For this years Unicef photo competition I, Elmer Machuca Chacon (19 years, Peru) have chosen to tell my story about “How children are the victim of the poverty”.
Sometimes life can be so difficult for parents that the children end up just as much a victim of poverty as them. This is a story I lived myself, but of course couldn’t take pictures of at that time.
That is why in these photos I choose to tell MY story through the eyes of my 5 year old niece called Annabel.
I want to show how she lives in poverty in the dessert on the outskirts of Trujillo.
Together with her mother and my alcoholic brother.
What her actual situation is and how she survives and maintains herself in a very complicated world filled with a lot of sadness.
But despite the sadness I also see her strength.
The strength to survive and to get out of her situation in a country where there is little support for children.
Through my pictures I like to show this inner strength many children do have.
I want to show that children, with the help of organizations and other children can utilize this inner force to break the chain of poverty and create a better life for themselves and their families.
Because the world should be a happy place for everyone.
I hope to become a lighting example for other children that this is possible, as it is my dream to study Cinema and Photography. I want to become a famous director and make a film like Slumdog Millionaire!