From our photo library

Photo: Jenny Bussey Vaughan/Mercy Corps

A couple of years ago, someone mentioned that I should look at the photography of Mercy Corps staffer, Jenny Bussey Vaughan. At the time she was working in Central African Republic. The disc of images I received was filled with excellent work.

Since then we’ve used her photographs in a variety of ways (two are included in the permanent collection here at headquarters). She mixes beautiful portraiture with evocative detail shots. Jenny’s sense of the moment and use of light is consistently strong.

This photograph feels like her take on Grant Wood’s "American Gothic" from half a world away. The resolute grip this boy has on his simple bent rake draws me into the frame.