Child miners of Chingira Village

Child miners of Chingira Village

It is nine o’clock on a sunlit morning in Chingira Village, Traditional Authority Tsabango in Lilongwe, and 13-year-old Grace is already deep in the slow choreography of survival. Standing knee-deep in the muddy waters of Nanjiri River, she sinks a shovel to the bottom, scooping sand and mud before emptying the mixture into a plastic basin. Then comes the waiting. With quiet concentration, Grace begins sieving, her eyes fixed on the muddy swirl …