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Story October 5, 2016

A Changing World? Pulitzer Center Photography Exhibition

Authors:

Jordan Roth
Pulitzer Center Alum

Kem Sawyer

Brandice Camara
2013 Reporting Fellow

Kassondra Cloos
2013 Reporting Fellow

Sydney Combs
2015 Reporting Fellow

Meghan Dhaliwal
2012 Reporting Fellow

Michelle Ferng
2014 Reporting Fellow

Jennifer Gonzalez
2015 Reporting Fellow

Adam Janofsky
2012 Reporting Fellow

Steve Matzker
2013 Reporting Fellow

Paul Nevin
2014 Reporting Fellow

Julia Rendleman
Grantee

Rachel Southmayd
2013 Reporting Fellow

Reana Thomas
2014 Reporting Fellow

English

In Guinea, routine prenatal care is the exception, not the rule. As a result, it has some of the...

Brandice Camara
2013 Reporting Fellow

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Peru is among many countries undergoing rapid aging, with the proportion of the population over the age of 60 projected to rise from 9.2 percent in 2014 to 22.7 percent in 2050. Advances in medicine, improvements in sanitation and economic prosperity have led to longer life expectancies, while family planning has resulted in falling birth rates across the globe. In low and middle-income families, rapid aging can be a double-edged sword due to limited resource availability, deteriorating family support and inadequate social protection. Image by Michelle Ferng. Peru, 2014.

Deepika Shrestha is bathed in the streets by her mother in the village of Bara Chhetra. For Nepal, a nation in which only 27 percent of citizens have access to proper sanitation, hydropower from the proposed Sapta-Koshi High Dam holds promise. Yet residents of Bara Chhetra and surrounding villages are defending their lands and culture. According to officials from the Joint Commissions Office in Nepal, if the dam is built approximately 215 km of land would be submerged and displace thousands of residents from approximately eighty villages. Image by Steve Matzker. Nepal, 2013.

“Dairy farming is the best because you get product out of the animal and you don't have to kill it,” said Oral Rayson, who worked on what once was a thriving dairy farm. Competition from imported powder milk has forced Rayson out of business. In Jamaica there is a paradox: Although the country has an abundant supply of fish, fruits and vegetables, its farmers struggle financially. Cheap imported products drive down costs and cut into profits of local food production. Image by Julia Rendleman. Jamaica, 2011.

Pamela Pinales, 16 years old, seven months pregnant, said, 'Before I got pregnant I did not know anything about sex. I was very scared.” In the Dominican Republic, more than 10 percent of teenage girls became pregnant in 2013—double the world average. Currently, teenagers are simply advised, mostly by parents, to not have sex. But they are rarely taught about contraception. Though trends in the country’s developing cities differ from the mountainous rural regions, one remains constant: Teenage pregnancy is everywhere. Image by Jennifer Gonzalez. Dominican Republic, 2014.

Kashmir’s many bodies of water support millions of people who use them for drinking, agriculture, retail and tourism. These necessities are hindered by the arrival of two invasive plant species that could potentially cover a lake's entire surface. The picturesque landscape with lakes and mountains that surround bustling cities and towns will change quickly if these areas are not managed properly. Image by Reana Thomas. Kashmir, 2014.

As some fishermen leave for the day, others return after an early morning fishing trip. Cité Soleil, located just outside Port-au-Prince, has high rates of illiteracy, joblessness, water sanitation and sewage issues. Water is central to the lives of its residents: They fish from it, swim in it, drink it and live life surrounded by it. Since the cholera outbreak in October 2010, the community must be even more cautious about their water intake—there is a delicate dance around the water, both vital and potentially lethal. Image by Meghan Dhaliwal. Haiti, 2012.

Bisharu al-Hussein, 42, sits with her young son, her tenth child, in their home in Gafarsa, a goat-herding community in Kenya. Bisharu lost her ninth child in pregnancy because she was unable to access appropriate medical care. In Kenya, maternal mortality has only been reduced by one-half of one percent for each of the last twenty years. Kenya’s government is partnering with civil society to provide free maternal health services to mothers to improve their lives and childbirth safety, but many challenges and questions remain. Image by Paul Nevin. Kenya, 2014.

Above, we see three tiers of roads in central Bangkok, where there is a need for more streets and public transportation, but often a lack of space. Canals used to flow through the city, but as Thailand began to modernize they were filled with dirt and paved with asphalt. In August 2015, this intersection was the site of a bombing that killed twenty and injured 125. Image by Adam Janofsky. Thailand, 2012.

Here, we see the entrance to Donka National Hospital in Conaky, the capital of Guinea. Since the government only commits 4.7 percent of its budget to health, many hospitals and clinics, like this one—the largest government hospital in the country—operate without electricity or water and with a shortage of qualified medical professionals. The inadequate infrastructure, limited resources and poor sanitation all contribute to the high maternal and infant mortality rates. Image by Brandice Camara. Guinea, 2013.

Here, we see a worker driving through a field of alternating crops at Organoponico Vivero Alamar (OVA), an urban, sustainable, organic farm that feeds a significant portion of its surrounding community. On the outskirts of Havana, Cuba, OVA is a model of cooperative urban agriculture, where workers can earn more than a government salary, own part of the farm, benefit from its profits and receive services such as haircuts and meals, all free of charge. Image by Kassondra Cloos. Cuba, 2013.

In Tanzania, the Kinapa (“We Carry Each Other”) women’s group of the Oltukai village meets beside the local primary school to discuss whether they should open a bank account. Throughout the past century, Maasai men have been the sole financial providers for their families, but with droughts and dwindling land access due to conservation, men are less able to provide. Many women have foregone societal norms and started businesses selling small goods, like petroleum jelly or snuff tobacco. In recent years, NGOs and Maasai businesswomen have created collectives to provide micro-loans, access to bank accounts, support during emergencies and business strategy advice. Opinions towards women leaving their homestead to earn an income are changing as Maasai notions of womanhood are redefined. Image by Sydney Combs. Tanzania, 2015.

The view from the top of the bell tower in the historic Saint Francis of Assisi Church shows the disparity between various parts of Havana. The capitol building in the background stands tall and bright, but many apartment buildings are weathered and in need of repair. Image by Rachel Southmayd. Cuba, 2013.

ViewFind, an immersive visual news platform, highlights work from "A Changing World?" featuring selected photographs from our student fellows between 2011 and 2015. See: http://viewfind.com/story/a-changing-world

Pulitzer Center student fellows travel the world to report on issues that affect us all—telling stories that might otherwise go untold. These photographs were shot on location in 11 countries now undergoing rapid transformation, from the roads in Bangkok to a Maasai village in Tanzania.

The photographs will be exhibited at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on Saturday, October 8, during the Pulitzer Center's 10th Anniversary celebration.