Childhood in Abidjan

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." –Marcel Proust

In 2012, above 63% of the population in the Ivory Coast was under 18 years old. With the overload of children in the country, it is common to see them wandering in the street and discovering life too soon. I want the viewers to see through the pictures the daily life of children who wander in the streets in solitude, alone but not lonely. Even though family plays an important role in their culture, children are too often left alone and forced to find a way to learn how to live by themselves. From looking for ways to bring money to their home to building their own swing set, I captured portraits from different activities the children engage.

These portraits constitute of an excursion, a voyage of discovery, into seeing African's childhood through a new eye. This is the story of Cheik, Grace, Abbi and other hundreds of Ivorian children that together reflect their thoughts, fears and dreams in their eyes.