Look at "The Photo Book" page 486 ("Hands" Michael Wells).
It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. How does this picture exemplify this? How does it aid the missionary's cause in Uganda? How can it be used, for what purpose?
Be sure to read the caption!
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I was completely taken back when I first looked at this photograph. I really didn’t know what to think at first because the picture is depressing but yet appears as an awakening as well. It’s very hard to imagine as well that this is an actual hand of a child and not some “claw of a bird” as the caption depicted. Upon examining the picture and not until probably my fourth glance did I notice another child, most likely, standing in the background and the extremity to which he/she looks famished and decrepit like the hand shown. Personally, it appears as if the hand has no life and the child is slowly decaying away and it is important to note the significance behind the missionary’s efforts in this country and the recognition that this photo brings to the rest of the world. The missionary’s cause is valiant and should not go unnoticed. There are numerous other cases such as this that occur around the world every single day in other countries living in poverty that have no hope to look forward to for the future. This photograph truly puts into perspective the meaning of famine as well as poverty. There is no telling how many children and adults like the one shown die each day because there are not enough people around the world aware of the extremity of situations such as this one. This picture surely is worth a thousand words.
Ugh—what an absolutely heartbreaking photograph. I literally have a physical reaction when I look at this. The caption focuses on the second aspect I think we all see when we look at this picture: the well-nourished and even pudgy hand holding the skeletal hand of the famine victim.
I have a hard time when I see all the fat, developed-world missionaries (and all missionaries are fat in comparison) because the juxtaposition is too much to bear. Why is one hand malnourished and one hand over-nourished? The world is off-balance.
Of course I also feel relief—and a sense of urgency—because now the child’s hand has found a hand that is attached to a person who can help. When I see pictures like this, I often wonder whether the photographer has stepped up and fixed the problem—or is he or she simply standing around as a not-so-innocent bystander? In any case, I feel better knowing that this one child probably got fed. Whether or not he or she is still living with a full belly is something about which I cannot be sure.
I know I don’t like seeing pictures of Madonna (the singer) surrounded by the starving children of Africa and captions running across talking about how much money she donates. She has dozens of homes and billions on dollars. What if everyone in this country just had ONE home? What do you think?
It might as well be words. It compels many arguments. It says this small famished hand has nothing and yet this missionary has enough. It says this helpless hand needs help from the healthy one.
It aids the missionaries cause because you can not look at the picture and say, they don't need help. It can be used to argue the fact that Americans consume way too many resources and leave third world countries without those precious resources to slowly die. It can also be used to say, they need our help because they can not do it on their own.
My stomach actually sank when I saw this photograph. I did not think that picture was real. If any picture should be used as an example of "a picture is worth a thousand words" this is the one. My feelings upon seeing is photo are almost undescribable. It is hard to believe that that is the actual hand of a child from Uganda. This photo is just evidience that the missionary work is needed in Uganda. It be used to show how badly help is needed in other parts of the world. In my opinion, if a child's hand looks like if it has been mummified then we should help in any way possible.
I thought this photo was very striking and sad. This happens very often. Many times missionaries go to underdeveloped countries in order to help the poverty stricken people. Here in the photo, the viewer sees the hand of a Caucasian holding the hand of an Ugandan child. The two hands are indeed very different from each other. Most notably are the skin colors and strength of the two hands; one person is white while the other is black or African in this case. Furthermore, the appearance of the hands differs too. The hand of the missionary is healthy and looks strong. It also looks as if the hand of the missionary would break the child’s weak arm if he shook it too hard. On the other hand, the arm of the child looks very weak. It’s obvious that the child is very poor and most likely does not eat a lot. In my opinion, as a missionary I would feel sad when seeing the families who a lot of the times have nothing to eat. The intentions of the missionaries are good, but how they appear to the native people. As a missionary, one of the hardest things for me to do would be to have to eat in front already starving families. The missionaries must eat, but how would you feel eating your second meal of the day in front of kids who have probably had nothing to eat all day. World hunger is a issue that still has not been resolved, but one that needs to be resolved soon. Hopefully, in the near future the citizens of this world will find a way to resolve world hunger. It’s sad that many people around the world are still dying from starvation.
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