"Two lives"
Despite being born to the same mother on the same day, 10-year-old twins Lupita and Fatima Garay lead drastically different lives. Lupita has been severely disabled since birth and lives with her mother, father and two younger brothers in a shanty down a dirt road in Agua Prieta, Mexico. Lupita cannot walk, speak or eat without assistance. Fatima lives in a girls' orphanage across town, where she attends a private Catholic school and sleeps in a bed she can call her own.
The orphanage, La Divina Providencia, serves both children who have lost their parents and those whose parents cannot afford to take care of their children at home. I tried to document the daily lives of each girl, comparing and contrasting their routines. I tried to show that despite their drastic differences, they are still bound by family and a hope for a better life. I wanted to show that life for children along the U.S.-Mexico border is not easy. I wanted to show that even within a single family, opportunities for every member are not equal and often unfair.
Photos: Children of the borderland 3/4
Children of the borderland
A photodocumentary project funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation
Jeremiah Armenta
Kelley Karnes
Danielle Peterson
Brandon Quester
