved in our lifetime, but it is comforting to see the problem made just a bit smaller each time I return.

Submerged in the Subcontinent

April 11, 2015

I’ve had so many assignments in India lately that I might as well move there (I’m due back in Delhi in a week’s time). It’s a nice idea, but I can only take so much curry & spice. Here a few stills from wanderings in Delhi and Lucknow, along with a video and stills on ChildFund’s Books, My Friends program in Udaipur District.

Making New Ground

September 17, 2014

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.

Andean High

September 25, 2013

I’m back in Latin America for the first time in several years. Actually, by the time I publish this I’ll be in India, but anyway. As I work to film and produce a series of videos on the organization’s Early Childhood Development Programs world-wide, recent assignments with ChildFund took me first to Honduras, then to on Ecuador. I also spent a day on the outskirts of Quito, Ecuador’s lofty colonial capital, visiting gardens, schools, and communities supported by ChildFund. I was able to take some time to nab a few stills in the old town too.

Scraping Bottom: Central Kenya’s Water Seekers

March 5, 2012

The trek to the watering hole is long; for some families 20km for the return journey. The load is back-breaking. Because the water itself brings disease and can be deadly, ChildFund New Zealand recently began a campaign to bring safe water to Emali, a district in South-Central Kenya. On this assignment I accompanied several families in Emali on their daily rounds to collect water, walking kilometers on end with them while toting my camera instead of a jerry can. I definitely had the easier task. Click on any of these photographs for a bigger view. It’s rare to see such a populated area like Emali District, only three hours from Nairobi, without access to safe water sources. The land appears lush and green thanks to the recent seasonal rainfalls. Yet families here spend most of their daylight hours walking to and from the sandy pits where they have dug far[…]