Photo and caption by Shana Bilfield

Photo captured in India this winter; the day we organized a neighborhood cleanup of Slum Park, a playground covered with trash and shards of glass inches deep. The girl in this photo kept to herself tending the outskirts of the park, caring for goats and chicken. A mother of the slum well beyond the years of her human body, she is a beautiful depiction of Bhumi, the Hindu Goddess of the Earth. Her soulful eyes hold knowledge from many lifetimes; collective suffering of children around the world with a greater understanding there is hope beyond.

Location: Mysore, Karnataka State, India