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Portfolio

Shrouded

Lake Abbe, Djibouti

She walks across the pale crust of Lake Abbe, her figure steady against the heat shimmering off the salt flats. Steam drifts from the limestone chimneys nearby, carrying the sharp scent of sulfur, but she moves as someone long accustomed to this landscape.

Her steps trace paths learned through years of migration—between water, pasture, and camp—each one grounded in intimate knowledge of a place that appears hostile to outsiders. In the stark silence of the lake, her presence feels neither fragile nor out of place, but quietly authoritative, shaped by endurance and familiarity rather than spectacle.

Seventy Dollars Apart

Magigye, north of Gayaza, Greater Kampala, Uganda

Seventy dollars a year separates those inside from those outside. The children at the window cannot afford the school fees, yet their curiosity endures. Inside, students remain focused, seemingly unaware of the faces pressed against the bars. Moments later, the teacher chased them away with a stick.

Waiting for my turn to teach, it became my turn to learn. I began to understand how fragile access to education can be, how even a notebook or pencil may become conditional. Opportunity here rests on a sum so small, yet its absence reshapes an entire future.

Her Terms

Dhaka, Bangladesh

The image brought to mind the controversial Afghan Girl cover and the force of a direct gaze.

Yet unlike that photograph, this young woman chose to be seen. Her gaze is steady and deliberate, carrying dignity rather than an imposed narrative, allowing her to be seen on her own terms rather than through the politics of representation.

Grief and Insanity

Pashupatinath Temple Complex, Kathmandu, Nepal

A worn-out woman sits atop a small mandir, watching crowds gathered for a Hindu cremation. Once a cleaner at Pashupatinath, she now moves through the complex in visible distress, scattering litter and disturbing rituals meant to honor the dead.

I was told she is believed to be possessed by a bad omen. No one forces her out. Instead, people quietly offer water, food, and cigarettes. She remains within the very space she unsettles, suspended between who she was and the turmoil she carries, held by a community choosing patience over rejection.

The Cost of No Opportunity

Pakanyi, Labongo, north of Masindi, Uganda

Driving from Kampala to the Northern region near eastern Congo, I noticed a recurring pattern - people, mostly working-age men, sitting idle. At first glance, it seemed ordinary, even peaceful. Yet beneath the stillness lay the quiet consequence of unemployment.

Men, capable and willing, waited for work that rarely came. This idleness bred frustration and vulnerability, turning economic stagnation into moral and social risk.

The lack of opportunity pushed many towards extremism or crime, not out of choice but as a distorted form of purpose. Development here is not hindered by a lack of will, but by the absence of opportunity. A reminder that progress begins with meaningful work.

Nomadic Life

Djibouti

Smaller than Wales, Djibouti hosts military bases operated by rival global powers within miles of one another. Away from the bases, life continues as it has for generations. This young Afar nomad watches over goats from an acacia tree, largely untouched by the geopolitical weight her country carries.

The contrast stayed with me. A place can matter enormously to the world and yet register quietly in the lives of those who live there.

Family Structures in LEDCs

Tonle Sap Lake, Siem Reap, Cambodia

On Tonle Sap, a boy no older than eight steers the family boat while his mother prepares the catch for sale. There is no division between childhood and work here—one flows into the other without ceremony.

Watching him navigate the lake with quiet confidence, I saw how responsibility arrives early when survival depends on it. He was not being deprived of a childhood. He was living one shaped by different terms, where learning happens through necessity rather than curriculum.

In No Man's Land

Wagha Border, Punjab, Pakistan

I stood between two nations as patriotic music echoed on either side. Gandhi’s image stared back at me from across the gate, the Indian flag towering above him, while I stood in Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore, once part of a single cultural space, now face each other across a rigid divide.

A sudden shout cut through the ceremony. Soldiers rushed forward, and the atmosphere shifted instantly. In that moment, I felt the weight of borders drawn far away, by decisions made without those living here in mind. What remains is a rivalry carefully performed, imposed on identities that once moved freely.

One Person's Adventure Is Another's Livelihood

Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

A Tanzanian porter looks up at the steep trail ahead. Forty kilos on his back, a thin path underfoot, and a mountain he knows as home. He moves with instinct, guided by lessons passed down through generations. Each rock, turn, and shortcut etched into memory.

What others experience as a test of endurance is, for him, a rhythm of life. One person’s adventure is another’s livelihood, and throughout the climb, I was deeply thankful that he made me feel safe.

Bhutanese Childhood

Punakha, Bhutan

Education in Bhutan reflects a distinctive path to development, shaped by moral grounding and community well-being.

Government policy reinforces these priorities through the Gross National Happiness framework, measuring progress beyond standard HDI indicators. Children grow up learning that fulfillment is tied to shared purpose rather than individual gain.

An unexpected encounter with Denkar Tshering, a Bhutanese blogger, offered deeper insight into how these values quietly guide everyday life.

So Close Yet So Far

Mount Ararat, viewed from Khor Virap Monastery, Armenia

Mount Ararat, the primary symbol of Armenian identity, rises just beyond a border shaped by violence and displacement. From Khor Virap, Armenians face a mountain that no longer lies within their sovereignty, a reminder of a history that pushed the frontier back toward Yerevan.

The city itself is built in its direction, with boulevards aligned as if reaching for a part of the nation that was lost. My taxi driver sang to the mountain with such longing that it felt as though he were calling it home.

In Armenia, Ararat is not just a peak but an emotion. As Russian fighter jets patrolled the frontier and political pressure from its Turkic neighbors pressed invisibly on the landscape, I understood how geography can carry memory, vulnerability, and a quiet, stubborn sense of belonging.

Where's The Spillover?

Lake Assal, Djibouti

At Lake Assal in Djibouti, I kept returning to a single question: where was the spillover? Djibouti occupies a strategic position in global logistics, hosting foreign military bases and controlling key ports. Yet beyond these sites, growth felt uneven.

I watched men extract salt by hand under the desert sun, transporting it by camel despite the lake’s industrial potential. It made me wonder why such a valuable resource had not translated into safer jobs, broader employment, or stronger local industries. Outside the ports, infrastructure lagged, and UNHCR shelters dotted nomadic routes, reminders that strategic importance does not guarantee shared prosperity.

Standing there, I realized how differently a country can appear on a map versus on the ground. That tension between geopolitical advantage and lived reality sharpened my interest in how political choices, foreign investment, and governance determine who benefits from power, and who remains outside its reach.