People in a Chinese village

Most people in the village had not seen a white man before, and many gathered around me to have a look. They now know that white men are big, have long hair, beard and laughs and smile alot.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

A loving and caring father

This is Sheng Lu and his youngest daughter Zhanlian who has Down’s Syndrome. Sheng Lu is a loving and caring father who takes good care of his daughter. He and his wife has three children they belong to the Tibetian minority and minorities in China are allowed to have more than one child. Sheng Lu is also very proud of his oldest daughter who got a scholarship and now studies to become a doctor.

Photo: Mikael Good

A Muslim family in China

I met this father and his two boys in december 2004 when I visited the Chinese province Qinghai on behalf of the Swedish NGO Star of Hope. 20% of the population in Qinghai is Tibetan. Many Tibetans converted from Lamaism to Islam in the 18th century after a Muslim missionary came to the inaccessible and mountainous area were they lived. Nearly 50% of the people that I met were muslim converts. According to the organization Open Doors there's a ongoing Christian revival in the area and tibetans has left both Lamaism and Islam to become followers of Christ.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good

This tibetan girl was given a chance to build a better future

This photo of a little tibetan girl from Waxi village in the middle of China is one of my most famous photos and a good example that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. I met the girl on the schoolyard in december 2004 when my wife and I was on a assignment for the Swedish NGO Star of Hope. 

When I met her the living conditions for the girl were really bad. Thanks to the articles my wife wrote and the photos that I took the living conditions in the village changed radically. The local commune decided to rebuild the school, hire more teachers, build a better road and drill for a water supply close to the village. The school also received funding from Sweden, which was used to buy media equipment, school books and sports equipment. The girl and the other children in the village was given better educational opportunities and a chance to build a better future for themselves and their families.

The photo promoted the exhibition Meetings in the Middle of China which was the first photographic exhibition that was displayed at an IKEA store in Sweden. Almost 10.000 people saw the exhibition at IKEA in Jönköping. The exhibition has also been published in LIFE Force Magazine and is also a Permanent Exhibition at 591 Photography Blog.

Text and Photo: Mikael Good