Buzz
Children offer a profound glimpse into life across the globe, and their personal sanctuaries—often shared—unveil even deeper stories about their lives. At first glance, the concept of where children sleep may seem trivial, but upon closer inspection, these images unfold powerful narratives of bravery, sorrow, and – for the fortunate few – happiness. This list comes from an incredible book I recently acquired and highly recommend. It's titled “Where Children Sleep,” and the author, photographer, and copyright holder of all the images featured here is James Mollison.
10. Kyoto, Japan Risa, 15 years old
Risa resides with thirteen women in a traditional teahouse in Kyoto as she trains to become a geisha. She decided to pursue this path after watching geishas on television. Her daily routine involves hours of training in tea-making, elocution, singing, and dance. Risa is the youngest maiko (a trainee who has passed the test to become a geisha) in all of Japan. She gets two days off each month.
9. Yunnan, China Dong, 9 years old
Dong shares a room with his parents and sisters. His family owns just enough land to grow rice and sugar cane. Although Dong is provided a free education due to his rural location, his parents are still responsible for his uniform and tuition fees. Dong dreams of becoming a policeman one day so he can 'catch thieves.'
8. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Alex, 9 years old
Alex doesn’t attend school; instead, he spends his time begging on the streets. He also survives by stealing from elderly people or individuals sitting in cars at traffic lights. Struggling with glue addiction, he mostly sleeps outdoors, either on an empty bench or an abandoned sofa. Occasionally, he visits his family to share a meal with them.
7. Liberia, Western Africa Anonymous, 9 years old
This boy (whose identity is kept anonymous for his safety) was once a child soldier during the civil war in Liberia. The promise of food and money made the decision to join an irresistible one. Now, he attends a school for former child soldiers. An orphan with three brothers, he aspires to become a teacher when he grows up.
6. Mae Sot, Thailand Lay Lay, 4 years old
Lay Lay, originally from Burma, lives in Thailand as a refugee. She is an orphan and stays in an orphanage that has two rooms – one serves as a classroom during the day, and the other is transformed into a bedroom at night. Every evening, the tables are pushed aside to create a shared sleeping space for Lay Lay and twenty-one other children her age. Each child has a small box to store their belongings, and for Lay Lay, this consists of just a few items of clothing.
5. Bat Ayin, Occupied Palestine Yiftach, 10 years old
Yiftach lives in a well-crafted wooden house built by his father, a Jewish Zionist who believes the land was divinely given to them. Yiftach enjoys studying solar energy and nature, and he dreams of becoming a pilot in the Israeli army when he grows up. His father always carries a gun, believing his children are not safe from the nearby Palestinians.
4. Hebron, Israel Douha, 10 years old
Douha resides in a Palestinian refugee camp due to her brother Mohammed’s suicide bombing attack on Israelis, which killed him and twenty-three civilians. In retaliation, the Israeli government demolished Douha’s family home and destroyed all their belongings. Douha keeps a poster of her brother hanging in her room.
3. Kentucky, USA Jasmine, 4 years old
Jasmine, who prefers being called “Jazzy,” lives with her parents and three brothers in a spacious countryside home. Her room is filled with crowns and sashes from the child beauty pageants she has won. Jazzy competes in a pageant every weekend, with each event costing $1,000. She adores being treated like a princess and aspires to become a rock star when she grows up.
2. Phnom Penh, Cambodia Roathy, 8 years old
Roathy and his family live in a vast rubbish dump, surviving by reusing discarded materials. Roathy’s bed is made from old tires. The dump is infested with flies that swarm around the 5,000 people who live, work, and pay rent there. Most residents scavenge bottles and cans to sell to a recycling company.
1. Kathmandu, Nepal Netu, 11 years old
Netu was sent from her family in India to live with her aunt in Nepal due to their inability to afford food. However, her aunt’s situation is not much better, so Netu spends her days begging for food. She rarely earns anything since only tourists offer help. Her home is a small shack made of plastic sheets, measuring just four meters by six, which she shares with eleven other people.
