A World in Pictures - Jasa Harris

Shown is a dad holding onto one child and watching over the other as he struggles to make sense of it all. He searches for answers along with the majority of Bihar, India as they grieved with the 23 families that buried their children and prayed with the other 20 whose children lied in the hospital fighting for their lives.

These children were just poisoned by their free school lunch. A result from a program implemented by the Indian government to guarantee every child at least one daily meal. Although this idea seemed beneficial, its problems were hard to ignore. The most notable issue being the safety of the program as the meals are not always suitable to eat, as demonstrated by this tragic incident. Demonstrations broke out against the government for lack of accountability and just lack of interest. The entire Bihar community was grief-stricken, angry and shocked.

After coming across this story I was heartbroken, unable to understand how an event of this nature could take place at a school, a place where parents feel comfortable sending their children. This story was especially sad for me because it was an adverse effect of a solution to childhood malnutrition and hunger. It made me question, like the majority of the Bihar community, how the government could do better to ensure the safety of their children. So far the program has been pulled, but by doing so millions of children go hungry. This issue of hunger is prevalent throughout India and this incident has brought increased attention to the country and hopefully increased awareness.