Care Without Borders:
Empowering Rural India Through Healthcare
In remote villages throughout India, whole communities await medical care from traveling doctors. People will gather and wait for hours to be seen by a specialist given their condition, then get either treated or referred for further medical service. This elder from village awaits glaucoma screening by doctors at Qutubpur Village.
Many people are capable of holding a gaze, sometimes theri eyes move beyond the immediacy of the moment and delve deeper into the viewer. This woman possessed that capability.
An elder of Kuturpur Village awaits the arrival of medical staff that visits his village to provide glaucoma screenings and Vitamin A distribution to children. If given early and consistently enough ahead of their fifth year, children will have the ability to fight early-onset childhood blindness with only two $0.25 doses of Vitamin A. For more information on the amazing work of Vitamin Angels, visit @vitaminangels
There are countless, imperceptibly small villages along the Ganges River. Many of these people are in a cycle of life that is at once ancient and fluid simultaneously. There is something almost surreal about the way people live in these small places. What is more amazing was they way they lived and shared space, they all coexisted in a way that anyone outside of this culture could never understand. This family had numerous children sleeping on mats inside their grass house. These children were happy, the hut was filled with a laughter that was so rich, and honest, and true, that it pulled me off the trail to explore this world. That's when I came across this beautiful child leaning against the wall, waiting for me to come closer without showing any hesitation. It is this kind of truthful engagement that continuously lured me deeper and deeper into Indian culture, all the while realizing I was becoming the curious child that I photographed time and time again.
In this school, they offer educational classes for the hearing impaired. These children would otherwise be marginalized to the fringe and left to survive in a very hostile environment.
While women stand in line to get registered for their chance to vaccinate their children, a father and son wait patiently outside the center for their opportunity. It's really remarkable to see the lengths people will go to provide healthcare for their children. Many of these families traveled for over 6 hours to take advantage of this clinic. Tripolia hospital, Patna, Bihar, India
Amidst 90 degree heat and 90 percent humidity, people gather underneath the shaded cover of a bulding entrance awaiting their chance to be seen by specialists who have traveled hundreds of miles by car and hours by boat to come assess and treat the locals in this village.
Woman on the steps of the Muchalinda Pond. This is the location where a serpent came from the Earth to shelter Buddha for seven days during the storm.
Throughout the city of Kolkata there are street-side barbershops. Barbers utilize vacant space on the sidewalks wherever possible to recruit clientele whenever possible.
Stillness and quieted mind while sitting amidst the frenetic chaos of fellow pilgrims in front of the Bodhi Tree where Buddha obtained enlightenment.
Buddhist monks meditating in front of the The Maha Bodhi Temple.
The surrealistic size of this statue is unbelievable. It's the largest statue of Buddha in the world, and yet when standing in front of it you can still access the purpose. Bodh Gaya is considered the most important of the four pilgrimage sites as it is where Gautama Buddha obtained enlightenment underneath the Bodhi Tree.
Many of the children in India have painted eyes. The parents burn candles and the black soot from the flame is typically collected on the bottom of a pan held above the flame. The families then mix the soot with a form of ghee then place it underneath the eyes of their children to ward off evil spirits. This creates a mesmerizing effect that emphasizes the childrens eyes and pulls in the onlooker.
A man listening to a talk at the Muchalinda Pond. This is the location where a serpent came from the Earth to shelter Buddha for seven days during the storm.
Outside of the school the children reach through the protective bars saying goodbye to those that have visited to administer vitamin A supplementation.
Families are offered the chance to immunize their children in pop-up clinics throughout the region. This mother is getting her little girl vaccinated for the first time in addition her first dose of vitamin A which stregthens her immune system and prevents early onset childhood blindness.
Families are offered the chance to immunize their children in pop-up clinics throughout the region. This mother is getting her little girl vaccinated for the first time in addition her first dose of vitamin A which stregthens her immune system and prevents early onset childhood blindness. #vitamindeficiency #worldhealth #childrenshealth #globalhealth #blindness
This class of students are specifcally learning English. Most of their lessons are in English as well as their communication with the teacher.
Both of these men are guides within Dhobi Ghat. The man on the right violently argues with the man of the left about stealing customers.
Throughout India there are organizations and small medical teams that work tirelessly to provide rural healthcare services to children under 5 yrs old. These groups have identified that children under 5 yrs old are the most susceptible to vitamin A deficiency which causes early onset childhood blindness. It only costs .25 per child, per year to prevent such a devastating outcome, whereas in countries like India losing ones sight becomes a matter of survival. Here a group of children welcome the Vitamin Angels medical team in their rural village outside of Ranchi in the state of Bihar, India.
During a visit to one of the villages there was a soccer game between two girl teams. This is something almost unheard of in rural India due to it's patriarchal society. The interesting irony is that most of the spectators were men. They cheered and supported the girls with such enthusiasm it was heartwarming to hear.This boy was standing near the goal (the water you see is directly behind the goal itself), watching the game with his friends and enjoying themselves right before the monsoon rains came.
Sitting outside in front of their home, a family passes time sharing stories of their day.
In a rural village where education is scarce, these children are examples of how a community can come together and elevate the children to achieve higher potentials.
In the northern state of Bihar, outside of a very small town called Siwan, there is this hospital that has a mission of iradicating blindness through India by the year 2020. Thousands travel from around the country to come to this hospital to get their eyes tested and treated for glaucoma, while also providing cataract surgery options for those that need that option. The hospital provides lodging for those that travel to receive medical attention due to it’s rural location. This man is one of many that is recuperating after cataract surgery at Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital.
Along the side of Hardinge Road, there are countless people who sleep along the sidewalk under makeshift structures. This child is one of those that call this area home.
Keeping shelter from the humidity and piercing heat, this woman nestles inside the doorway of her home with her mother and daughters.
The underpinnings of India are so complex, that most Indians do not understand how everything works within their own country. They possess a type of fearlessness that cusps on having an unspoken understanding that life is nothing short of a cycle; birth, death and rebirth. The country now holds a population of 1.25 billion people. The ability for such condensed human experiences to move fluidly is something to witness. What can be witnessed among this interconnected web of life is a deep sense of trust. Although the are social patterns that are constantly being upheld and religious cycles are ever spinning their orbit, all of these give one context for their role in the drama. There are so many dimensions to this ancient history that one could spend their entire life just observing, and only then could they scratch the surface and comprehend the dynamic placed called India.
Alongside a small pond at the end of the village, a mother and her daughter listen intently to a woman talk underneath the local shade tree.
Toward the end of the day, long shadows stretch the ground and extend the physical shape of a man's bicycle. The most efficient means of transportation is the bicycle in rural communities.
There are hundreds of people living on the sidewalk on Hardinge Road. As early as 6am everyone has cleaned up their encampment and begun preparing for the day. This man was walking in the middle of the street and two other pedestrians use their hands in gesture to mock the elder man.
Young boy standing amidst the crowds during a remote medical trip in Qutubpur Village.
Man recuperating after cataract surgery at Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital. #lensculture #lenscultureportrait #myfeatureshoot #featureshoot #magnumphotos #portraits_ig #portrait_shots #portraitsmag #portraitpage #discoverportrait #fineartphotography #reportagespotlight
While caravanning to our departure point at Ganga beach to meet up with our boat to Kutubpur Village, we hit a piece of metal that punctured our tire. While we were on the side of the road, I walked across the street to speak with a few men that were standing there. Within minutes, a few became ten, then quickly became twenty. After a short period of time speaking to the man on the motorcycle, I had close to forty men standing around me. It was a surreal moment and one that was mixed with letting go and trusting the outcome, to extreme curiousity by the onlookers as well as apprehension by our group. The larger concern in this moment was disclosing where we were going. In this region of India, many foreigners had been kidnapped and sharing any information about our destination could've proven dangerous for the whole group, thankfully there was no tension with these men.
To me, this image doesn't reflect poverty, it reflects dignity. When I came across this woman, she had a shyness about her, it almost verged on being aloof. Any of this could've been interpreted as being embarrassed towards me, but that wasn't it in my observation. She was strong, and beautiful, and she held her space, because it was hers, this was her home. This is where she was raising her children. We can attach judgement or condemnation, but what I saw was love. It was unstripped of all that bullshit was attach to "things" and status and accomplishment. This isn't to say that she wouldn't have wished for something more, because if I was a betting person, I'd wager on the side that she would want something different. With that being said, she held her space. I fell hard for India. I was humbled more times than I can count and came away with the idea that many of us have attached our identity to attributes that just might be illusory. To me this isn't an image that exploits poverty, this one honors the strength of moving forward day after day and keeping the cosmic dance of this human existence in perspective.
In the remote village of Qutubpur that seldomly sees healthcare providers visit, an aid worker registers women and children for geenral health and eye care exams.India has the highest vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in the world: of the global population of children under five who suffer from VAD, 37% live in India. #vitamindeficiency #worldhealth #globalhealth #blindness
Upon the balcony, this mother watches the sea of visitors stand in line to get their much needed vaccinations.
Exploring dark alleys has always been one of my things. It's a way of discovering moments that would otherwise go unnoticed, because the unknown has always provided great things for me. Walking through the narrow passageways in Dharavi there are sections, and then levels within those sections, and each of those shops, and the people that work there focus on a particular industry; metal recycling, fabric recycling, garment production, the list goes on almost indefinitely. In one of these darker walkways deep in the slum, I came across this boy leaning his head on his hand, watching people pass and talking with friends.
Within the depths and darkness in the corridors of Dhobi Ghat, a scene unfolds that could've taken place 75 years ago. Here a worker presses jeans with a hot coal iron.
In Dharavi people work hard, in many instances it's a matter of survival. You see, we can all misinterpret the world around us. Usually we fit a narrative that might align more to stereotype than truth. What we see are two men sleeping alongside the edge of a pathway. This is India, and seeing poverty and misfortune is as common as breathing. But the reality is that most people work incredibly hard for their livelihoods in this country. They shoulder unbearable burdens that vacillate between the caste that they were born into, the circumstances they live in and then juggling how to stay alive during the process. What is seen here is not what it might appear. This is the image of two men, exhausted from working countless hours, stopping for the briefest moment to rest their weary bodies before the cycle begins again. I love these men. They embody power, they exemplify pushing through the struggle. They know nothing more than just keep moving forward.
A man working in one of the sections at Dhobi Ghat.
Families are offered the chance to immunize their children in pop-up clinics throughout the region. This mother is getting her little girl vaccinated for the first time in addition her first dose of vitamin A which stregthens her immune system and prevents early onset chidlrenhood blindness.
Along the Ganges River, there are numerous boats that harvest sand and bring it to shore. These men are awaiting space to bring in their load.
Within the section
When you find some sense of peace with the life you are living, however it has been given to you, your inner truth radiates outward. In the cycle of life and death, there are gaps in between that most are unaware of. We constantly live in the past or looking forward to the future, but seldom living in the moment. We operate in a world where the outside has more "value" than what's within, where appearance is more important that substance, more coveted than character. I have found that those with the least, more often than not, have the most spiritual wealth. They recognize that although the circumstances of which they were born into are fixed, they do have some degree of control over their future. They also understand it is part of the cycle of living. It's not to say there's a resignation, on the contrary, it's more of an acceptance, and with that acceptance comes a form of liberation to live with purpose and honor and dignity in the now. In the slums of Mumbai, working day in and day out, keeping an elevated spirit, striving to practice a life within balance, this young man embodies those beautiful traits.
In dark hallways of Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai, men sit in the dark shadows and discuss politics.
Juju beach is a popular destination for tourist and locals alike. The beach itself is wide and relatively clean. Many people either run, or take walks along the surf to pass the time. For thoe that walk, it almost seems that there is no detination in mind, just a slow meander along the waters edge. These two friends walked hand in hand, they showed an intimacy that is rarely seen in western men.
Walking down the alley inside the slums of Mumbai, I was called up two very step flights of stairs by a young man. As you climb the stairway that simulates more of a ladder, you peak through a small opening into a larger room of people sewing. The story behind this image is far more powerful than the image itself. As I was walking through the Dharavi slums in Mumbai, I found myself being greeted with such warmth and acceptance which totally caught me off guard. At one point, in this narrow passage, this young man, about 20 years old walks up to me and gestures to follow him. I had no idea where he was wanting to take me. I looked around and everyone in the area made the hand gesture to "go ahead", as with palm down flicking the hand forward. So, recognizing that trusting the moment was needed before falling victim to fear of the unknown, I began to walk behind this guy and he lead me to a series of ladders that led straight up this 3 story building. The portals to climb through to the next level were so tight that I had to squeeze through and tuck my small camera pouch underneath my arm to get through. We proceeded for 3 flights, straight up into some unknown area with the last portal going into the underside of a floor. It was at this point that I realized I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was being led up into this dark, enclosed space but this guy just kept smiling and encouraging me to continue. Once I popped through the whole in the floor I was greeted by eyes that were first shocked to see me in their space, but really it was more of a look of confusion, why would I be there? Then, just as soon as I arrived they opened up to me almost in an instant. They showed me around with a pride that caught me off guard. What your looking at in this image is what we would define as a "sweat-shop". They were illuminated that I came to visit with them. It caused me to take a moment and really think about how we perceive situations from afar, because without knowing the specifics or understanding the realities it's easy to judge and criticize. I'm not saying that I condone slave labor in any way whatsoever, I am saying that these young men had a pride about their work that left me questioning many things that I previously took for granted about conditions like this.
Alongside a small pond at the end of the village, a mother and her daughter listen intently to a woman talk underneath the local shade tree.
In dark hallways of Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai, men sit in the dark shadows and discuss politics.
I am continually amazed at the strength and resilience of communities and cultures living in challenging conditions. I am also blown away at the ability for children to remain children and find joy in the smallest moments. You can see they have a true gratitude for their lives and at the center of that is family and friends. In this very small village, children take full advantage of their ability to get an education. Late in the day and in the height of the heat, this groups of boys takes shelter underneath and overhang and while waiting to leaving the school, they just joked and had the most infectious laughter. Kamta village, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Woman walking through the recycling district in the slums of Mumbai.
