Everyday superheroes: teenagers fight bullying in schools

Devi, 15, makes an ‘end violence’ hand sign outside SMP Negeri 3 (Junior Secondary School)
© UNICEF Indonesia/2019/Andrew Brown

It’s a bright, sunny morning on the last day of term at State Junior Secondary School 3 in Klaten, and the schoolyard is full of children in uniforms, chatting and playing. Klaten is one of the poorest towns in the Indonesian island of Java. It suffers from being located halfway between the more prosperous cities of Solo and Yogyakarta. Most families in this area are rice farmers and are vulnerable to poverty due to bad harvests.

Continue reading →

Photos: People of Malawi

Chanthunthu village Kasungu edit v2 — The Headmaster of a school in Kasungu, where UNICEF launched a drone testing corridor
© UNICEF Malawi/2017/Andrew Brown

While most of my photography for UNICEF focuses on children, I’ve also taken portraits of the adults who work with and care for them in schools, health centres and elsewhere. Malawians are generally friendly and welcoming and make good subjects for photos. Older people in particular have faces full of character, although unlike children they take photos very seriously and have to be coaxed into providing a smile. People dress very smartly, like the headmaster above, even if they live in remote rural areas without water or electricity. Continue reading “Photos: People of Malawi” →

Photos: Children of Malawi

_DSC0083 (3) — Children laugh at a fishing village beside Lake Chilwa, where I was writing a story
© UNICEF Malawi/2017/Andrew Brown

One of the pleasures of working for UNICEF is travelling to remote parts of Malawi to write stories about children and their families. Sometimes I’m accompanied by a professional photographer but other times I go on my own. This gives me some great opportunities to photograph children. Some of these children are the subjects of stories I wrote, while others are just curious kids from the neighbourhood who came to see what was going on. Like most places in the world, children in Malawi love having their photo taken, But here they see cameras much less often, so are that much more excited. Continue reading “Photos: Children of Malawi” →