Child of Migrants +Slum, Humana People to People India, Gurgaon, India, March of 2015

A few evenings ago I was having a conversation with Sombeer, and we were talking about sleeping with the heat of Rajasthan during the nights. Although it is only April, a few nights ago it was quite hot and his daughter had a difficult time sleeping. We talked about the options, which brought us to a story from his past.

He told me that some years back as he began his work in these communities, that when he had a hard time sleeping during the really hot nights, all he would do was to think of the people sleeping under the plastic tents on the side of the road. What was their night like? How did they sleep next to the traffic, with the constant dust sweeping its way into the tent?

So that same night, I did the same and fell asleep without giving any thought to the heat… while of course keeping these incredible people in my mind for the next day's session. This is the story of the young girl in this portrait. She is one of those living in unimaginable conditions, she and others like her endure endless nights on bare floors and with little more than a fabric wall to separate them from their environments.

Tomorrow I head to work in the slums of Jaipur with my good brother Ashok, and hope to document even more so these heroic figures. To them this work is dedicated always.

www.halimina.org
www.humana-india.org

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2, edited for size and contrast… with only natural light.

Young Girl + Slum Community, Rural ConneXtion Foundation, Jaipur, India, March 29, 2015

As we pulled into the slum yesterday with Sombeer Singh Summy and parked the car in order to talk with some of the families, a thin girl appeared and walked past the front of the car. She caught my eye for less than a second, but from her form I immediately knew that she was the one… immediately asked Sombeer to speak with her regarding a portrait.

We went ahead and walked to his students' homes and spoke with the families first, then asked the mother of the students to inquire regarding this young girl. On our way back to the car she did so as a few of the girls gathered around her to hear about the stranger's request. It is unimaginable for me, to be asked for my portrait by someone just driving into my neighborhood. It is even more so under the circumstances, as this young girl lives across from a concrete factory under the worst possible conditions.

This is what made her family's reaction to our request that much more remarkable. When we arrived this morning she was ready at sunrise, and walked with the rest of us to an abandoned temple for her portrait. We waited for the clouds to disappear, and then started with her incredibly poignant expressions. She never wavered, allowed me to expose two rolls, waited for two others to be photographed, and walked back to the front of the camera for another roll… all without a single word.

She allowed me to arrange her hair, to guide her regarding her body position without flinching once. I was and am now in awe of her, and am proud to have made her portrait this morning… even more so after being informed by Sombeer that Rural ConneXtion Foundation wants to open a school in the center of her neighborhood and will do so should funding be organized.

Anyone interested? This is the real face of girl education… this is the true story of a girl and a community in need and we as a community can make a sincere difference in her life.

As we finished our work, she walked back to her home and we packed up our things. As we drove out of the area, we noticed another girl and I asked Sombeer once again for a portrait. Without hesitating we walked out of the car to ask, and it o happened that the young girl was this one's sister. She agreed as did her friends, and we set up for a quick fifteen minute session. This time though this young girl was smiling so much, proud of being photographed before and recognizing us as perhaps less than strangers.

We have arranged to photograph her again this morning, and I cannot wait to see the difference!

www.halimina.org

Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2 just yesterday.

Migrant + Slum, Humana People to People India, Gurgaon, India, March of 2015

Today we spent the morning with the Humana People to People India team in the Amar Colony of Gurgaon, India. The team was incredibly dedicated, met me in front of the slum as the sun appeared over the horizon, then walked with me through a field of garbage as far as the eye can see until we arrived to the center of the slum. The families were more than receptive, offered a bench for our tools and organized the girls first for the morning of photography.

Humana People to People India is running a Step Up Center in this colony for its children, and after the images were made I witnessed first-hand the children in their classes. A local has offered the space without charge, and it also happens to be a temple with the kindest of holy men present. As the children recited their lessons, his facial expressions were worthy of his status in the society.

She was one of the last to be photographed, as we put our gear away to move onto the temple. She was magnificent, truly powerful in her presentation. I look forward to seeing her images later, and to presenting her story to the corporation in charge of the funding to continue this incredible work.

www.halimina.com

Young Woman + Migrant, Humana People to People India, Gurgaon, India, March 17, 2015

This morning we thought that we'd never find her, then experienced yet another magical moment when she was revealed to us once again. For a few of you she might be familiar, for the rest this is her first time in front of you. Yesterday the teachers from her local school were shown her photograph and believed almost for certain that she had moved on since her family has been displaced for economic reasons from West Bengal, India.

I however just believed that she was still there, and when the other students were in front of us I showed an album with her photograph included. Immediately about five little hands went up and pointed to the left, just where I had insisted she was two years ago.

One of them was sent to call for her and she returned knowing full well that I was looking for her. Her expression was priceless as she remembered the moment her portrait was made at the end of 2013.

Well this morning we had our chance to remake her portrait, as the heavy fog lifted to show a beautiful, blue sky. She was as magnificent this year as she was one and a half years ago, even more so. Her family belongs to a community of laborers working in the Gurgaon area, right under the skyscrapers housing the richest of corporations. They struggle day in and day out to support themselves, and have had some help over the past three years thanks to Humana People to People India and the academy for working children in their neighborhood.

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Note: This image was made just this morning with a Sony RX100M2.

Young Woman + Ragpicker Community, Humana People to People India, Gurgaon, India, November of 2013

Next month I will visit this young woman and her community once again, and hope to document their story even more so. They live on the outskirts of society, in shacks along the side of the road. Their daily routine includes walking through mountains of rubbish, sorting the plastic from the metal from the glass and so on.

They are barely visible to those around them, struggle for their daily existence yet live in one of the richest cities in Asia. Visible from a distance are the high-rises which dot the landscape, evidence of a wealth truly alien to them. They belong to a section of society which is assigned this role, and know little about other options.

Around them they see huge billboards of Bollywood stars, for whom they have a deep sense of admiration. While to an outsider the contrast in skin tones is striking, it does little to diminish this relationship even though they endure unimaginable conditions, and live a life in severe contrast to those on the billboards.

They exist in a society which prizes a foreign language over their own, making it almost impossible for them to advance. As such the vicious cycle of landlessness continues. Without access to the most basic of human rights, they are forced to live hand to mouth.

Yet she allows me to make her portrait with such serenity. Her beauty inspires me more so than those being advertised in the skies, for it is pure and unadulterated. She is supreme, and resolute. In her composure I see our future, and hope that I for one can live up to my responsibilities in lessening the inequalities for those in her place.

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Family + Sorting Garbage, Humana People to People India, Gurgaon, India, November, 2013

Then there are the incredible people at Humana People to People India, working for example with people such as the ones in these images, ragpickers living in Gurgaon, India. Presented as an incredibly rich city filled with tech savvy individuals… this city also is home to countless people barely scraping by, collecting and sorting trash just to put food on their children's plates perhaps once per day.

According to Wikipedia:

'As of 2013, about 250 Fortune 500 companies have a base in Gurgaon. It is the most prosperous city in India based on ownership of consumer durables.'

Humana People to People India is working hard in this community, along with Dell and Nokia in presenting schools for basic education as well as computer studies. I am proud to have spent the last six weeks with this foundation and the good people at the various projects.

www.halimina.org
www.humana-india.org

Girl + Ragpicker, Humana People to People India, Gurgaon, Haryana, India, November 22, 2013

The common term used to describe her profession is 'ragpicker,' although she is anything but common in my eyes. Her community lives in Gurgaon but originates from West Bengal. They live in a shantytown just a few minutes away from some of the richest communities of India. The children survive day to day by collecting and then sorting to perfection the garbage nearby.

When one drives on the roads to her location, the eyes are inundated with the propaganda on huge billboards, commercials using the language of colonialism and the familiar vision of a futuristic, utopian society. The names of the colonies being built just adjacent to her home would make Orson Welles turn incessantly in his grave, yet they are placed above her little frame for all to see.

The contrasts are incredibly cruel, yet this is her reality. Humana People to People India operates an Academy for Working Children in collaboration with Dell and Nokia. The facilities are wonderfully clean and well equipped, providing a chance at an education otherwise unavailable to her and her friends.

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Halim Ina Photography