This week I’ve received great news: this photo of Aicha Drame is the winner of the European Disability and Development Week Photo Contest 2017.

Aicha plays with her friends in the playground at school. Aicha is albino and she lives in Bissau. Aicha is a beneficiary of the Integrated Project on Inclusive Education, Protection and Early Detection of Disabilities that Handicap International has been implementing in Guinea-Bissau. Aicha has a visual impairment as well as a very delicate skin, but this doesn’t stop her from playing and having fun with her friends during recess at school. She is very integrated within her group of classmates, she has lots of friends and she has a very extroverted character, she is very participative.

The power of this picture is in the pure joy and excitement of a group of children playing together. It is also remarkable Aicha’s character, which plays a very important role in the frame. She’s the first child to don’t even see or notice any difference with her friends, that is fantastic! The best way to show inclusion is with a natural moment as this one, where children are playing altogether without any concern. Aicha might have a visual impairment, but her big smile and her joy show that she doesn’t care at all, as her friends don’t care either.

Aicha Drame’s story will travel to Brussels in February and March 2018 to be part of the exhibition “Together for inclusion” about Disability and Development. Massive thanks to Handicap International Team in Guinee-Bissau for their trust in me and for their amazing work!!!