Omar Havana

Photographer

omarhavana.com

Portfolio NGO

Location: Paris, France

Nationality: Spanish

Biography: Omar Havana, 1975 Granada, Spain. Spanish Freelance Photojournalist. Based in Paris, France. Previously based in Asia. ( Nepal 2014-2015 and Cambodia 2008 - 2014 ; 2015-2017) Omar has worked as a professional photojournalist since 2005, and since... read on

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KAMPONG CHAM, CAMBODIA - JANUARY 17: A woman poses with her prosthetic in the Handicap International Rehabilitation center on January 17, 2014 in Kampong Cham, Cambodia. Cambodia is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world; some estimate that there are as many as ten million mines in a country of 14.5 million people. Handicap International has been working in Cambodia for almost 30 years, supporting people with disabilities and victims of chronic diseases. The organization gives priority to these people, working on injuries prevention. Prosthetic and rehabilitation are part of the main focus actions, which they have been doing in their physiotherapy center in Kampong Cham since 2002. The number of beneficiaries has increased enormously since then, accompanied by a rise in orthotic and prosthetic production. Photo: © Omar Havana / Getty Images

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JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: Bobita Devi Mahara, 42 years of age, is seen through the door of her home in a remote village on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Bobita is a Maithil woman who has started to break the Maithil tradition which often keeps women inside their homes and forces them to hide their faces while speaking to other people. Bobita is working as a road construction worker since 2014, earning income to help her family, and especially to send her daughter to school. Photo: © Omar Havana

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JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23: A young Maithil woman receives an injection in her arm from a Maithil woman working as a nurse in a local clinic in a remote village on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana

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KATHMANDU, NEPAL - FEBRUARY 12: Munni, 18 years old, lays in a bed with her 21-days-old baby who was born prematurely at 28 weeks at the T.U. Teaching Hospital on February 12, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Premature babies are particularly at risk of health complications, including breathing, heart, brain, temperature control, gastrointestinal, blood, metabolism and immune system problems. From 1996 to 2006, Nepal reduced by close to 50% its maternal mortality rate, going from 539 deaths in 100,000 to 281, making Nepal a success story. However, each year, 57,000 under-five children still lose their lives, with 54% of those cases occurring within the first month after birth. In 2013, only 50% of births were attended by skilled birth attendants. Several issues remain to be addressed with regards to maternal and newborn health, including tackling inequalities, improving access to care in remote areas, improving quality of care, increasing the use of family planning methods, and reducing malnutrition. Photo: © Omar Havana for UNICEF

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WELGALA, SRI LANKA – DECEMBER 13: A female worker performs her duties inside one of the handloom wards at the Selyn factory on December 13, 2018 in Welgala, Sri Lanka. All workers at the Selyn factory come to work from nearby villages. Most workers arrive early in the morning to the factory riding bicycles that the company helps them to buy by paying half of the price. Workers work daily 9-hours shifts, including a 1-hour lunch break. Photo: © Omar Havana for IFC

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AMBALANGODA, SRI LANKA – DECEMBER 10: 19-year-old Ashra Begam attends a computer laboratory class at the iLead Hikkaduwa center on December 10, 2018 in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka. Ashra is the only Muslim student attending this year's batch at iLead-Hikkaduwa. Ashra often feels discriminated during her daily life but here in iLead, she feels like just one of the students, despite her religion forbidding her to take part in several activities in which boys are involved. Ashra comes from a very deprived family; her father is a tuk-tuk driver and her mother is a volunteer teacher. She is the eldest sibling of 6. She enrolled in iLead-Hikkaduwa after hearing about it from a former student, and she decided to study graphic design. Ashra's dream is to work as a graphic designer for a local company to help her family. Photo: © Omar Havana for Aide Et Action

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LELE, NEPAL - JANUARY 24: A woman affected by leprosy shows her hands outside a self-care house provided by Leprosy Mission Nepal near the Anandaban Hospital on January 24, 2015 in Lele, Nepal. Although the prevalence of leprosy in Nepal fell to below 1 in 10,000 people since October 2009, a total of 3225 new cases were diagnosed in the last year. Nepal’s predominantly Hindu culture means that leprosy, also called “Hansen’s disease,” is considered by many communities to be a punishment for sins committed in former lives; people affected by leprosy in Nepal still suffer from stigma and discrimination, in addition to the long-term disabilities and other health effects resulting from leprosy. New cases of leprosy continue to occur disproportionally in the South East Asian Region (SEAR), which includes Nepal, with the region carrying 72% of the global leprosy burden. According to a recent study by the International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations (ILEP), Nepal is one of several countries with laws in place which discriminate against people affected by leprosy. Photo: © Omar Havana / Getty Images

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DOBINI, NEPAL - MAY 29: 15-years-old "Little Sister" Arti reads a book sitting in a corner of her bedroom inside her home on May 29, 2019 in Dobini, Nepal. Arti was only 14 when her parents arranged her marriage. Big Sister, Anu, stepped in. Working with her parents and the community to delay marriage and keep Arti in school. Arti is now focussing on her studies, with the hopes of becoming a teacher. Photo: © Omar Havana for VSO International

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ITAHARI, NEPAL - February 25, 2015: Akashbati Sardar, 55 years old, fills a bucket with water from a well-installed by the Lumanti organization in Jana Sewa Tol neighborhood on the outskirts of Itahari, Nepal on February 25, 2015. Despite Nepal’s extensive natural resources, access to clean and affordable water remains a problem throughout the country. For many people in the more remote mountains and hills, water sources are often far away and not necessarily safe, and the simple act of fetching water can drain a community’s human resources. Photo: © Omar Havana for WaterAid Nepal

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ITAHARI, NEPAL - February 25, 2015: Balram Chaudhary, 18 years old, bathes from one of the water taps installed by the organization Lumanti in the Pragatitol neighborhood on the outskirts of Itahari, Nepal on February 25, 2015. Despite Nepal’s extensive natural resources, access to clean and affordable water remains a problem throughout the country. For many people in the more remote mountains and hills, water sources are often far away and not necessarily safe, and the simple act of fetching water can drain a community’s human resources. Photo: © Omar Havana for WaterAid Nepal

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MYTILINI, GREECE - FEBRUARY 09: Volunteers guide refugees to a safe zone arriving at Katia beach in a dinghy during the early morning on February 09, 2015 in Mytilini, Greece. Dozens of volunteers watch day and night on the beaches of Lesvos for the arrival of refugees. Volunteers are the firsts to help refugees that are not rescued by coastguards that watch the Aegean sea. Teams of doctors from different countries work together with international rescue teams in providing assistance to the hundreds of refugees arriving at the beaches of Lesvos, guiding dinghies to safe arrival areas, providing hot drinks and food, shoes, clothes and medical assistance to those arriving sick. Hypothermia is a common symptom on the refugees arriving at Lesvos after crossing the Aegean sea for more than 2 hours from the Turkish coast, from where they are smuggled into Europe. Photo: © Omar Havana for Action Aid Greece

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ITAHARI, NEPAL - February 25, 2015: Badal (left), 13 years old, drinks water while Barsa (right), 8 years old, brushes her teeth from a water tap installed by the organization Lumanti before going to school in the Pragatitol neighborhood on the outskirts of Itahari, Nepal on February 25, 2015. Despite Nepal’s extensive natural resources, access to clean and affordable water remains a problem throughout the country. For many people in the more remote mountains and hills, water sources are often far away and not necessarily safe, and the simple act of fetching water can drain a community’s human resources. Photo: © Omar Havana for Water Aid Nepal

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SOC TRANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM - DECEMBER 02: Le Thi Long (44) bathes a pig using a water pipe inside a pigsty outside her home on December 02, 2015 in Ta Lot C Village, Soc Trang Province, Vietnam. Photo: © Omar Havana for Heifer International

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SOC TRANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM - DECEMBER 02: Tran Thi Tham (56) pets her calf outside her home on December 02, 2015 in Ray Mop Village, Soc Trang Province, Vietnam. Photo: © Omar Havana for Heifer International

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NIJEBERKOOP, THE NETHERLANDS – FEBRUARY 05: Rhadja and Dehli are seen inside their enclosure at the Felida Big Cat Centre on February 05, 2018 in Nijeberkoop, The Netherlands. Rhadja (male) and Dehli (female) were born in August 2001 and come from the German Zoo Tierpark Kalletal. The zoo was in poor condition and the municipality planned to shut it down. After their owner stopped feeding them, the animal rescue center Tierart stepped in and brought the tigers to Felida Big Cat Centre in 2010. Dehli misses a part of her tail. Photo: © Omar Havana for Four Paws International

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GORKHA, NEPAL - August 21: IMC staff members speak to Dhan Singh Gurung inside the new physiotherapy unit set up by International Medical Corps in Gorkha, Nepal. On 25 April when the earthquake struck Nepal, Dhan Singh Gurung was herding cattle with his friends in Gumda, a village bordering the epicenter of the earthquake. Before he could run, he was swept off his feet by an avalanche – which saved his life. ‘The avalanche tossed me into a nook on the side of a cliff,’ Gurung explains. ‘Squinting through dust, I witnessed the landslide running its course above me. I had been spared.’ Photo: © Omar Havana for International Medical Corps

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BANEPA, NEPAL - JULY 07, 2015: A nurse prepares a young boy for surgery for his injuries from the earthquake in a local hospital on July 07, 2015 in Banepa, Nepal. According to Handicap International, more than 65% of the people injured during the earthquake suffered fractures and 12% suffered injuries of the spinal cord. Photo: © Omar Havana

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BHAKTAPUR, NEPAL- FEBRUARY 02: A patient affected by cervical cancer lays on a hospital bed while receiving chemotherapy at the Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital on February 02, 2015 in Bhaktapur, Nepal. More than 1,100 women die from cervical cancer in Nepal each year, making it the most common cancer among women in the country. Despite being easily preventable, the lack of awareness around screening has made this form of cancer one of the most prevalent in the developing world. Photo: © Omar Havana

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KATHMANDU, NEPAL - JULY 13, 2015: A woman sews shoes under the attention of her supervisors in a factory on July 13, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana for ILO

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KATHMANDU, NEPAL - JULY 13, 2015: Trainees practice electrical skills in a training center on July 13, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana for ILO

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KATHMANDU, NEPAL - MARCH 23, 2015: An IOM staff member places an IOM identification sticker in Dhan Maya Rai’s jacket, 87 years old, while she attends her departure briefing minutes before traveling to Kathmandu airport to be resettled in the United States on March 23, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana

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JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23, 2015: A Maithil woman stands holding a pot filled with sand that she collected while working as road maintenance staff on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana for ILO

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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - September 10: Boeung Kak Lake activist Tep Vanny cries during a demonstration demanding the release of Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience and fellow Boeung Kak Lake activist Yorm Bopha in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on September 10, 2013. Since Boeung Kak Lake was leased to a private company in 2007, resulting in the evictions of surrounding communities in 2009, a group of women from the Lake has taken the forefront of the fight for their rights. Although their activism was initially dedicated to saving their homes, they are now some of Cambodia's most well-known, outspoken and fearless activists, becoming an iconic symbol of the fight of human rights and justice in Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana

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LESVOS, GREECE - FEBRUARY 09, 2016: A doctor helps Sara after getting off a dinghy on which they crossed the Aegean sea from the Turkish coast with dozens of refugees on February 09, 2015 in Lesvos, Greece. A UNHCR survey released last month found that 94% of Syrians and 71% of the Afghans arriving in Greece in January had undertaken the dangerous journey in order to escape conflict and violence in their countries. Photo: © Omar Havana for Action Aid Greece

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KATHMANDU, NEPAL - FEBRUARY 12, 2015: Dr. Samundra Bajimaya checks the x-ray of a 10-days-old boy suffering from rapid breathing and a neonatal thrombocytopenia - platelet count of less than 150 x 109/l.- at the ICU of the International Friendship Children’s Hospital on February 12, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Mechanical ventilators, which are not available in all hospitals around Nepal, are used to provide breathing support for premature or sick babies. From 1996 to 2006, Nepal reduced by close to 50% its maternal mortality rate, going from 539 deaths in 100,000 to 281, making Nepal a success story. However, each year, 57,000 under-five children still lose their lives, with 54% of those cases occurring within the first month after birth. In 2013, only 50% of births were attended by skilled birth attendants. Several issues remain to be addressed with regards to maternal and newborn health, including tackling inequalities, improving access to care in remote areas, improving quality of care, increasing the use of family planning methods, and reducing malnutrition. Photo: © Omar Havana for UNICEF

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LESVOS, GREECE - FEBRUARY 09, 2016: Volunteers comfort a Syrian refugee suffering from hypothermia after their arrival on a beach in South Lesvos with other refugees and migrants from the Turkish coast on February 09, 2015 in Lesvos, Greece. Photo: © Omar Havana for Action Aid Greece

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BATASE, NEPAL - FEBRUARY 28, 2015: A group of residents stands holding photos of relatives that have been forced to migrate to other countries for work due to the lack of employment opportunities in Batase, Nepal on February 28, 2015. Photo: © Omar Havana

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JANAKPUR, NEPAL - JULY 23, 2015: A group of Maithil women sits while chatting to other Maithil women during their break working as road maintenance staff in a rural area on July 23, 2015 near Janakpur, Nepal. Traditionally, women from the Maithil community have almost never worked in official positions or in the formal economy being economic dependants in their families - first as daughters, then as wives and mothers, and often as widows. Their labor is in service to their husbands' families. But for years, Maithili women have been making strides to gain independence, helped by projects aimed at providing them with income-earning opportunities outside the home. Photo: © Omar Havana for ILO

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RAUTA KHANITAR, NEPAL - MARCH 01, 2015: Dilmaya Magar, 42 years old, smiles while opening one of the toilets installed by the NEWAH organization in Rauta Khanitar, Nepal on March 01, 2015. Despite Nepal’s extensive natural resources, access to clean and affordable water remains a problem throughout the country. For many people in the more remote mountains and hills, water sources are often far away and not necessarily safe, and the simple act of fetching water can drain a community’s human resources. Photo: © Omar Havana for Water Aid Nepal

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RAUTA KHANITAR, NEPAL - MARCH 01, 2015: A woman tends to her cabbage patch in Rauta Khanitar, Nepal on March 01, 2015. Photo: © Omar Havana for WaterAid Nepal

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BHEDIARI, NEPAL - MAY 27: 27-year-old Adult Champion Sunti poses for a photo in a bamboo forest on May 27, 2019 in Bhediari, Nepal. Sunti was studying in grade seven when her parents arranged her marriage. At 13 years old, she gave birth to her first daughter. Refused by her family-in-law for having had a daughter, Sunti felt isolated by her husband and family. A few years later, she gave birth to a son. Hoping to be accepted and be loved by the family, she went back to her husband's house with her newborn son only to find out that her husband was already remarried to another woman. She was left with the only option to leave the home again. In 2013, Sunti joined Sisters for Sisters' Education project as an Aunty Champion (community volunteer) supporting other young volunteers in the community (Big sisters) working for girls' education awareness connecting with local government stakeholders, schools and service providers. Today, Sunti mentors seven Little Sisters. Photo: © Omar Havana for VSO International

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TRA VINH PROVINCE, VIETNAM - DECEMBER 01, 2015: Nguyen Thi Tang (47) cuts dragon fruits from a dragon fruit plant in a field where the family grows fruit outside their home on December 01, 2015 in Phu Hung 1 Village, Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam. Photo: © Omar Havana for Heifer International

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SVAY THOM, CAMBODIA - DECEMBER 05: Ou Kongkea (29) (left) and her husband Loek Bunthoeun (28) (right) pose for a photo holding piglets with their children, Vat Somavotey (5) (left) and Vat Samady (7) (right), in a vegetable farm planted outside their home on December 05, 2015 in Svay Thom, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana for Heifer International

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KATHMANDU, NEPAL - JUNE 21, 2015: Young children attend a class inside a tent set up in one of the temporary camps for people who lost their homes in the earthquake that hit Nepal in Kathmandu, Nepal on June 21, 2015. Photo: © Omar Havana

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BATASE, NEPAL - FEBRUARY 27, 2015: A young student cleans his hands during an exercise in the local school organized by the NEWAH organization in Batase, Nepal on February 27, 2015. Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) was established as a local NGO by WaterAid Nepal in 1992. Now running as an independent organization, NEWAH has reached over a million and a half people across 51 of Nepal’s 75 districts, supporting communities to put in place comprehensive water and sanitation facilities. Photo: © Omar Havana for WaterAid Nepal

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BHEDIARI, NEPAL - MAY 30: 27-year-old Adult Champion Sunti holds the hand of her little sisters, 15-year-old Pramila while walking in their village on May 30, 2019 in Bhediari, Nepal. Sunti was studying in grade seven when her parents arranged her marriage. At 13 years old, she gave birth to her first daughter. Refused by her family-in-law for having had a daughter, Sunti felt isolated by her husband and family. A few years later, she gave birth to a son. Hoping to be accepted and be loved by the family, she went back to her husband's house with her newborn son only to find out that her husband was already remarried to another woman. She was left with the only option to leave the home again. In 2013, Sunti joined Sisters for Sisters' Education project as an Aunty Champion (community volunteer) supporting other young volunteers in the community (Big sisters) working for girls' education awareness connecting with local government stakeholders, schools and service providers. Today, Sunti mentors seven Little Sisters. Photo: © Omar Havana for VSO International

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DHULIKHEL, NEPAL - AUGUST 07, 2015: Children attend a child-friendly space set up in a temporary shelter by the International Labor Organisation on the outskirts of Dhulikhel for people affected by the earthquake on August 07, 2015 in Dhulikhel, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana for ILO

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PANAUTI, NEPAL - AUGUST 07, 2015: 12 years-old Mohammad Intaf Alan repairs a truck in the garage that he works on August 07, 2015 in Panauti, Nepal. Photo: © Omar Havana for ILO

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POLIKASTRO, GREECE - FEBRUARY 11: Refugees warm up around a fire outside the new set-up tents by UNHCR on the parking space of an EKO petrol station where buses transporting refugees from Athens stop on February 11, 2015 in Polykastro, Greece. The Idomeni refugee camp has a capacity of 1200 people and it is equipped with heated tents, showers, food, spaces for vulnerable refugees…Since December, Greek police forces buses carrying refugees from Athens to stop at a EKO petrol station in Polykastro for crowd-control reasons where UNHCR is setting up a new refugee camp and volunteers are not allowed to provide food or drink to refugees as the petrol station has the monopoly for these goods that they sell to the refugees. Photo: © Omar Havana for Action Aid Greece

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ANDONG CHROS, CAMBODIA - DECEMBER 07: Mon Chey Samang (7), son of Mr. Soy Phe and Mrs. Houl Kim Srean, plays with a kite in a field near the family home on December 07, 2015 in Andong Chros Village, Cambodia. Photo: © Omar Havana for Heifer International

Public Story

Portfolio NGO

Credits: omar havana

Date of Work: 01/01/13 - Ongoing

Updated: 12/18/20

Archived as: Activism, Adolescence, Animals, Arrests and Prosecutions, Asia, Birth, Borders, Cambodia, Cancer, Children, Civil Rights, Community, Disability, Discrimination, Documentary, Editorial, Education, Environment, Europe Photographer, Food, France Photographer, Greece, Human Rights, Humanitarian, Humanitarian Photographer, Hunger, Nepal, NGO, Parenting & Family, Paris Photographer, Photography, Photojournalism, Politics, Portfolio, Poverty, Protests, Racism, South Asia, South East Asia, Sri Lanka, Still life, The Netherlands, Wildlife, Womens Rights, Workers Rights, Youth

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Omar Havana

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