A Mother’s Work

Near Jama Masjid, India

Bano, this 20 year old woman, is cooking for her two children and her younger sister. She uses a make-shift, metal rack to support the tin she uses to cook in. Underneath the metal rack Bano builds a fire fueled by scrap wood and any other debris that she can find. She is cooking her usual meal of rice with Naan bread that she purchases from the nearby market.

Bano shares that she has been happily married since she was a 15 year-old. Her husband works in nearby Jaipur in order to provide for his family. Bano, her husband and their children live in a cardboard hut (pictured on the background in one of the images.) Despite her humble accommodations, she is spirited, content with her life and her marriage. She finds great pleasure in taking care of these children. Bano feels that she and her husband do the best they can to care for their family by providing them with shelter and food on a daily basis.

She is thankful that her family is able to stay together.