Maya (center) back on the field

“They used to say in my village, that we should not play football (soccer) because it is a boy’s sport,” says Maya. “But I learned that it is my right.”

Maya turns 18 this year and studies in the 11th grade. She loves football and plays as a striker, the player who scores all the goals. She used to play football a lot, but she stopped playing last year, even though she had progressed from district clubs to state clubs. 

Iman takes Fatema in is new rickshaw

“I always take good care of my wife and children so that they feel my love and affection. The man who does not love his wife and children is not a human being to me,” says Iman Ali, a 42-year-old man. Iman lives with his wife Fatema, 35, daughter Sumi, 12, and son Al Amin, 9. Their home is a single-story house made of bamboo and corrugated iron sheets with a mud floor. Iman does not own his land, as it belongs to the Bangladesh Railway in Khulna City. Along with the stress of living in an extremely congested environment, Iman is at risk of being evicted by the Railway Department at any time.

Dipa reflects out her window

Dipa is 17 years old - a tall, yet petite girl, very shy and soft-spoken. One day not so long ago, she was lost in the bustling city of Delhi. She was hurrying back to the home where she worked as a domestic servant. She was trapped in child labor, a modern form of slavery. The people who employed her asked her to go to the store to buy something - that was the day she got lost and was wandering around the streets.

Monica now has water to grow vegetables in her backyard garden

Access to safe water continues to be a challenge in most parts of the developing world, including Malawi. This was true of Zgalambe village in the Mutchenda Area Program, where Monica Phiri and her family live. The only source of contaminated water was the nearby river about 2 kilometers away from the village. At the same time, no person would ever think of having a backyard vegetable garden that could be a source of vitamins and other nutrients good for the health of children and adults. Research shows that every day nearly 1,000 children die from diarrhea caused by contaminated water, poor sanitation and unsafe hygiene practices.

Joyce & Pontino switching on the lights at home

No sooner had Joyce (36) and Pontino (44) flicked on the lights, than brightness filled their house. Their faces beamed with delight. They could not hide their joy. They giggled. There seems to be nothing special about switching on a light bulb unless you are a small scale farmer living in a rural village in eastern Zambia and your house has just been connected to the national grid.

Aselefech (right) and her neighbor Chaltu wash cups with clean water from the borehole

‘‘I wish my son would have been alive to see the safe water we have, and a healthy life we enjoy nowadays,’’ said a mother whose teenage son died of waterborne disease 10 years ago. She could not comprehend her son’s passing nor could she come to terms with life without him.

Aselefech Meshesha (57) lives in the Bosset district, 85 miles east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The area is characterized by its sandy soil and scrubby vegetation and a warmer, drier climate. Shortage of water is apparent.