Ghana, Africa (2014)

I headed for a village about four hours by car from Tamale, the fourth largest city in Ghana. At the entrance to the village, there was a sign that said "Poverty Alleviation Recommended Area. What caught my eye were the remnants of black plastic bags that had not decomposed in the soil and were scattered all over the place. Goat droppings, chicken droppings, bird droppings called ghee, dog droppings, pig droppings, cow droppings, and straw scraps were all still strewn on the red soil. Children walk barefoot on it. The children have swollen bellies due to lack of nutrition. The adults are of fine physique. I wondered how these children could grow up to be so muscular and strong. The sky is blue and stretches forever, but I am too distracted by the ground to look up. I had to finish shooting by 3:00 or 4:00 p.m.The village has no electricity, and it is pitch black when the sun goes down. The villagers had to finish dinner before that time. It takes almost two and a half hours to get to the hotel, so it is a race with the sunset. The cars bounced along the bumpy, unpaved, red clay road toward the setting sun at breakneck speed. The setting sun shines through the curtain of dust created by the cars in front of us, and it gradually turns red. It was a devilish sunset. On the third day, I finally get a glimpse of people's lives. A woman brushing her teeth with something like a branch, children washing their hands with soap, mothers getting dressed, preparing the stove, and washing the dishes carefully. They are keeping themselves clean. It would look like a very nice village if the remains of the black plastic bags on the ground are gone.