The slogan of the hospital: "Service of Love"
The reason I came to Zambia was to do a project evaluation for a Dutch charity foundation. After finishing the assignment I started traveling through Zambia. While traveling I've been looking for a story, which involves people who are in a specific environment, doing a certain job or living in a certain way. Before I came to Zambia I had no profound idea what I would encounter but I was sure to find something that would catch my interest. I was already very happy with meeting the football team and the pre-school where I had made a few photos, but I was convinced that there was more to dive into, so I started making contact with the local Mission Hospital. I already knew that I wanted to work with the staff and to get to know them.
Of course I knew that it's prohibited to take photo without asking permission from a higher power, which is the Archbishop himself. He gave his personal permission and was happy with the fact that I wanted to do something different.
I can't exactly describe what fascinates me about the hospital staff, but what I can say is that I saw a great deal of dedication to helping others. That amount of effort that is put into a greater cause is a rare thing in my opinion.
Walking around the hospital for several days, taking portraits in clear daylight in front of a white wall gave me the opportunity to really get to talk to the staff. I met proud security guards, cheerful sisters, dedicated doctors, kindhearted nurses, bright pharmacists, frolicsome cooks, helpful groundskeepers and an incredibly dedicated surgical staff. I guess this project is dedicated to people with good intentions, working in a hospital.
