Shanty town, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Caribbean, West Indies

Shanty town, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Caribbean, West Indies

Slums within a kilometer of the Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

View of the Santa Marta favela (slum community) showing the funicular railway, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Hillside favela, La Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

View over the slums of Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, Africa

Aerial view of a slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, Africa

January 2010 earthquake damage in the slums, Port au Prince, Haiti, West Indies, Caribbean, Central America

Shanty houses of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

Totally polluted River Mapou flowing through Cap Haitien, Haiti, Caribbean, Central America

View of Rocinha favela and the forest of Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

View of Rocinha favela and the forest of Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Copacabana Beach, neighbourhood and the Morro da Humaita favela behind, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

View of Rocinha favela (slum) (shanty town), Corcovado mountain and the statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

View over the shantytown of West Point, Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, Africa

Carnival parade in a favela slum in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, South America

Slums, Port au Prince, Haiti, West Indies, Caribbean, Central America

Favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Shacks, Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa, Africa

Street market in a village near the airport, Gondar, Ethiopia, Africa

Slum washing ghats surrounded by expensive residential developments, Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India, Asia

Slums, bangladesh. Dhaka slums. Women and children

Brazilian flag with a favela and the Christ statue on Corcovado peak in the background, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Elevated view of Copacabana Beach, apartment blocks and the Pavao Pavaozinhao favela slum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

View of poor housing in the favela (slum), Cantagalo near Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Piled up empty oil tins, being carried by cycle rickshaw to be recycled and used for slum house walls, Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India, Asia

Slums in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, West Africa, Africa

The brightly painted Warna-warni kampong or shanty town (slum), Malang, Java, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

The brightly painted Warna-warni kampong or shanty town (slum), Malang, Java, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

The brightly painted Warna-warni kampong or shanty town (slum), Malang, Java, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Street slum dwellings in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, Asia

Tabajaras-Cabritos favela slum, impoverished community with poor housing, Tijuca National Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Elevated view of a favela slum on the edge of Tijuca forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Copacabana neighbourhood and the Pavao Pavaozinho favela slum, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Copacabana neighbourhood and the Pavao Pavaozinho favela slum, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Detailed view of poor housing in the Pavao Pavaozinhao favela slum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Elevated view of Copacabana Beach, apartment blocks and the Pavao Pavaozinhao favela slum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

View of houses in the Cantagalo favela slum in Rio de Janeiro with the mountains of Tijuca National Park in the background, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Slum washing ghats, Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India, Asia

Elevated view of a favela slum on the edge of Tijuca forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Elevated view of Copacabana Beach, apartment blocks and the Pavao Pavaozinhao favela slum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Adult education, south africa. Kwazulu-natal, durban township. Adult education for women

View of houses in the Cantagalo favela slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Elevated view of a favela slum on the edge of Tijuca forest, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Portrait of a smiling Bangladeshi girl in a purple sari, looking at the camera, carrying a large water pot in a slum Bangladesh, Asia

Portrait of a Bangladeshi mother in a sari holding her young child, looking at the camera, in a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia

Families in the area outside their shack in a slum in the city of Dhaka (Dacca), Bangladesh, Asia

Mother and son in a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia

Untouchables (Harijan) in shanty hovels alongside river in town centre, Coonor, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia

Houses, Soweto, South Africa, Africa

Family at front door of their rag shanty home, Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India, Asia

Tower Hill slum, Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, Africa

Boy bathing in a slum area, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia

Construction workers' slum, Tech center 50km from Delhi at Gurgaon, Haryana state, India, Asia

Favelas in front of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janiero, Brazil, South America

Slum housing and slum dwellers next to apartment blocks in Bandra area of Mumbai, India from Bandra Worli Sealink Road

Slum housing and slum dwellers in Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai, India

Slum housing and slum dwellers in Mahalaxmi area of Mumbai, India

Above Medellin, the Barrios Regalo de Dios, Colombia, South America

People at Rocinha favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Boy running with bike tyre, Namuwongo slum area, Kampala, Uganda, Africa

Woman working on one of the world biggest garbage dump with a stork waiting for food, in the Dandora slum of Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, Africa

Latrines on the river bank in rough land grazed by cows in a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia

Portrait of a group of five boys, slum children, sitting on a bench outdoors, looking at the camera, Kariobangi, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa, Africa

Slum, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Asia

Brazil, Salvador De Bahia, The Historic Quarter Of Pelourinho, Laundry Hanging At Windows Of Slum Houses

Thailand mother breast feeding baby. Inhabitants of a slum in chiang mai

Kenya anti sexual violence poster. Kibera slum, nairobi

Colombia sprawling slum development at altos de cazuca, bogota

Cambodia sen sok primary school. anlon knang, a resettlement area outside phnom penh where poor people were moved when their inner city slum was developed

Colombia sprawling slum development at altos de cazuca, bogota

CAMBODIA Women trained by CSARO to make handicrafts from recycled materials. Some are former waste pickers whose lives have been improved by the project. Kim Savoeun, 49, is the mother of 2 of the girls working here. The settlement slum of San Sok, 10 kilometres outsdie Phnom Penh

Colombia girls walking home from school in ciudad bolivar, bogota

Thailand mother & child, slum dwellers of chiang mai

Colombia sprawling slum development at altos de cazuca, bogota

Colombia single mother with her children, barrancabermeja. Beautiful people, but they are extremely poor, and the children both suffer from malnutrition and stunted growth. She often does not send them to school becasue they are too hungry

Philippines children playing in the street of the slum of bagnong silangan, quezon city, manila

Honduras slum dwellers of tegucigalpa

Philippines children playing in the street of the slum of bagnong silangan, quezon city, manila

Colombia sprawling slum development at altos de cazuca, bogota

Honduras children at a free feeding program. slum barrio of chamelecon, pedro sula

Colombia very poor mother with her two sons, barrancabermeja

CAMBODIA Boy scavenging for recyclable garbage on rubbish dump of Mean Caeay, Phnom Penh

CAMBODIA Scavenger Soun Srey Thouch searching for recyclable materials on Phnom Penh's Mean Caeay garbage dump, with sons Khoeun Sovan (8) and Khoeun Sanja (10)

Colombia in the slums of los altos de cazuca, bogota

CAMBODIA Scavenger Soun Srey Thouch searching for recyclable materials on Phnom Penh's Mean Caeay garbage dump, with sons Khoeun Sovan (8) and Khoeun Sanja (10)

Colombia jasmine abufe grilling fish on a woodstove in her house beside the rio magdalena, barrancabermeja

CAMBODIA Scavenger Soun Srey with sons Khoeun Sovan (8) and Khoeun Sanja (10), near Phnom Penh's Mean Caeay garbage dump

Kenya. Primary school children of christ the king catholic school, kibera, a slum of nairobi

Kenya. Christ the king catholic secondary school, kibera, a slum of nairobi

Namibia billboard warning against domestic violence. Slum district of katatura, windhoek

Honduras children at a free feeding program. slum barrio of chamelecon, pedro sula

Colombia city bus in the slum development at altos de cazuca, bogota

Kenya at a wedding mass, kibera slum, nairobi. Three couples were married at the same time, by american maryknoll priest, father bob jalbert

Colombia sprawling slum development at altos de cazuca, bogota

Colombia marly juliet, 7, of the slum of altos de cazuca, bogota, heading off to school

Colombia marly juliet, 7, of the slum of altos de cazuca, bogota, doing her homework

Philippines a mother and her children at home in their slum dwelling, bagong silangan, quezon city, manila

CAMBODIA HIV+ couple making handicrafts. Toul Sambo village is a resettlement area outside of Phnom Penh. Set in rural tranquility surrounded by paddy fields, it is a peaceful place for its residents. A Caritas Cambodia project, it has two focus groups who live there. One group is largely HIV+ and used to reside in a Phnom Penh slum called Borey Kila, until they were evicted by the government who wanted to develop the land for offices and shopping malls. The other group consists of those made homeless when a river's bank subsided in their village, destroying their homes. At the home of Kea Nimal and Kem Sokhorn, both HIV+. They are very industrious working at home making paper bags and ornaments, some with recyclable materials. They can earn $12-$15 per 5-day working week, and live quite comfortably in their attractive home with TV, motor-cycle and other conveniences. They say they are much better off than in the crowded and unhealth slum of Borey Kila in Phnom Penh where they used to live. They get regular orders for the handicrafts they make. They stay healthy by taking ARVs, which are supplied free of charge by the Hope Organization. PHOTO by Sean Sprague

Colombia sisters playing with their dolls, the slum of altos de cazuca, bogota,