#alexiafoundation

Here.Out #alexiafoundation #newhousesyracuse (at Hotel Skyler)

Recommended series: Stolen Land, Stolen Future; Black Native Narrative 

Repost from @alexiafoundation "Me and a friend of mine, we assumed a loan that was in foreclosure, and the federal land bank made us all these deals before we assumed the loans, and after it got tied up they reneged on their promises." - James McGill My name is Michael Santiago @msantiagophotos the 2015 #alexiagrant student winner and I will be sharing my project "Stolen Land, Stolen Future" a project focusing on Black farmers in California. The Alexia Foundation will begin accepting applications for its 2017 Professional and Student #grants on Jan. 2nd 2017 #documentary #photojournalism #alexiafoundation #blackfarmers

Photo by @amivitale. Khady Balde wakes up and tries to get warmed by the sun on a cold early January morning. Guinea Bissau is one of the most impoverished countries on the planet. The Alexia Professional Grant encouraged me to spend time on the stories that rarely make it to the mainstream headlines. For the first time, I could work without the pressures of deadlines and editors telling me what they wanted and I was able to deliver another narrative that went beyond my own paradigm of values. It also made me see the importance of giving a voice to those who so often go unrecognized rather just reporting the daily "events.” This week I shared my work on the @alexiafoundation account. In 2000, I was awarded a Professional #AlexiaGrant to document the lives of the people of Guinea Bissau. The Alexia Foundation will begin accepting applications for its 2017 Professional and Student Grants on Jan. 2, 2017. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @everydayafrica #guineabissau #africa #photooftheday #photography #topshot #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #documentary #photojournalism #alexiafoundation #amivitale

Photo by @amivitale. Halima holds her first, newborn baby inside her hut in Guinea Bissau, West Africa. Women do not name their babies for ten days and the naming ceremony is extensive and elaborate, with special prayers recited by the religious elder. She later named her baby Abi Tako as a symbol of her friendship with the baby’s namesake. I went back to Guinea Bissau in 2011 and photographed Abi Tako as a teenager. She is one of the first girls in the village to go to school outside of the village. Her grandfather bought her a bicycle so she could travel to the school. Most people have no running water, no electricity, no access to health care or even a basic education. But despite what you might imagine, there is a lot of joy here. I discovered a place that is rarely reported in mainstream press. It was not the Africa of war and famines and plagues, nor was it the idealized world of safaris and exotic animals. It was something in between. This week I shared my work on the @alexiafoundation account. In 2000, I was awarded a Professional #AlexiaGrant to document the lives of the people of Guinea Bissau. The Alexia Foundation will begin accepting applications for its 2017 Professional and Student Grants on Jan. 2, 2017. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @everydayafrica #guineabissau #africa #photooftheday #photography #topshot #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #documentary #photojournalism #alexiafoundation #amivitale

Photo by @amivitale. Alio Balde scrubs his body in front of the touffe in a village in the eastern part of the West African country of Guinea Bissau. This week I am sharing my work on the @alexiafoundation account. In 2000, I was awarded a Professional #AlexiaGrant to document the life of the people of Guinea Bissau. The Alexia Foundation will begin accepting applications for its 2017 Professional and Student Grants on Jan. 2, 2017. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @everydayafrica #guineabissau #africa #photooftheday #photography #topshot #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #documentary #photojournalism #alexiafoundation #amivitale

Photo by @amivitale. Adema Balde washes near her family's rice fields in the West African country of Guinea Bissua. This week I am sharing my work on the @alexiafoundation account. In 2000, I was awarded a Professional #AlexiaGrant to document the life of the people of Guinea Bissau. I thought I would visit for a few weeks. Those weeks turned into a months, then half a year. It was here — without the pressure of a deadline, or the expectation of a magazine — that I learned the importance of patience and of taking time to tell a story. Most people have no running water, no electricity but despite what you might imagine, there was a lot of joy here. I discovered a place that is rarely reported in mainstream press. It was not the Africa of war and famines, nor was it the idealized world of safaris and exotic animals. Instead it was a look into the simplicity and beauty of how the majority of people on this planet live. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @everydayafrica #guineabissau #africa #photooftheday #photography #topshot #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #documentary #photojournalism #alexiafoundation #amivitale

Photo by @amivitale. Children eat the staple diet of rice from a communal bowl in a small village in Guinea Bissau. During the end of the dry season, there is little to eat and many villagers will have only one meal of rice each day. This week I am sharing my work on the @alexiafoundation account. In 2000, I was awarded a Professional #AlexiaGrant to document the lives of the people of Guinea Bissau. The Alexia Foundation will begin accepting applications for its 2017 Professional and Student Grants on Jan. 2, 2017. My time there was a look into the simplicity and beauty of how the majority of people on this planet live. Through it all, I was reminded of how similar we all are despite the distances between us. One memory in particular reminds me of this — on my last evening in the small village I sat with a group of children beneath a sea of stars talking into the night about my upcoming return home. One of the children, Alio, innocently asked me if we had a moon in America. It seemed so symbolic and touching that he should feel that America was a so far away we would not share the same moon in our sky. Last night, I thought of Alio again as I gazed at the full moon and I imagine him standing under that big sea of stars looking up at it. The moon is like a collective third eye. It shows us our common identity without borders. It gives us a sense of oneness. It serves as a constant reminder that we are all tied together in an intricate web, whether we believe it or not. @natgeo @natgeocreative @thephotosociety @nikonusa @everydayafrica #guineabissau #africa #photooftheday #photography #topshot #nikonusa #nikonlove #nikonnofilter #nikonambassador #nikond4s #nikond5 #documentary #photojournalism #alexiafoundation #amivitale