John Minchillo

INDIA: Portraits of Hunger

In Thane Tribal Belt of Jawhar in rural Maharashtra, tens of thousands live without clean water, adequate sanitation, electricity, and proper food supplies.

Victims of entrenched government corruption and dwindling viable land, the "primitives," as they are referred to, suffer from widespread undernutrition and high-grade malnutrition.

Children in these tiny secluded villages roam unattended, with as many as five children living to a hut. Parents often migrate to nearby cities for illegal quarrying jobs that pay meager wages.

Education is a rare luxury for these children. Although the Indian government has made advances in reducing malnutrition related fatalities, most financial support for services is swallowed in the unchecked bureaucracy, robbing the children of their health and future.

Nadini Jannu Ghute, 7-months-old, weighs just 8 pounds and is 10 pounds underweight. She suffers from Grade III malnutrition. Like many children in the Jawhar tribal belt of northern Maharashtra, she subsists on a diet of millet porridge.
   
Twenty-two year old Sadhna Vigynaph Bhoye holds Lavesh, her 7-month old in her family hut. Lavesh suffers from Grade IV malnutrition, the highest ranking. Sadhna is pregnant with her third child.
   
A baby girl lies on the cool floor of her family's hut. She is the daughter of farmers who must sell their meager millet harvests for a pittance. The money they earn will buy medicine and other necessities at the expense of their food stores.
     
  
A mother holds her child who suffers from Grade III malnutrition in the Jawhar tribal belt of Northern Maharashtra. They share their home with their family cow who occupies the rear of the single room.
   
Children with Grade III and IV malnutrition suffer from developmental problems throughout their lives, including delayed cognitive development, suppressed immune systems, and stunting.
   
Saguna Suresh Mougha works the fields an hour's march through the rolling hills of Umbra, in the Thane Tribal Belt. Recent rain has ruined their crops. She will camp in this small bit of land with her husband and two children. She is four months pregnant.
     
  
Children of Jawhar tribals attend classes at a school organized to serve youth at risk of malnutrition and living in extreme poverty.
   
A child being weighed against a malnutrition chart. NGO volunteers keep track of undernourished and malnourished children in the few villages fortunate to receive aid.
   
A roster for keeping track of malnutrition cases at a clinic in Jawhar. Due to the concentrated efforts of local women, children in the immediate area suffer from less serious forms of malnutrition than neighboring villages.
     
  
A family harvest has netted enough grain to sell in the marketplace. Many families sell their crop while subsisting on lower nutrient rice or millet.
   
An undernourished child enjoys her afternoon meal in her village classroom. For those fortunate to receive aid, these meals may save their lives.
   
A girl spends her days roving the village playing with other children. The lone village teacher never reports for duty. The elders say he submits falsified documents and uses his wages to purchase alcohol.
     
  
Due to droughts and poor field conditions, many villages suffer food shortages on what little yield they collect each season.