My name is Farhaan Khan. I am 19 years old. I was born in Amer, India. I have four brothers and three sisters. All of my brothers are married, and we live here as five families all together. 

My family has been raising elephants for the past 35 years. The five elephants that we have are used to entertain tourists with short rides. 

Elephants are family-oriented; intelligent, very emotional and faithful animals. As long as they are treated well, they will be loyal to their owners, they will serve and show gratitude; never misbehaving or showing anger. 

Asian elephants are calmer and more harmonious than African elephants. Therefore, they can be domesticated and used for various purposes. 

These animals are heavy - the male elephants weigh around five tons, and the females weigh around three tons. We feed them seven times a day with bread, sugar cane and banana. Each elephant eats nearly 50 kg of food for a day. 

Elephants usually have a lifespan of around 80 years; the females can give birth at the age of seven, after having 22 months of pregnancy. In their lifetime, under free/relaxed conditions, one of these animals can give birth up to six or seven times. 

In India, it is legally forbidden to buy or sell elephants. Therefore, we cannot have a new one unless our elephants give birth to new babies. 

At festival times, we decorate our elephants with traditional painted patterns. Living here in Amer, we feel fortunate to own these lovely animals and happily earn our living as a big family with peace. 

Farhaan Khan 
Jaipur, India, 16 March 2019

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My name is Kalika. I am 14 years old. I quit schooling four years ago; now I am helping my family at home. I was born in Jumla -a less favored and the poorest region of Nepal- and I am still living here. The view is magnificent, but life is hard in here. For women it is even harder. We have a tradition that most of us must follow, called Chhaupadi, which is a temporary exile of the women, as in the western region of Nepal, we are regarded as dirty during their menstrual period.

Yes, I, Kalika, will sleep in this barn on the straws with animals for three days because I am on my period. My town is located at 3000 meters of altitude in the Himalayas. The barn is very dark, dirty and cold. I am trembling like a leaf.

I had my period for the first time when I was 12 years old, and like the other girls in here, I stayed at the exile location for 13 days. We are instructed to keep away from nutritious foods, like milk, rice, butter and some vegetables, while we are exciled. I know this tradition is a terrible thing, but this is our culture and we must follow it. If we reject this tradition, that will anger our gods.

When something bad happens (like a snakebite), we are the first ones to be blamed. We are told that bad things will happen when we are on our menstrual period, such as: if we touch a fruit tree, it will dry out; if we touch an animal, it will get ill; if we drink its milk, it will run dry. I don't want my family to get ill; that's why I go to exile voluntarily.

Kalika
Jumla, Nepal, 3 May 2018

Photographer's Note: Because of that tradition, within the last year, three women died from snakebites and smoke poisoning.

Nepalese High Court legislated a regulation against this tradition in 2005, but it didn't go in effect because of some bureaucratic problems. On 9 August 2017, a new resolution was accepted by the Parliament that made Chhaupadi a crime, thanks to the activists from Nepal and all around the world.

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My name is Amarjeet Singh. I’m 42 years old. I live in Amritsar. I live here because my parents and all my memories are here. I’m the chief and owner of the Charming Chicken Restaurant. I love my job very much. I have been working here for 27 years, and we are the second best restaurant in Amritsar.

I had a shop before opening this restaurant, but I closed it in 1984 because of my mother's demise and my father's health problems. I spent all my money on their healthcare. I was very sad because of these problems. After that, I worked in different jobs for a while. In 1991, I opened my current restaurant. My favorite food that we serve is "ras malai".

I want to expand my business, not only in India, but also in other countries. I have some certificates and awards from a chefs’ competition in 1997. I regret that I couldn’t open more restaurants in Amritsar. I want to have more franchising.

I like traveling to other cities, touristic places and to meet with new people. I invite the people who I have met to my restaurant. I hope to develop my business this way. 

I have a daughter, and I love her very much. I have been very happy since she was born. I want to see her graduate from university schooling.

I want to increase customer satisfaction in my restaurant. I want to diversify my menu so that everybody can find something that they want to eat. I have a YouTube channel called “Chicken Charming Restaurant”. I made videos for this channel. I have a Facebook page too. All companies that take food from my restaurant share photos in this page.

Amarjeet Singh
Amritsar, India, 12 March 2019

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My name is Alina Diaz Massino. I am 36 years old. I live in Havana, Cuba. I and my father make a living by running our own store, "MEMORIAS", where people can find all kinds of posters, magazines, art and music, crafts, etc.

I have a brother who is 3 years older than me. I take care of my niece and my nephew. I guess you could call it a big family.

I studied at the University of Havana. I was supposed to be a translator and interpreter, but I didn’t like it since it was too stressful for me. After my graduation, I taught at the university for 3 years (which was my mandatory social service), and after that, I left and started my own business. My brother didn’t want to take any part in it because he had other interests. The responsibility of carrying our family tradition and continuing my father’s work fell upon my shoulders.

Even though my country is a small island, we are known for having great painters and musicians, which makes our culture a very rich one. 

Our products appeal to a very specific group, so there are weeks when we sell nothing. The good side of our business is that we don’t have to invest in it every day. When we sell, it’s a plus, and when we don’t, our merchandise is still valuable. 

I wish for my family to always stay together.  I hope to see my son grow up and become a very successful person. I would love to see him continue our family business. I don’t have big ambitions; I just want to continue doing what makes me happy.

Alina Diaz Massino 
Havana, Cuba, 20 December 2018

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Chasing the sun with my messy, long, curly hair and probably unwashed face is my earliest childhood memory. I was not able to understand why I could not catch the sunlight even though I was running as fast as I could. In my youth, we moved around a lot with my family and finally settled in İzmir, which became my home.

I decided on my choice of university the night of the Turkish University Entrance Exam, and rather than studying Psychology or Drama, I was an obedient child, so I went to study Law and Public Administration. 

I found my flare in helping students and guiding them with their educational choices when I worked at the British Council in Istanbul. Here, I also met Richard, my husband of 20 years,  the love of my life.

After the earthquake in Istanbul, we moved to the UK, and I worked at universities representing them as an officer of the most superior international level roles. Over the last 20 years, I travelled and worked in more than 70 countries and learnt and cherished different cultures and different viewpoints. 

My challenge with cancer this year taught me not to take anything for granted and spend more time with my family, my daughter Erin and dog Ella, and to live life in full with its ups and downs.

I learn every day, and I flourish when I am learning and sharing my knowledge and experience. So, I set up my company with an aim to be student-focused and give the best-fit advice to make our clients happy.

Şirin Myles (BA Hons, MBA)
International Education Consultant and Coach
S Myles Consultancy and Coaching
Oxford, England, 14 September 2018

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My name is Michel Yordenis Colas. I was born and raised in Santiago de Cuba. I am 34 years old, and I am happily married with three children.

I have studied physical-fitness exercises and sports. My family encouraged me to be a boxer, as they were involved in boxing too. Besides, boxing is the second most popular sport in Cuba, after baseball.

I have had the chance to visit and compete in many countries all around the world, such as Russia, France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Venezuela and Colombia, thanks to this sport. I have become a world champion in Russia, and I also won the Cuban National Championship twice. I fought 272 times in my boxing career. As a matter of this course, I took some very hard hits to my face, but my look didn't change a bit. I am still very handsome.

Now, I am coaching twelve talented boxers in a gym that belongs to the government. I love my job very much. We have trained many champions here, but in Cuba, there are gyms for children too. One of my boxers became a champion at the International Boxing contest in 2013. It made me so happy and proud that I realized the importance and value of my job once more.

The sole purpose of my life is to be a better man and make contributions to the development of boxing. I make my children endear boxing. I am also training them. This year, my eldest son has become a champion in the youth category.

Salsa is another passion of mine, besides my family and boxing. Although they seem completely different, salsa and boxing have a lot in common, like coordination, moves and rhythm, but they will never be the same for only one reason: the fire that you feel in your face when you fight.

I am very happy to live in Cuba. Even if I had a chance to live in another country, I couldn't bear the longing to return, and I would come back for sure.

Michel Yordenis Colas
Havana, Cuba, 21 December 2018

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