As recently as 1950, fewer than half of all children in the developing world were able to attend school regularly. Today, the figure is more than 90 percent. Education, once the preserve of the elite, is spreading to the most distant corners of the planet.
Susan Portnoy, a communications and public relations consultant who writes and photographs as The Insatiable Traveler, recently visited Kenya and captured these stunning black-and-white photos of the first week at the first school in a remote village.
“A small group of photographers and I spent a beautiful September morning with a local Maasai tribe to learn about their culture,” Portnoy writes. “A week earlier, the same Maasai village opened its first school, a crucial step in providing a bright future for their children. Proud and excited to show it off, the school’s teacher invited us to meet his students and watch a class in session.”
If recent trends continue, that scene will be playing out more and more frequently in the years to come, broadening horizons and spreading opportunity for more and more kids.
A version of this photo gallery originally appeared on One.org.