TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEREK CLARK
I used the time during the flight from Cebu to Davao to select and edit some of the photos I had shot. I was happy with the results, but decided to do more portraits of the children of SOS Davao. There's a lot going on in the eyes of these kids and I needed to capture as much as possible.
Due to my schedule, I could only visit on a school day, so I wasn't able to arrive as early as I would have liked. I shot around the village for a while, just wandering and talking to the kids doing their chores or playing outside. Knocking on doors and going inside, hoping to find a fan to cool down. But it was after school and I knew I had limited time before the light went. I shot mostly outside and started to pick up a posse of the younger kids as I moved around, a few of them demanding I take their photo every minute or two (which I did). A small boy climbed on to my camera bag (which was hanging on my shoulder) and I had no chance of persuading him otherwise. It was hot and humid and the extra weight reminded me how a DSLR kid would have felt and I was thankful for my small Fuji X cameras. I held out as long as possible, but in the end my shoulder faded as fast as the light. I knew I had enough, but I wished I could have had one more day...at least.
SOS Children's Villages are active in 133 countries and territories. They give homes to children who have no parents or who's parents are unable to look after them properly. They give children, like the ones you see here, good homes and a family life. Possibilities and dreams for the future are suddenly a reality for kids that otherwise would have very few chances in life.
Please take a minute or two to visit the SOS websites and see the latest news.
