Another Girl, Humana People to People, Rajasthan, India, 2008

As with the girl in the previous entry, she stands to the side as her friends get photographed, since her friends are enrolled in the school. She hopes that one day the foundation will have space for her in the school and that her parents will allow her to study like her friends.

Just like the girl in the previous entry, she acts shy and then jumps at the opportunity to be photographed. While shy at first, she shares her smile with me after a couple clicks of the shutter. She is also wearing wonderful pieces including a safety pin.

The background for this portrait is the white wall of a house adjacent to the school. Behind her slightly to the right is the road. Behind me slightly to the right are two oxen. To my left stand the owners of the house. I am standing next to the oxen below the girl to gain the best vantage point. A couple of times during the shoot the oxen make some gestures that startle me. It causes everyone to laugh and as always comedy makes the session more enjoyable for the children.

A week or so ago my dear friends from Montessori School - Holy Rosary invited me to speak to the children. We had a great time and the children learned much about their counterparts in this part of India. They also noticed the safety pins and, one week later, had come up with a glorious version of the safety pin, placing tiny beads on the stem of the pin, closing it and transforming it into a beautiful pendant or a piece to be held by these girls cloth necklaces.

These gifts will be taken to the children of Rajasthan in four weeks, as a gesture of goodwill and solidarity from the children living here.

If my photography can foster such creativity, compassion and action, then it has served its purpose.