Blog by Portland Oregon Editorial Photographer: Adam Bacher
Labor Day in the United States brings thoughts of editorial photography assignments from Rwanda over the past eight years. Nowhere else have I consistently seen people work so hard. Without the heavy machinery commonplace our society, the people of Rwanda rely on manual labor to get the job done. As a Portland Oregon editorial photographer, watching a high school being constructed by hand was fascinating. A glimpse of how our country was built centuries ago.
The cement to build the Kigali Parents Secondary School, in Kigali, Rwanda, was mixed by hand from bags, rocks, and dirt. Concrete was shoveled under the hot sub-Saharan sun into small mixers, then carried by men and women up rickety planks to the second floor foundation, then dumped bucket by bucket over the course of a day to complete a small floor.
Exposure to the enormous differences in culture and technological development across the globe is one of the most fascinating aspects of being an editorial photographer from Portland, Oregon. It’s given me a tremendous appreciation and gratitude for living in the United States. I photograph regularly on editorial assignments in the developing world – Rwanda, Kenya, and Haiti most frequently. And currently sit on the board of the non-profit Itafari foundation, dedicated to improving the lives of the people of Rwanda.
Copyright 2015 Adam Bacher. All rights Reserved. Absolutely NO usage without prior authorization.
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