Today was my first day of photography with Humana People to People India for this year. Although we've worked together since 2006, the first time is often a rough one and today was along this line. Having barely slept since my arrival, the equipment was still in chaos, and the well-meaning team has other thoughts regarding my arrival. In the end we arrived to the same page and have organized a plan for the rest of this week.
We however exposed two rolls today, a good start. For our first expedition we returned to Gurgaon and my work with the migrants from the eastern portions of India. This specific community is from West Bengal and have moved to Gurgaon in search of work and opportunity. They live in a small shantytown under the shadows of some of the wealthiest corporations in the country. They are the faces of those laboring to put the skyscrapers up, and to wash the clothes of the newly arrived middle-class.
For some time now the Humana People to People movement in India, in collaboration with Nokia, has supported a center of learning along with five satellites specifically tailored for these communities. While the children do toil away as ragpickers, they have had, at least through this program, a chance to gain an education otherwise well out of reach under the circumstances. The buildings are supplied with computer rooms, while the teachers are as enthusiastic as any from my experience.
As a side note, I went to this spot first looking for a specific face… and after much misunderstanding and disappointment, she was found and will be shown tomorrow I do hope!
www.halimina.org
Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2.
