In the photograph, a smiling Togonese woman in her 20s
dips a bowl into a basin. In the background, just under the
woman's feet, is a large, craterous well with exposed roots
at its rim and a small pool of sediment-filled water at its
deep end. The photo's caption says it all: "Water for
drinking, preparing food, bathing and cleaning —
Boussoulou, Togo."
The image, taken by Johns Hopkins graduate student
Sara Holtz, is just one of many striking photographs
entered into the School of
Public Health's first photo contest.
Initiated by the school's Office of Communications and
Public Affairs, the contest seeks to promote and document
the school's global public health mission. Every day, the
school works to keep millions around the world safe from
illness and injury by pioneering new research and deploying
its knowledge and expertise in the field. Its faculty and
students participate in hundreds of projects all over the
world, from Baltimore to Bangladesh.
The contest entries, currently featured on the
school's Web site, show the diversity of that work. Some
are poignant, some beautiful, some grim and some
hopeful.
Holtz, a student in the
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive
Health, said that she took her woman and water well
photograph during her days in the Peace Corps in the late
1990s. She decided to enter this particular photo in the
contest because she felt it eloquently captured the public
health theme. In that village, like many others of its kind
throughout Africa, the process of obtaining usable water is
a constant hardship and one fraught with dangers, she
said.
From Tom Neill: 'A'chi Woman from
Rural Women's Weaving Co-op.'
|
"She dug that hole that she is using, and she then had
to fill a metal basin with water and carry it back home to
her family," said Holtz, who admired the ability of women
to carry such water-filled basins great distances on their
head. "But when you have an exposed well like this, you can
never be sure what is in the water. Nomadic herders can
travel by, and their cows drink from it. You can put your
foot in the water and inadvertently transmit disease. There
can be bacteria in there. The process is filled with health
risks."
Thea Glidden, executive director of the school's
Office of Communications and Public Affairs, said the
inspiration for the contest was the wealth of
professional-quality photos that her office has seen from
faculty and students over the years.
"I knew we had a lot of talented photographers out
there. They would show us photos when they returned from
trips abroad, and we've always been amazed at the quality
and the depth of the images, Glidden said. "We thought a
contest like this could show just how many very talented
photographers we have." Glidden said she anticipates the
contest being an annual event.
The site received about 150 pictures during the
submission period, which ran from Feb. 12 to March 30.
The photos could be from any period. The contest
— open only to School of Public Health faculty,
staff, students and alumni — allowed five photos per
entrant.
Voting for the contest begins today and ends on
Sunday, April 8. The public is encouraged to visit the site
and vote for his or her favorite. Each person may vote only
once per day.
The winning entries will be selected by a combination
of votes from Dean Michael Klag, the Office of
Communications and Public Affairs and online voting. The
photos will be judged on their popularity (online vote),
creativity, production quality and relevance to the
school's mission.
Winners will be announced online on April 16 and
included in the spring issue of Johns Hopkins Public
Health Magazine.
Glidden said that she expects the winning photographs,
and some nonwinning entries, will also find their way into
other school publications, education materials and Web
pages.
To see all the photos and to vote, go to:
commprojects.jhsph.edu/photocontest.
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