Learning against the odds Photo

Photographer’s Note

These are two girls from the Twatasha Basic School located in the Twatasha distrcit of Kitwe. The Twatasha Basic School has roughly 2000 students who share 12 classrooms. To try to meet the demand for school, the school has fours shifts of students a day with the youngest students starting school at 6.45 AM. Still the average class I visited had around 40 students in it.

As you can see here, children wear uniforms. Families have to buy the uniforms as well as paper and writing materials, a cost which means some children are unable to go to school. If children come without their uniform or materials, or arrive late, they are sent home. To top it off, AIDS is an ugly reality in this community and many of these children are missing one or more parents to the disease.

Leilani, pticaruh, noborders, mimagica trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Leilani (1371) 2008-08-21 15:15

Good photojournalistic image. You were set at 1/50 and I think you could have easily gone to a faster shutter speed. The image is a little over exposed. I like that you've framed these to children...and you see the hand wrapped around something. It's such a sad reality, but there is some hope. They are learning as you say, against the odds. We just need more people in the world to help our fellow humans. Rgds.

pticaruh (276) 2008-08-22 11:50

Hello, Kate.

Interesting POV, I somehow would like to see that boy's look back there. It is a good capture.

Regards,

Asparuh

woladorsky (804) 2008-08-23 23:58

nice...very nice and political!!

Rolando

noborders (14201) 2008-09-02 3:01

Interesting that you have thought of photographying just backs like this but the way they are bent on their tasks is also telling - I too prefer this one rather than the one with the girls facing you as it is more powerful.
The classroom was probably bigger and I wish I could have seen the whole room, 40 students is not much compared with some of the classrooms I visited in Haiti where there were more than 100 students in the same room but with various classes and (almost) one teacher for 2 classes.
Very intersting anyway, we need more photos of that sort !
Regards,
Cath.

erdna (5358) 2008-09-05 14:26

A very nice journalistic photo that goes very well with your write-up. I like the point of view from the rear as it gives more importance to your writing. Very well done.

Andre'

mimagica (617) 2008-10-15 1:56