South Sudanese woman, Regina, mobilizes Guinea Worm Disease volunteers.
I have not shared here on the blog until now any of my South Sudan images I photographed while on assignment for the Carter Center in late 2019, but I thought today would be a great day to start as women were such a big feature of my assignment there. I was in South Sudan to document the ongoing efforts of the Carter Center to eradicate the Guinea Worm Disease, a debilitating tropical disease which 25 years ago used to affect over three million people. Because of all the work that the Carter Center has put in, working with local volunteers the number of cases in 2019 had dropped to under 50.
One of the most amazing volunteers I met while in South Sudan was a woman called Regina who is credited with creating original Guinea Worm songs and dances to teach how the disease spreads and how to prevent it. Her energy was infectious and it took real effort to keep up with her moving through the villages. The photograph above portrays her mobilizing other volunteers and I thought it is the perfect photograph to share for this year’s International Women’s Day.