Charina Nadura

When I first heard Alsarah’s voice on NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concert” program, I was sold. Her soft but proud voice serenaded me in Arabic and I couldn’t care less that I didn’t understand the lyrics. Accompanied by a blend of electric and traditional African instruments like the oud and the goblet drum, Alsarah, also known as Sarah Mohamed Abunama-Elgadi, describes her sound as East-African retro pop.

What is life like for the 15.8 million children who live in food insecure homes? To find out, Witnesses to Hunger, a research and advocacy group, gives digital cameras to mothers of young children who are living on the edge. By documenting their daily struggles and sharing their personal stories, they provide living testimony on the urgent need to end America’s hunger crisis. See the photos below and click on their first names to learn more about each mother.

“I became black in America and I really hadn’t thought of myself as black in Nigeria. I think that identity in Nigeria was ethnic, religious… but race just wasn’t present.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the most celebrated young authors writing today. Her most recent novel, Americanah, tells the story of the journey of Ifemelu, a Nigerian immigrant making a new home in the United States.