Where Children Sleep by James Mollison

I received an email earlier on in the evening about this work… Do have a look, it’s a very fascinating set of work by James Mollison titled Where Children Sleep. The set of photos captured by Mollison travels from the comfortable four walls of Tokyo to a make-shift shack in Kathmandu. It shows what it means to be a child in different corners of the world and makes us trace the years back to our own childhood memories or wonder about the childhood of our parents…

Photos by James Mollison
Caption by James Mollison / Daily Mail
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Alex, aged nine, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Alex does not go to school and instead spends his time begging on the city streets and stealing. Although he is in contact with his family, he is addicted to sniffing glue and sleeps on the streets. He sleeps on empty benches or a discarded sofa if he can find one – otherwise on the pavement.
Alex, aged nine, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Alex does not go to school and instead spends his time begging on the city streets and stealing. Although he is in contact with his family, he is addicted to sniffing glue and sleeps on the streets. He sleeps on empty benches or a discarded sofa if he can find one – otherwise on the pavement.

Justin, aged eight, from New Jersey, U.S.: Justin is obsessed with sports and has decorated his room in honour of his passions. He plays American football, basketball and baseball, but football is his favourite. He lives with his family in a four-bedroom house and rides the bus to school with the children from his neighbourhood. High-achieving Justin wants to become the mayor of New Jersey, but says he would settle for being a professional poker player.
Justin, aged eight, from New Jersey, U.S.: Justin is obsessed with sports and has decorated his room in honour of his passions. He plays American football, basketball and baseball, but football is his favourite. He lives with his family in a four-bedroom house and rides the bus to school with the children from his neighbourhood. High-achieving Justin wants to become the mayor of New Jersey, but says he would settle for being a professional poker player.

Jyoti, aged 14, Makwanpur, Nepal: Jyoti left school at a young age in order to become a domestic worker, but was treated so badly she ran away and now lives with one of her sisters in the Nepalese countryside where she works in the fields. The family sleep on mats on the mud floor with an open fire for cooking and warmth.
Jyoti, aged 14, Makwanpur, Nepal: Jyoti left school at a young age in order to become a domestic worker, but was treated so badly she ran away and now lives with one of her sisters in the Nepalese countryside where she works in the fields. The family sleep on mats on the mud floor with an open fire for cooking and warmth.

Kaya, aged four, Tokyo, Japan: Kaya’s bedroom is filled with her favorite toys - she prefers bunnies and dolls, and her wardrobe is filled with dresses her mother makes for her - she normally gets three new dresses every month - and her father works as a railroad mechanic. Her favourite foods are meat, potatoes, strawberries and peaches. She wants to be a cartoonist when she grows up.
Kaya, aged four, Tokyo, Japan: Kaya’s bedroom is filled with her favorite toys – she prefers bunnies and dolls, and her wardrobe is filled with dresses her mother makes for her – she normally gets three new dresses every month – and her father works as a railroad mechanic. Her favourite foods are meat, potatoes, strawberries and peaches. She wants to be a cartoonist when she grows up.

Romanian boy, aged four, Rome, Italy: Not wanting to give his name, this Romanian boy sleeps on a mattress in a field on the outskirts of Rome. The family came from Romania by bus after begging to get money for the tickets. Although they recently lived in a tent,  police threw them off the site for trespassing and they now share the mattress in the open air. This boy spends his days by the road while his parents clean car windscreens at traffic lights. No one in his family has ever been to school.
Romanian boy, aged four, Rome, Italy: Not wanting to give his name, this Romanian boy sleeps on a mattress in a field on the outskirts of Rome. The family came from Romania by bus after begging to get money for the tickets. Although they recently lived in a tent, police threw them off the site for trespassing and they now share the mattress in the open air. This boy spends his days by the road while his parents clean car windscreens at traffic lights. No one in his family has ever been to school.

Prena, aged 14, Kathmandu, Nepal: Prena is a domestic worker and lived in a small cell-like space at the top of the house of the family she works for. Prena carries out household chores such as sweeping, cleaning, cooking and washing. She starts work at five in the morning and finishes at six in the evening. For this, she earns five hundred Nepali rupees per month (about £3.13). She sends the money back to her parents, who have eight other children, and visits her family twice a year. The light in her life is school, which she attends three times a week - and she hopes to be a doctor when she grows up.
Prena, aged 14, Kathmandu, Nepal: Prena is a domestic worker and lived in a small cell-like space at the top of the house of the family she works for. Prena carries out
household chores such as sweeping, cleaning, cooking and washing. She starts work at five in the morning and finishes at six in the evening. For this, she earns five
hundred Nepali rupees per month (about £3.13). She sends the money back to her parents, who have eight other children, and visits her family twice a year. The light in her life is school, which she attends three times a week – and she hopes to be a doctor when she grows up.

Tzvika, aged nine years old, Beitar Illit, West Bank: Tzvika lives in a gated community of 36,000 Orthodox Jews in an Israeli settlement on the West Bank. Televisions and newspapers are banned from the settlement. The average family has nine children, but Tzvika has just one sister and two brothers, with whom he shares his room.  even though his school is just a two-minute walk away, he is taken by car every day. Religion is the most important subject, followed by Hebrew and maths. Sport is banned from the curriculum. Tzvika also likes to play religious games on his computer and wants to be a rabbi when he grows up. His favourite food is schnitzel and chips.
Tzvika, aged nine years old, Beitar Illit, West Bank: Tzvika lives in a gated community of 36,000 Orthodox Jews in an Israeli settlement on the West Bank. Televisions and newspapers are banned from the settlement. The average family has nine children, but Tzvika has just one sister and two brothers, with whom he shares his room. even though his school is just a two-minute walk away, he is taken by car every day. Religion is the most important subject, followed by Hebrew and maths. Sport is banned from the curriculum. Tzvika also likes to play religious games on his computer and wants to be a rabbi when he grows up. His favourite food is schnitzel and chips.

Lamine, aged 12, Bounkiling Village, Senegal: Lamine attends the local all-boys Koran school and shares a room with several other pupils. His day starts at six o’clock when he and the other boys work on the school farm digging, harvesting and ploughing, and in the afternoon the boys study the Koran. In his free time, Lamine likes to play football with his friends and when he grows up he would like to be a teacher.
Lamine, aged 12, Bounkiling Village, Senegal: Lamine attends the local all-boys Koran school and shares a room with several other pupils. His day starts at six o’clock when he and the other boys work on the school farm digging, harvesting and ploughing, and in the afternoon the boys study the Koran. In his free time, Lamine likes to play football with his friends and when he grows up he would like to be a teacher.

Joey, aged 11, Kentucky, U.S.: Joey is an avid hunter and regularly accompanies his father into the woods. He is very proud of his two shotguns and crossbow and made his first kill- a deer- when he was just seven. He is hoping to use his crossbow during the next hunting season as he has become tired of using a gun. He loves the outdoors and says he does not believe animals should be killed for sport, but be used for food and clothing. He lives with his parents, sister and bearded dragon Lily.
Joey, aged 11, Kentucky, U.S.: Joey is an avid hunter and regularly accompanies his father into the woods. He is very proud of his two shotguns and crossbow and made his first kill- a deer- when he was just seven. He is hoping to use his crossbow during the next hunting season as he has become tired of using a gun. He loves the outdoors and says he does not believe animals should be killed for sport, but be used for food and clothing. He lives with his parents, sister and bearded dragon Lily.

Indira, aged seven, Kathmandu, Nepal: Indira has been working in the local granite quarry with her parents since she was three years old. She works five or six hours a day before helping her mother with household chores. Her house has only one room, with one bed and one mattress which she shares with her brother and sister. She also attends school, which is a thirty minute walk away and  would like to be a Nepalese dancer when she grows up.
Indira, aged seven, Kathmandu, Nepal: Indira has been working in the local granite quarry with her parents since she was three years old. She works five or six hours a day before helping her mother with household chores. Her house has only one room, with one bed and one mattress which she shares with her brother and sister. She also attends school, which is a thirty minute walk away and would like to be a Nepalese dancer when she grows up.

Tristan, seven, New York, U.S.: Tristan lives with his father, a film maker, and his mother, a pop culture writer, in Manhattan, New York where he attends an Eco-School where no religious holidays are observed. His favorite food is bacon and he has pizza every weekend. When he grows up, he wants to become a creator of marmalade.
Tristan, seven, New York, U.S.: Tristan lives with his father, a film maker, and his mother, a pop culture writer, in Manhattan, New York where he attends an Eco-School where no religious holidays are observed. His favorite food is bacon and he has pizza every weekend. When he grows up, he wants to become a creator of marmalade.

Roathy, aged eight, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Roathy lives with his family on a rubbish tip, on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital along with an estimated five thousand people who all pay rent to live on the dump. His bed is made of old tyres. At 6am every morning, Roathy and hundreds of other children are given a shower and breakfast at a local charity centre, which is often the only meal of the day. He then spends his day working, collecting cans and plastic his family sells on to a recycling company.
Roathy, aged eight, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Roathy lives with his family on a rubbish tip, on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital along with an estimated five thousand people who all pay rent to live on the dump. His bed is made of old tyres. At 6am every morning, Roathy and hundreds of other children are given a shower and breakfast at a local charity centre, which is often the only meal of the day. He then spends his day working, collecting cans and plastic his family sells on to a recycling company.

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Lex Limbuhttps://lexlimbu.com
Lex Limbu is a non-resident Nepali blogger based in the UK. YouTube videos is where he started initially followed by blogging. Join him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

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