Foot Bath Beyond The Ring Road

• Prize
  Gold in Editorial/Environmental
• Photographer
  Michela Vanda Caserini
• Technical Info
  Camera: Fujifilm-x-s10- 23.0 Mm F/2.0- Iso 1000
• Photo Date
  26-04-2024

Chamanculo is a neighborhood in the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. In the local Xangana language it means: “where only the tallest can walk” because since colonial times this area of the city has been prone to flooding. It is a low-lying area. Maputo, in fact, was built on a swamp, a city shaped by colonialism and by the resistance of African peoples, which were forced to live beyond the ring road. Last March 2024 heavy rains fell for two days. As a result, the residents of Chamanculo were left submerged for two weeks, waiting in vain for pumps or assistance.

I don’t know if I can consider my self as a professional photographer but I hope one day I may be able to show what I have seen, to keep the promise I made to those residents in Mozambique—who, once photographed after the flood, asked me to share my images with the world so that everyone could know what was happening in their homes. The greatest challenge is to seek a dialogue, an exchange, hoping for the most authentic one possible, in order to establish a relationship that can somehow justify my presence, making it appear less arrogant and, hopefully, kind.