Andrew Henderson (Western Kentucky University)
Silver | Portfolio
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A crowd forms outside Rowe Memorial School in Hyderabad, India, in protest over not being allowed into a school celebration. Rowe Memorial School is an expensive private school surrounded by slums in Hyderabad.
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Lucy Karadontes, of Jeffersonville, N.Y., kisses an icon of Jesus painted by two artists from Athens, Greece, inside St. Mary of the Assumption. Her father in law and two local carpenters built the small Greek Orthodox chapel on her property 70 years ago.
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A houseboy of Sye Ali holds a goat in the air before it is sacrificed and given to the poor at the end of Sye Ali’s wedding ceremony in Hyderabad, India.
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A man waits for another drink at a bar in Liberty, N.Y.
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Dasu Santosha receives communion at the end of a Christian church in Khammam, India.
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Jonah Gleckler, 6, of St. Louis, Mo., sticks his head in a Superman body as Cory Swinford, of Pinson, Ala., posing as Clark Kent, stands in the foreground. The Superman Festival is held every year with the Superman Museum owned by Jim Hambrick in Metropolis, Illinois. The event brings out a few thousand people from all around the world, many of them dressing up as Superman or other comic book characters.
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Mercedez Ortega, 43, of Bowling Green, Ky. (foreground), plays the tambourine during praise and worship at Iglesia La Nueva El Calvaria. Dovca Debora Saenz, 29, also of Bowling Green, prays in the background. “Jesus is everything for me. He is my life,� said Saenz.
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Hip hop artist Project Pat stands in his grandmother’s house, which was burnt down in early 2006, for the first time since he was released from prison.
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Seeltou Kasim, of Khammam, India, sweeps rice into a pile while working at a rice facility. Kasim works an average of 11 hours a day in a facility that cleans, separates, and packages rice, the staple food of southern India, for the 2.6 million people living in Khammam.
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Ellamma Tapetla, of Khammam, India, prays before the casket of Matiah Nalla is buried in the ground. Normally bodies are cremated due to the high cost of land in India, but because Nalla was the elder of the village he was granted a burial behind the Christian church on the land of the lepers. Tapetla said, “ We used to call him dad. He was always like a dad to us.�
Making it in Kentucky
Christy Murrell lives in a rented apartment in Bowling Green, Ky. along with her four children and boyfriend. She supports the family on welfare checks along with her boyfriend Brian Pittman’s 3rd shift job at a bottle cap factory close to their home. Christy Murrell suffers from health problems (obesity and diabetes) along with an addiction to cigarettes, which never seem to be out of her hand. Murrell’s lifestyle is beginning to affect her children. Two-month-old Serinity Pittman was born with severe asthma and had to attend Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., on a regular basis for treatment and her one year old half brother, Trey Murrell is treated on a weekly basis by an occupational therapist. The neglect received from their mother Christie is lessened by the love her boyfriend Brian Pittman has for the children. The children often just play by themselves except on special occasions such as birthday parties. The following story looks at the life of Christy Murrell and the effects that poverty has placed on her family. Christy Murrell, of Bowling Green, Ky., lights a cigarette as she watches television with two of her children, Destiny and Cheyenne (Left to Right.) No one is suppose to smoke on Christy Murrell’s property because her two-month-old, Serinity, was born with severe asthma. Murrell is a chain smoker, doing it outside the house as well in her bedroom, where the baby sleeps.
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Christy Murrell lives in a rented apartment in Bowling Green, Ky. along with her four children and boyfriend. She supports the family on welfare checks along with her boyfriend Brian Pittman’s 3rd shift job at a bottle cap factory close to their home. Christy Murrell suffers from health problems (obesity and diabetes) along with an addiction to cigarettes, which never seem to be out of her hand. Murrell’s lifestyle is beginning to affect her children. Two-month-old Serinity Pittman was born with severe asthma and had to attend Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., on a regular basis for treatment and her one year old half brother, Trey Murrell is treated on a weekly basis by an occupational therapist. The neglect received from their mother Christie is lessened by the love her boyfriend Brian Pittman has for the children. The children often just play by themselves except on special occasions such as birthday parties. The following story looks at the life of Christy Murrell and the effects that poverty has placed on her family. Christy Murrell, of Bowling Green, Ky., lights a cigarette as she watches television with two of her children, Destiny and Cheyenne (Left to Right.) No one is suppose to smoke on Christy Murrell’s property because her two-month-old, Serinity, was born with severe asthma. Murrell is a chain smoker, doing it outside the house as well in her bedroom, where the baby sleeps.
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Making it in Kentucky- Untitled- Christy Murrell, of Bowling Green, Ky., switches the channel on the television. Murrell, who suffers from obesity and diabetes, sits in front of the television everyday for most of the day, while her children are attending school. “TV is my release from stress. I guess I would be healthier if I did not have one,� stated Christy.
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Christy Murrell smokes a cigarette as her four-year-old daughter Destiny asks a question.
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Destiny Murrell swings a bat at a piñata as her family and friends look on at her brother Trey Murrell’s first birthday party.
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Brian Pittman spends time with his girlfriend Christy Murrell before he has to go to work. Pittman works third shift at a local plastic factory making bottle tops for brands such as Bacardi and Gatorade. While talking to his father on the phone Pittman told him, “Live life to the fullest. There is no reason to be unhappy. I made the decision and now I’m happy. I had to do it.�
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Christy Murrell changes her son Trey’s diaper while watching television. Later in the evening Christy said to her boyfriend Brian Pittman, “You always get to do the fun stuff and I always get to do the cleaning.�
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Destiny and Cheyenne Murrell play together as their mother, Christy, rests after cleaning up some of their bedroom. “My kids are stressful. I love my kids. Good thing is, I was young having them so I will be young when they are older, and the best thing is, I cant have anymore,� said Christy.
Story: Making it in Kentucky
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Christy Murrell rests during the afternoon while her daughter Serenity Pittman, sleeps on top of her. During the day Murrell will watch Serinity and Trey while her other children are at school.