Burkina Faso journey

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Tuesday, August 31, 2010 | 5 photos

In January 2010 I visited Africa for the first time in my life. A friend of mine, a doctor who was working as a volunteer, invited me to visit the small hospital of Nanoro, a village situated 50 km northeast of Ouagadougou. During my visit I documented the lives of the people in the hospital and the daily life of the villages around. Usually, my photo-work day was divided in two very different parts: in the morning I was spending time with the patients of the hospital. Mostly I was documenting the conditions of the kids in the pediatric department. I was interested in learning more about malnutrition and it’s effects in the life of the African children. In the afternoon I was freely traveling around and following my curiosity to find interesting situations and places. Most of the time I was going around with a bicycle. The villagers, especially the children, were extremely amused to see a “Nasara” (“white man” in Moré language) cycling around the savannah with a rusty bike.
As a (student) photographer my goal is to tell stories that can touch the viewer in the same way those stories have touched me. I am interested in whiteness situations and events that are not accessible to all.
What I like also about working with photography is the contact with other people and the possibility to learn about new things. I am very often interested in working on subjects that are totally new for me; during the work it is very important the aspect of learning, the experience is an important part of my creative process. Especially in working with other people, the exchange of knowledge and experience is what motivates and inspires me the most.