Lens on Development

LIDC'S GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION: THE SHORTLIST THE SHORTLIST

Alex Makotose “Students Awareness Rally” A Rubbish and Recycling awareness rally in a Rural Village started by primary school children after school. British and National Indian volunteers for Restless Development taught health and education classes in schools over a period of the months. Some of the classes included having the students taking active action such as collecting rubbish around the school or putting on dramatic plays to drive the message through to locals. With such high energies and an eagerness to learn through non-formal education, the students are great agents for educating the wider community on important health and sanitation issues.

Anthea Katelaris “TB”

‘Me’ar ran’. ‘Coughing blood’. How many times a day did I hear those words? Tuberculosis remains a major health problem in Timor Leste, a country just getting to its feet after decades of Indonesian occupation. Following the referendum for independence in 1999, militia supported by the Indonesian military destroyed 70% of the country’s infrastructure, thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands more were displaced. The health-care system collapsed and tuberculosis rates boomed.

Following this, church-based groups played a huge role in re-establishing local TB control programs. In the TB ward of the small clinic where this photo was taken, patients put their faith in both the doctors and a higher power.

Ayesha Mysorewala “Girls in Karachi”

Two girls in Karachi climb over their neighbour's wall for clean water and food. Due to lack of formal support systems, women and children turn to informal networks to beg and borrow food when the breadwinner fails to earn enough for the day.

Feyzi Ismail “The Road to Dolakha”

This photograph was taken on the road to Dolakha, an earthquake-affected district in northern Nepal, on 14 June 2016 during a research trip. It depicts a group of older women who set up a road blockade to protest an unjust ruling by the district court over a local land dispute, in which the court sided with a wealthy landowner, who arbitrarily turned what was previously common land into private land. The blockade last for hours, in defiance of the local police. The women agreed to withdraw when the Chief District Officer agreed to investigate and re-open the case. The scene is significant because it exemplifies what are real issues in Nepal today - on the one hand, women taking things into their own hands and, on the other, the state's continued neglect of the poor and marginalised.

Heather Cooper“Kangaroo Mother Care”

This man is the father of twins, born premature, each weighing less than 1.5 kg. He is holding his son in the ‘Kangaroo Mother Care’ position. Kangaroo care is the practice of holding an infant in skin-to-skin contact. This method promotes the health and well-being of preterm infants by providing thermal control, protection from infection, appropriate stimulation and a nurturing environment.

Most obviously, he is promoting child health and SDG3. But I believe this photo also depicts women’s equality. Caring for the infant is typically the mother’s responsibility, often with help from an aunt, grandmother, or other women. Men are infrequently in the Special Care Unit (place for sick newborns) at Jinja Hospital and do not typically practice KMC. The look of pride on his face shows not only a special moment between father and son, but also a man breaking stereotypes and challenging typical practices in a male-dominated culture.

Jessie Hodges “Malpe- Girl Shouting”

At the crack of dawn, the ports on the coast of Karnataka, India come alive as boats pull in and work begins. Unlike a lot of spaces in India, ports are a place where women systematically have a role, outside and in public, and, importantly, handling the money. While men unload, and clean the boats, women sort and sell the fish. Here, a girl works at the port of Malpe, aggressive and in charge, bargaining to get the daily value. Contrary to many ideas about the vulnerability of women and children, discussions about child labour and gender must leave space for recognizing the agency of the women and girls involved.

Suzanne Welsh “Mosquito Net Distribution”

The photo was taken during the mass campaign, funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria (GFATM) & Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), to distribute 412,000 life-saving insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets in an effort to control and eliminate malaria.

Tim Malcomson “Child Labour”

For children (and especially girls) there is never a neat progression from informal mining back to primary school. Addressing family and community poverty and the intergenerational organisation to manage this in one of the world’s poorest regions is complicated. Although these girls are now attending the local primary school (according to local village leaders), when not at school, the girls nevertheless carry heavy rocks down the mountainside to be broken up for the road building and construction sectors. Beyond policy frameworks, implicated in barriers to change are the family's need to include children as wage earners, cultural lines drawn in often different levels of children’s participation in the family economy and children’s culturally situated agency and mobility.

This photo shows a girl and her friends carrying heavy rocks down the mountainside to be broken up for road building and construction. The family earnings are based on the amount of rock moved by all family members. Younger girls and boys will typically receive pocket money from this.

Yeongseong Choe“Man Taking a Nap in a T Trash Pile”

This photo was taken in the Lokanthali at Kathmandu, Nepal and relates to SDGs goal such as Sustainable Cities and Communities' and ' Climate Action ' etc . A Man taking a nap in a trash pi le in this photo. There is no regular wastes disposal facility at this site, just burning rubbish every other day. Also, this area is also right next to the second largest slum in Kathmandu, to one's surprise, this place is the best playground for squatters' children. Unfortunately, the government of Nepal has not taken any action regarding this urban areas’ waste management so far, recycling issues either.

Zipporah Gene “Khlong Toey Slum”

I wrote an article about local charitable organisations in the Bangkok metropolitan area and as part of my research, I went around to see exactly who they support.

Khlong Toey is Bangkok’s largest slum. Nestled in between the central Bangkok’s financial hub and its major port facilities, it is a place that shouldn’t be. This shanty town is vast, housing around 100,000 people. Surrounded by wealth, it is a constant reminder why we need to work together to reduce inequalities.

Stephanie VandeBerg“Kalukembe Neonate” A child, minutes old, is cared for and wrapped by a nurse after being delivered by emergency caesarean section in a rural Angolan hospital in Kalukembe. Training mid-level providers to perform emergency caesarean sections at this specific hospital, where there is no physician present for months at a time, has resulted in decreased rates of maternal death related to child-birth without any increase in complications like infection or fistula formation.