Children in motion

Throughout the streets of Lubumbashi we observed children playing, working and walking to or from school. In the first photo a boy is flying a homemade kite; next children are in a street game of soccer.

A boy carrying a fishing basket and boys selling bananas on the street are representative of many children who help supplement their family's income.

At one meetinghouse surveyed we noticed four girls walking toward us on the street, one with a long pole being carried on her head. Outside the perimeter fence they graciously posed for photos (five thru seven below).

Children attend school in two shifts--7 a.m.-noon and 12:30-5 p.m.; most walk 30 minutes each way and all wear uniforms. We observed fathers and grandmothers holding hands with their children as they walked and groups of children walking together. Older children were seen with younger children walking, carrying them on their backs or shoulders, or riding together on the front of a bicycle.

The group of 10-12 school children on the street corner in photo ten held hands and crossed together in front of us through thick traffic at an unmarked, uncontrolled intersection.