Traveling the world with a third-eye has always been the way I prefer to experience life. It means to view life openly and see everything – good or bad- with an open mind and heart. The world through my eyes can be contradictory and complex. Seeing both good and bad can bring so much immense joy and happiness while also such deep sadness that it makes your heart ache. Yet in my humble opinion, you cannot go through life with a blind eye. Otherwise nothing will change.
On my most recent trip through the Delhi slums as part of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, I saw a tremendous amount through my eyes. If I could look beyond the immense poverty, destruction, destitution and disease, I could also find beauty and hope. Beauty in the lovely warm smiles across the children’s eager faces whenever I pulled my camera out to snap their photo. Hope among the innocent faces of the girls in schools finally being given a chance to learn.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The world through my eyes sees so incredibly much.
This post was written in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: The World Through My Eyes. To view more entries, click here.
Absolutely gorgeous, my friend. I miss India!
Thanks Jennifer! I had to do it on my iPad as my big computer is in the shop so I wasn’t able to crop the pics how I’d have wanted but I still love the smiling faces on those children. I had so much fun with you on that trip Jennifer. What a life-changing trip. It confirmed my belief that this is the work for me, a life calling that I hope to someday do many more social good country visits and volunteerism. Seeing it on the ground makes it so much more of a reality. I will be following every post of your trip to Zambia and back to rural India with devotion! 🙂
These are precious and powerful images, Nicole. I need to get back to Delhi soon. I miss it! Have a great weekend, my friend.
Hugs,
Kathy
Thanks Kathy! Aren’t the children lovely? I just wanted to hug and love them all. So inquisitive and so special. They all begged me to take their photo and the after I did, I showed them the picture on my camera and they smiled. They would have kept me there all day taking their photos if I could have stayed! 🙂
It tugs at the heart, Nicole- as intended! Well done. 🙂
Thanks Jo! These kids were relentless in their desire to have their photo taken.They kept chasing after me with big smiles. I could have hugged each one. So inquisitive, so loving and so innocent.
Excellent! A priseworthy job. The very first image es formiable, it expresses by itself all your concern. Congratulations!
Oh thank you so much! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Hope! Lovely! That’s what makes the world go round.
Yes indeed! 🙂
Ah India, and the children, the beautiful innocent children! We can learn much from them, if only, a certain resilience in adversity. Thanks for the photos and post!
You’re welcome! It was such a treat to go there and meet these beautiful kids. Makes my advocacy work all that more important.
I see skinny, malnourished kids (bar the last pic.). 🙁
Yes malnutrition is a huge huge problem in poor India. Just like here in the US, you also see many people that are largely obese yet the difference with poverty in India is that you see many skinny children and adults who have nothing to eat. Organizations like Save the Children are trying to help these kids get the nutrition they need but it is a tough battle with so many people living in poverty and food prices soaring.
Reblogged this on techbeautyblog.
Thanks for the reblog! 🙂
Reblogged this on ramblinginthecity and commented:
Lovely captures of slum children!
The kids may be poor but one can see the hunger and fire in the belly to achieve well. What they need is a proper platform to make their dreams come true. Thanks for sharing:)
Yes so true. That is what was so inspiring about the different NGOs we visited in the slums where I took these pictures. The free schools that were helping these children learn and get a better chance at life where very inspiring.
When you look at a child, they have the same innocence, aspirations & desires irrespective of the fact whether they are in a slum or inside your own home. Children are the best thing to happen to our society and yet we go ahead and corrupt them as per our own prejudices.
Love the pictures you have taken and I am sure you fell in love with them the moment you saw them.
Great words! Yes, so incredibly true. When I went to India and met with the different NGOs working in these slums with the children, it was both heartbreaking and hopeful. What inspired me so much is that despite everything, these kids were just like my own. With hug smiles and hearts. I did fall in love with them and left committed to continuing my work in advocacy to help make as much change as I can.
You are doing something we only think about and after a while get back to our boring lives. It is great to get in touch with someone like you who knows that the kids mean the world … I wish you the best and hope to stay in touch with you. Cheers 🙂
Thank you! I look forward to doing whatever I can over the future to help out and give back! 🙂
Yes so true! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
These are beautiful photos and absolutely beautiful, inspiring children. It’s amazing how much the children of different cultures have the ability to full us in and make us feel like home there, when we’re really thousands of miles away.
Thank you so much! They were delightful, playful and so wanting me to take their picture. I took them while visiting the slum with Save the Children where I learned about their work. The children made me smile. Yet there is so much work to be done!
You are so right on third eye… to count how many countries one has been to, to me, is a waste. To experience, feel, enjoy, smile, cry and lend a caring helping hand inside a culture is what it’s all about.
Beautifully said. Thanks so much! 🙂
What wonderful pictures!
janet
Thank you so much! 🙂 They make me smile!
These are some of your most magnificent images yet Nicole. 🙂
Oh thank you LuAnn! I met these kids at our slum tour with Save the Children. They were so delighted to have their photos taken that I could hardly leave. 🙂
Lovely shots Nicole. I too beleive our way and thinking is not always the right one, but one we find familar or correct for the time being. We need to be open and see what is there… if only more people were more open minded imagine the possibilities.
Thanks so much! 🙂 Yes we need to keep at it and help others, live life with an open mind and see what we can do! 🙂
Yup 🙂
Powerful pictures. Their faces, their eyes…and their smiles. So much potential if given the opportunity. Loved this post 🙂
Thank you so much Megan. This is exactly how I feel about these kids. The good thing that there are a lot of NGOs working in the slums trying to help these children and their families. The bad thing is there are so many families living in these situations. But you’ve got to keep hope! 🙂
I have a daughter currently working in Haiti. Yes, Haiti. She was in Uganda before that (this is why I am prematurely gray) doing health/aid work. I’ve been down to Haiti and it is Just. So. Overwhelming. You want to fix everything right away, but where to start?….I absolutely KNOW that education is the answer. I know this. I love how you’ve found a way to contribute while you travel. Ripples in the pond, right?
Thanks so much for the wonderful words. You are indeed correct: Ripples in the pond. Just one step can make a difference. I would love to go to Haiti someday. That is on my list. Thanks for the encouragement!
So heartrendingly beautiful Nicole!
Thanks Madhu! I sure love India and its children. So lovely. I really hope to visit again and someday see the rural parts of the country. Did I tell you how much I LOVE the food too!
Such a beautiful post, Nicole!
Thanks Jennifer! 🙂
Precious shots. Precious children.
Thanks Jessica!