Paolo Patruno is an Italian photographer specializing in social and humanitarian work. Paolo shoots photographs and videos of NGO projects in order to tell their stories and to spread the word about their missions and activities. He says, “My main aim in photography is to use my images to support the most vulnerable people.” In July 2011, Paolo was living and working in Lilongwe, Malawi for an Italian NGO when he learned of Seva’s local eye care programs. He emailed the Seva Canada office in Vancouver and generously offered to take photographs of the work being done in Malawi to fight childhood blindness. In August, Paolo spent time visiting the eye care programs and took 1000 photographs of the patients, young and old, the doctors, nurses and volunteers.

Child cataract patient in Malawi. Photo by Paola Patruno.

Our sincerest thanks to Paolo for his random gift of Seva and the amazing photographs that visually tell the story of the Malawi program and people. . To learn more about Paolo and to see his other work visit www.paolopatrunophoto.org/Home.html Here’s an interview by Seva with Paolo and a selection of his amazing images. Seva: Why did you decide to visit Malawi? Paolo: I was in Malawi for 4 months working for an Italian NGO. Seva: What did you find inspiring about the Seva program in Malawi? Paolo: We always know from newspapers and television about the major issues that afflict almost all the African countries -- poverty, HIV/AIDS, disease and malnutrition -- but very few listen about blindness. As with most of health issues, people affected with vision problems could be effectively treated with early identification and adequate follow-up care services. On the opposite, childhood blindness and low vision affects families driving into deeper poverty. Seva: Of all the photos that you took, which one is most meaningful to you and why? Paolo: The most meaningful photo I took is the one portraying a young patient and the anesthetist waiting in the operating theatre during a power cut (see the photo below). All of the operations, both the ones in progress and the new ones scheduled to start were stopped for more than 40 minutes, because of a power cut on the line of the theatre. It took a long time to switch manually to the generator. Electric power cuts are now a big problem in Malawi and they take place daily. The problem is getting worse because of the lack of diesel fuel for generators.

An eye surgeon waits with child cataract patient during a power outage in Malawi. Photo by Paolo Patruno.

Seva: Are there any stories about the work you saw or your time in Malawi that you’d like to share with us? Paolo: During my stay in Malawi, I developed different photographic projects on health issues both for NGOs and hospitals. It doesn’t matter if we are dealing with disability, blindness, or mother and child mortality -- the main thread running through all of these situations is that the lack of prevention leads the issue to become worse, most of all for the people living in rural areas far from any hospital or health centre. Lack of health facilities and, above all, health workers such as doctors, nurses and clinicians, makes these health issues even harder to prevent. To sum up, in Malawi as almost everywhere in Africa, we can see small issues getting worse, as would never happen in most of the developed countries in Europe or North America. Because it is very difficult to witness these situations, all of us should give a contribution to help and support the most vulnerable people, especially children.