Young Student + Temple, Nirvanavan Foundation, Rajasthan, India, April of 2015

This young girl represents our second school, within a few kilometers of the school from the previous post. She is the youngest of seven children, five sisters and two brothers I believe. At her tender age, she is the youngest in the class yet is so talented that she steps in front of the other students and recites the lessons from memory rather than looking at the charts on the walls.

Here she sits just inside the temple adjacent to the classroom, photographed with the help of my dear brother and driver, holding the reflector for her sake. This year we made photographs in the traditional way, yet found chances to try some new approaches.

While many of these images show beautiful girls in idyllic environments, the fact is that most of these girls are in these schools because they lack access to a formal, government education. While the reasons vary from a general distrust of the government system to the need for these girls to perform daily chores around the house, the result is the same. The dress that she was wearing in this picture was the same dress that she wore during all of my visits this past year. The straps behind her back are stitched together in order for her to be able to wear it.

This is the reality that my images are unable to show, and perhaps by design. I hope that we can continue our support for these schools, and witness a brighter future for her and her friends in the village.

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