Children of the Philippines: Smiles, Strength and Poverty

Children of the Philippines: Smiles, Strength and Poverty

I want to visually tell the story of the Filipino youth – A story of smiles and laughter, of pain and poverty. The youth are the hope for the Philippines and I want to give them a visual voice. Like all youth, they are vulnerable, and like all humans they deserve food, shelter and happiness. Too often they don’t have this.

Impoverished Filipino people want to get out of their county and too often being a nanny, construction worker, or prostitute is what they have to do. The Philippines is being engulfed with fast food and big corporations, while the people are left to fend for themselves. A seasoned traveler I have never been to a country so full of smiles and kindness, especially from the youth. I have also never been to a country so full of disparity between the rich and the poor: Starving babies sleep outside of McDonalds, families living in tarps outside of seven-eleven. Poverty exists in the rural areas, but it is the city (Manila) where people are starving. This series was completed the day before Hurricane Ketsana hit the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia leaving more than 300 people dead. I want to see the children in my photographs reach their full potential, and be given the same opportunities as those who run the big corporations that have taken over the Philippines.

all proceeds from this photograph will be donated to IFRC to help the victims of flooding from Typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines

*If this photograph inspires you to donate to this cause (any NGO doing good) I would love to hear about it!