Storm Wrecked
I thought I was done writing about Katrina anniversary coverage until I finally picked up Sunday's New York Times Magazine and saw Brenda Ann Kenneally's photo essay, "Children of the Storm." Packaged with "Orphaned," a moving story by Jason DeParle, Kenneally's pictures depict Louisiana and Mississippi children living through conditions of utter destitution. The photos on the Web are accompanied by audio of the children and their parents talking about their lives. The combination gives us a strong sense of how difficult their day-to-day existence remains.
Last week, The Times featured another powerful combination of photos, text and audio. "Child Labor in Zambia" uses the words and voice of reporter Michael Wines with the pictures of Jeffrey Barbee to describe the life of 9-year-old Alone Banda and his grandmother, who spend their days crushing rocks into powder to help feed their families. Wines tells us that while child labor is declining in other parts of the world, it is rising in Africa. This is an important, moving story.