Phil Borges strives to enhance cross-cultural understanding and help build a sense of global citizenship.

Ipipa 7,  Lamalia 70+, Maralal, Kenya

Every morning seven-year-old Ipipa leads his blind great grandmother, Lamalia, on her daily walk in Kenya’s remote northern frontier district. (Samburu Tribe)

I was told that Ipipa volunteered to be his great grandmother’s eyes as she went about her daily activities.  His dedication to and compassion for her really impressed me, especially for someone his age.

Shokira, 21 y.o., Kabul, Afghanistan

I photographed Shokira after the Taliban had been removed from power. She was 8 when the Taliban took over the country in 1996. At that time women were banned from employment and education and forbidden to go out in public without a close male relative. Prior to the Taliban rule women made up 70% of the teachers 50% of the civil servants and 40% of the doctors. Shokira recently enrolled in a literacy program for young women to make up for the education that she was denied.  Forced to wear the Burka in public during the Taliban reign she now chooses to wear it when she doesn’t have time to fix her hair. I was completely impressed by the dedication of Shokira’s teacher, Fahima, who continued to teach girls during the Taliban’s reign in spite of threats that anyone doing so would be executed.

This image was part of an exhibition and book celebrating Women heroes, remote and mostly unknown, on the forefront of a slow but steady transformation bringing social and economic justice to women and girls worldwide.