Students at home
Dutch photographer Henny Boogert profiled students in their living quarters - from Kenya to Cuba. His photos reveal the struggle for a better life - but also quite a lot of similarities despite the distance.
Building bridges
Photographer Henny Boogert set out to explore the living environments of students in 10 countries. He posted his photos on his website to encourage young people from all over the world to view the portraits and get in touch with each other. His intention was that they would discover their similarities with people like Pankaj Yadav, who lives in Mumbai and wants to become a successful businessman.
Skills wanted
After his studies, Siddharth Joshi says he would like to stay in India because his country needs experts in the field of emerging economies. Many of the students Boogert met on his travels want to emigrate after they graduate, said the photographer. But he hopes that some will choose to stay after all because every country needs intelligent young people, he added.
Get in touch
Boogert has stayed in touch with the students he portrayed. Amado Sueiras from Cuba wanted to study in the United States, but wound up staying in Cuba, where he works as a tennis coach, said the photographer. The young people in his photos study at college or university and can be contacted directly on the website www.imagesconnect.org.
Old meets new
Boogert has photographed more than 200 students. Moldova was one of the first countries he visited, where he met Dynoo Baciu in Chisinau. There, Boogert observed a mix of tradition and modernity in the students' dwellings. The young people were interested in the latest fashions, he said, but many still had old hand-woven rugs in their apartments.
The essentials
The furniture in student apartments may look different, but all of them have two things in common: a bed and a desk. That's also the case for Russian students Rasul, Marat and Oleg, pictured here.
Few secondary degrees
Apart from all the things that students all over the world have in common, Boogert also focuses on the differences. On his website, he's compiled facts about the profiled students' home countries, including the literacy rates and total number of students. In Kenya, where Victor Njoroge lives, only seven percent of the population has completed a secondary degree.
Squeeze in
It's unclear exactly how many people in the Philippines are currently studying. But many of those who do, live in very cramped quarters. Abigail Mangahas Alidon, for example, was living with six roommates in a 12-square-meter (130-square-foot) room in Manila when Boogert photographed her.
Attention to detail
It's easy to see what Antonio Rubio in Havanna is studying: electrical engineering. For him, it's important that his environment is well lit so that he can decipher the details in his textbooks, explained Boogert. No matter how small a living space may be, it always says a lot about its inhabitant.
Expanding the series
Most of Boogert's photographs come from his home country, the Netherlands - like this one of Tim Mulders and Iris Jönsthövel from Delft. Boogert is planning to portray students in Germany soon. He can be contacted at info@boogertfotografie.nl.