"cleaning the church"

students performing one of their many weekly chores, mopping the school's chapel. PGSS, Chisitu, Malawi

Idah asked me to not share the pictures of her in her village with the other students at the school. The divide between the rich kids and the poor kids isn't a huge issue, but it's certainly there and, as Idah felt compelled to remind me: people talk, and a white guy with a camera is going to make people talk a lot. Idah isn't one to waste words and I'm sure it's not easy for her to have to point out to me one of the ways I'm making her life more difficult.

It's one thing to talk about this and to try to communicate it to someone else. It's another to be sitting across a table from Idah and see it in her eyes, in the way she chooses her words with such care, and how she speaks so little. Somewhere around here there's a picture I'm looking for. Something that communicates the difficulties, the bad odds, the hardships and the simple embarrassments; which live right along side idealistic, youthful, faith in what the future will bring. A longing for something different, something she is trying to rip from the hands of a world that won't give her anything for free. I hope I find that picture, I hope I can give Idah the kind of attention she deserves.

ps - As a child i used to love building, and sleeping in, tents and pillow forts. As i write this I'm lying under a dark blue mosquito net and playing with my flash light; it's just as much fun as it sounds.

pps - note to self: do not leave electronics in a black bag on a rock under the afternoon sun, things will melt. I always knew something would break at some point on this trip I just wish it hadn't been the fancy (iow 50€) battery :(...

this picture was published on monday, may 04 2009. there is a full size version available. this picture was taken with a 24-70mm f/2.8 on a nikon d700. the settings when this was taken were: focal length: 70.0 mm; shutter speed: 1/60; iso: 800. this image has the following tags: malawi.