I met Chisomo during my field visit. In the Chichewa language, Chisomo means Grace. Although he was born as a person with albinism, he seems very confident and comfortable chilling out with his buddies. I can see he truly has that sparkling grace inside of him which makes all his friends enjoy playing with.
Sub-Saharan African countries possess the highest number of people living with Albinism in the world. Besides struggling with the sunlight – which can easily cause skin cancer and vision loss, they are also living in a deep fear. For the superstitious rituals, traditional healers (witch-doctors) attack and hunt people living with Albinism body parts to believe that their body can bring riches, success, power or sexual conquest.
In Malawi, many people with albinism live in remote, impoverished communities where superstitions are still there and correct information about albinism is not yet widely understood.
People in the communities indeed play very important roles to stop this and to protect people with albinism. I am so grateful that under the same sun, little Chisomo is surrounded by his friends love and protection. I hope as he grows up, he may live in freedom without fear.
For most Indonesian, Indomie may be the only instant food that can overcome homesickness while living abroad. A while ago, I cooked Indomie instant noodle for my friend Blessings Banda. It’s the very first time in his life to taste it and he apparently loves it much! (Pardon me for the rough ROFL in the video – I just got so hilarious looking at him enjoying it).
Instant noodle was first introduced to the Indonesian people in 1969 and until now the brand has been a phenomenon in the industry - not only in Indonesia but also globally. It has the presence in more than 100 countries and at least exported to 80 destination countries with 15 billion packs of Indomie were produced yearly. In Nigeria, Indomie replaces the word 'noodle' itself. It is the largest instant noodle factory in Africa with 10 factories, pulling in more than $600 million USD a year.
Yesterday was 73rd Indonesia Independence Day. Indomie has become the pinnacle of Indonesia’s most proud brand. Through ages, Indomie has successfully turned taste into a way of life that so many people wanted. It is a diplomatic tool to knit and unite a peaceful friendship across nations.
Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and onions are some common vegetables sold which we will encounter when passing the road in Malawi.
Usually, the seller will display and organize them in colorful buckets so that they attract people's attention. The vegetable prices may vary between one district and others. Often also, we will encounter many kids accompanying their parents to trade or even just enjoying the market atmosphere.
One thing for sure, although they look like a saturated market, all sellers seem happy and never have any competition behavior among them.
I know it is not easy to take a portraiture photo, especially with children.
It was a very cold day at Rumphi District in Malawi around noon on my way back to Lilongwe.
I had a pack of candies left in my car and I wanted to share it with some kids. So I stopped by at one small village where there were several cute children.
Eve is probably one of the nicest girls which I encountered that day. She looks very innocent and just wanted to have her candy from me. She does not care about anything except getting her candy and enjoy it.
If you look at her eyes in this photo, you will see a reflection of my white car.
The idea of this photo actually would like to depict that sometimes in children life they do not need any fancy or expensive stuff except just her candy that she's been longing for :)
