Coming from a third-world country where over half the population is under poverty line, I sure come through poverty scenes on a daily basis. Through my travels; I have also came across different scenes of the 1st world countries; but the simple ways of living by those less-fortunate seemed to impress me the most.
You would except those poor to live on the edge of a breakdown, ironically they seem to live life at a slow soothing pace, while on the other hand those developed-countries people are living on the edge of a breakdown, where walking down the streets you get a stressful vibe because everyone seem to be running on a fast-stressed pace.
It was great to see those calm scenes of their life captured for a photo-contest. A contest held by the CGAP, it aimed to highlight ways financial inclusion can improve the lives of the poor.
On that thought; the photos submitted were everything but sad, it showed a new aspect of poverty rather than the usual victimizing theme portrayed. And here are some of the photos submitted.
“Paddy Cultivation”.
“Fishing with a Net”.
“Hands for Freedom”.
“Happy Vendor”.
“Work in the Mountains”.
“Eleuterio the Hairdresser”.
“Eye for Detail”.
Upon all that I say that: “A picture is determined by the person behind the camera, not the person in front of the camera”, “Different people capture different perspectives for the same scene”.
By Yosra Abdel-Rahman
