In April 2007 I traveled to Poltava Oblast in the center of Ukraine to visit a fellow Volunteer. I took this picture in Reshetylivka, her town, on the anniversary of the town's founding. These women are babusiyas (grandmothers) and they're...
This photo was taken during a community WORTH meeting in Swaziland. This woman walks more then 40 minutes every week to meet with other women and gain knowledge both of HIV/AIDS prevention and micro-fiance. Well into her 70's and with five...
As a school we walked to this widow's house to give her a live pig, bags of rice, bags of fruit, and our money donation (from the faculty). The widow was the wife of a respected member of the school board. She in return gave all the visitors a...
This photo was taken while on a 12 km hike to visit the Batak Tribe in the interior of Palawan. The tribal chief invited me to have coffee with him and the tribal dancer invited me to stop and talk with him and his family. This is an unusual...
Grandmothers (babi) play a huge role in a family household. Often, the grandmother is the main family member that takes care of the children, cooks and takes care of the overall household chores. It is very common for many generations to live under...
Baba Mita was my next door neighbor. I used to help her in the garden and she would give me fresh vegetables at the end of the day. She taught me how to cook many traditional Bulgarian meals and make homemade wine. As most men in the village, her...
Samabogo, Mali taken in January 2009. This is a picture of Bala (an old animist shaman, myself, and my host dad). My host dad and I rode three miles into the bush to visit Bala. When we arrived he had a new green car to show us. He also had...
The traditional rulers from Tatum/Nkum area appreciated greatly my efforts during my Peace Corps service and in 1999 gave a traditional title Ngwang with a beautiful dress, a cap, a handmade necklace and a country bag. To them I was a peacemaker...
This photo was taken in the area Craig Cove, on the island of Ambrym (west), in the country of Vanuatu. The old lady just came from the bush after collecting firewood and coconuts for preparing dinner. This photo symbolizes the strength and...
My 96-yr old (now 97) Grenadian neighbor was placed in a nursing home facility last year. Her freedom to operate her own home was becoming too burdensome for her, despite her wishes to remain in my community. Her attitude changed with every visit I...
Bulgarians eat a lot beans. This picture was taken in late September after the pods of the beans had dried on the stalk. Ahmed is taking the pleasure of beating all of the dried beans out of their shells and after this labor intensive work they...
During the summertime in Bulgaria people work very hard to grow and gather food in their fields and from the forest in order to can and consume throughout the winter. One such example is blueberries. Wild blueberries are abundant in the forests...
In the Rhodope Region of Bulgaria growing tobacco is a common source of income and sometimes the only. During the last few weeks of July and August villagers are found in shaded spots along the village road stringing tobacco leaves on twine in...
It was the day after Christmas 2004 and a few volunteers and I decided to visit the picturesque village of Vevcani, Macedonia. As we wondered the streets we came across these women and asked if we could take their picture. They laughed and seemed...