We spent time in the mountain village of Los Pedernales, a rural region of Jinotega, to photograph families with school-age children.

On our first day at the El Progreso school, we got to see how each family contributes by preparing donated food once a month and serving it to the children. It was there that we met Vani, a lively ten-year-old who soon became our ambassador, introducing us to her family and many members of the village. It was because of this that I chose to photograph her on our last morning in Los Pedernales.

As I arrived early at Vani’s home to capture her morning routine, her mother, Maria, was helping her comb out her wet hair, the window light carving