Swaziland Incwala Ceremony

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

Swaziland | Monday, January 14, 2013 | 5 photos

I am currently a first year graduate student studying Public Health at Columbia University. Photography has been a passion of mine since I got my first camera in elementary school. Since writing has never been my strong suite, my photography has been the way I communicate my experiences and views of the world. As a global public health student I look forward to documenting my upcoming international travel as I research the HIV epidemic and will use photography to provide a visual accompaniment to my research. Public health is my second passion and it is an extremely complicated, multifaceted field. It is impossible to understand the true nature of a public health issue or success without analyzing the culture, values, and government of a particular location. Photography has been the tool I used on my past trip to Swaziland to study pediatric HIV to provide insight into the culture and traditions of the Swazi people. Although the traditions and ceremonies are beautiful and intricate the ideals and values of the Swazi people have perpetuated the HIV epidemic so I know firsthand how important it is to understand the culture of a population to protect its health and develop solutions.