Tiffany
Rockwell
Travelled
to Guatemala, 2010
I walked into Alpha y
Omega, a village in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, and I was floored. Approximately 50 families live in storage
units because their homes have been destroyed by volcanic activity. The team I
was with unloaded soccer balls, piñatas, candy, and toys. We expected to be
ambushed by kids, but for a moment there was overwhelming silence. This shot in
particular is of a kid who sat apprehensively for over forty-five minutes. The
children’s situation had taught them to be distrusting, and they played the
role well. It was not until we were persistent that walls fell down, and we
heard laughter and saw games being played and piñatas being torn down with
sticks. It was then that trust was built – when children realized that laughter
was universal; it permeates every culture.