Global Lens Reflections on life, the universe, and everything

Archive for October, 2012
Uppity girls
Uppity girls

Here's an image from a chemistry class at St Peter's College for Women in Lahore, Pakistan. It's a school for poor girls from the countryside, sponsored by the Church of Pakistan. I thought of visiting schools like this in Pakistan when reading about Malala Yousufzai, the courageous 15-year old girl who was shot by the […]

Marked man
Marked man

This is Henri Aguilar with his one-year old daughter Genesis in the yard of their home in Chamelecon, a poor neighborhood near San Pedro Sula, Honduras. I captured this image on May 2, 2007, during a visit to prepare a story on the church's work with gangs in Cenral America. Five days later, Henri was […]

Not looking away
Not looking away

Homeless people make most of us uncomfortable. When we see them on exit ramps or city sidewalks, we change lanes, avert our gaze, suddenly remember to check for messages on our smart phones. I’m not sure why. Perhaps they remind us of our own vulnerability. Perhaps we’re afraid of the poor. So we look away. […]

Brazil boy
Brazil boy

Sometimes there are a lot of people in a scene, and trying to fit them all in gets complicated. I feel the urge to grab people and start moving them around because the light is better over here, the scene is more balanced if you stand there, etc. And then there are times when it […]

Net girl
Net girl

In response to last week’s photo, I had two people write me to ask why the family of the boy who died didn’t have bed nets to prevent the transmission of malaria. I responded that it’s not that simple. I've had malaria, and it’s no fun. I had a good friend die of malaria. As […]