I spent my winter break on a study abroad trip in Accra, Ghana with a group of other Ohio University students with the Scripps International Institute of Journalism. This was my first time traveling out of the United States and was excited to explore a new country with my camera. The most meaningful experience during my three weeks spent abroad was the time that I spent at Street Sisters Daycare.
I will never forget the moment that I, along with three of my colleagues, pulled up to the daycare and our car was swarmed nearly 40 children chanting ‘Oburoni,’ which means ‘white person.’ As we stepped out of the car each of us were surrounded by nearly 10 children hugging us, motioning for us to pick them up, and kissing our skin. We were a spectacle to the children, as most of them had never seen a white person in the flesh before. Many hours during our two days at the daycare were filled with the kids playing with our hair and sitting on our laps, utterly amazed at people who were so opposite of them.
The images that I made there are ones that I will cherish for the rest of my life and are to me what really made my trip worth it. I’ve never had more fun photographing before because to these children, it was as if I were doing magic. There I was, holding a bulky, black contraption and pressing a button that made their faces appear before their eyes. It was truly a magical experience as a photographer, and for those on the other side of my lens.
Vision 