#student fellow

Bhagwan Dass Road, New Delhi, India

Today's stack of grievances sent to the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in New Delhi. Each folder is claim filed by a PWD where they were denied services or access protected by the 1995 PWD Act.

Image and caption by Kate Petcosky-Kulkarni.

An oil production vessel is approached by a traditional fishing canoe. Image by John Soper. Ghana, 2015

Labor Disputes, Local Concerns Prevent Ghanaian Oil from Helping Ghanaians

Oil was discovered only eight years ago in Ghana, and now its oil and gas industry is one of the most productive in West Africa and its new prosperity has been expected to fuel growth in the Ghanaian economy. 

Yet, so far, the oil industry has failed to live up to the Ghanaian citizens’ expectations for economic development, fairness to workers, and good relations with local fishermen.

“The biggest problem we have is the salaries are not uniform. The salaries are very bad,” said Fusseini Iddrisu, the General-Secretary of the GTPCWU (General Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union). “We want to work out a system with the authorities to have a common salary regime across the board so the workers are paid the same for the same job.”

Palestinian Farmer Runs Summer Camp

Since the second Intifada, Daoud Nassar's Tent of Nations (TON) has run a summer camp on an organic farm in the hills outside of Bethlehem. Engaging local children in the arts, athletics, and their rural heritage, the educational farm hopes to foster the confidence the children need to actively shape their own future—and, eventually, the future of Palestine.

Visakhapatnam, #India—A fisherman loads rocks in a net to serve as an anchor. Behind him, a wrecked ship lies abandoned on a dock. It’s been seven months since cyclone Hudhud slammed into India’s eastern coast. But remnants of the storm—from destroyed boats, to uprooted trees, to roofless houses—are everywhere.

Image and caption by student fellow Zach Hollo, via Instagram. India, 2015.

Venice makes the international news these days, like most anything else, because of its problems. The bulk of which name frequently the tourists, or winter’s acqua alta from the Adriatic. However, this week, it's Venice leaders and politicos who've finally recognized that tourists in droves might not help the city stay afloat—and may compound, in fact, deterioration of this UNESCO world heritage site. Three days ago, a mandate was passed in response to the “No Grandi Navi” campaign in Venezia: fewer cruise ship will be allowed into Saint Mark’s lagoon, between Giudecca and San Marco.

This is a big victory for “No Grandi Navi,” a mostly local movement to stop the passage of cruise ships within the larger canals around the city that's been led by some part of Venice's fewer than 60,000 citizens.  

To read the post about the cruise ships visit “No Grandi Navi" online. 

Image and text by Eric Shoemaker. Venice, 2014. 

Filming final scenes in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for the Pulitzer Center. 

Image and text by Jennifer Gonzalez, via Instagram. Dominican Republic, 2015. 

Nursing officer Jane (in red) traveled several miles to the home of one of her cervical cancer patients, located in a Central Ugandan village.

In Jane’s experience, patients favor screening that brings health workers into communities. Her patients would rather be close to home and near to other women in their villages. “For somebody to come up to [the town center], they fear no transport,” Jane said. “They fear what will happen if found positive. But if they come in a big number they feel comforted.” Yet local screening in Jane’s district happens rarely due to lack of funds available for worker transportation.

Image and text by Sasha Garrey, via Instagram. Uganda, 2014. 

A gorgeous view of the Eidfjord; one of the most popular tourist and cruise-line destinations in Norway.

Image and caption by Britton Nagy. Norway, 2014.