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Villagers crowd around the single generator-powered television in Wantugu, Northern Region, Ghana to watch music videos on June 13th, 2007. Wantugu had power lines installed in 2000, but government officials failed to connect them to a power source. The owner of the television charges a small fee for people to watch films every night.A woman bends over to purchase fruit at the nighttime market in Gbulung, Northern Region, Ghana on Feb. 13th, 2010.Children read the Koran by flashlight at a mosque in Wantugu, Northern Region, Ghana on May 13th, 2007. Wantugu had power lines installed in 2000, but government officials failed to connect them to a power source. (Photo by Peter DiCampo / VII Mentor Program)A woman sells food by the roadside in Fulfusu Junction, Northern Region, Ghana, on Feb. 10th, 2010. The town is located at a major junction on northern Ghana's main road, between several large cities and the north's major tourist destination. Residents argue that electricity would allow them to capitalize on the tourism and service industries, and cater to passing truck drivers crossing from north to south.The crew of Marvelous Films International, a local company from the nearby city, films a village scene for one of their films in Voggu, Northern Region, Ghana on Nov. 16th, 2009. Only in the past few years has a growing local film industry allowed northerners to see movies made by their own tribe, in a setting and language familiar to them.Children read the Koran by flashlight at a mosque in Wantugu, Northern Region, Ghana, on May 21, 2007. Wantugu had power lines installed in 2000, but government officials failed to connect them to a power source.A young girl eats dinner in her home in Voggu, Northern Region, Ghana, on Nov. 17th, 2009. Voggu had powerlines for years, but they were never connected to electricity. The material for the lines was eventually stolen, presumably to be sold as scrap metal.Abdulai Abubakari holds his infant child, Fakia, in Voggu, Northern Region, Ghana on Feb. 19th, 2010. Voggu had powerlines for years, but they were never connected to electricity. The material for the lines was eventually stolen, presumably to be sold as scrap metal.Zenabu Abubakari, a young girl, falls asleep in Voggu, Northern Region, Ghana on Feb. 15th, 2010. Voggu had powerlines for years, but they were never connected to electricity. The material for the lines was eventually stolen, presumably to be sold as scrap metal.People board the last car of the night through Wantugu, Northern Region, Ghana on June 27th, 2007. Wantugu had power lines installed in 2000, but government officials failed to connect them to a power source.Baba Alhassan poses for a portrait lit with flashlights in Voggu, Northern Region, Ghana on Feb. 19th, 2010. The villagers of Voggu are among the 1.6 billion people worldwide who live without electricity. There were powerlines in Voggu for years, but they were never connected to electricity. The material for the lines was eventually stolen, presumably to be sold as scrap metal.The women and children of the Abubakari household pose for a portrait lit with flashlights in Voggu, Northern Region, Ghana on Feb. 20th, 2010. The villagers of Voggu are among the 1.6 billion people worldwide who live without electricity. There were powerlines in Voggu for years, but they were never connected to electricity. The material for the lines was eventually stolen, presumably to be sold as scrap metal.

Peter DiCampo: In Ghana, nights without light

Synopsis

Peter DiCampo is an American photographer who divides his time between Africa and the Americas. He launched his freelance career in 2007 while also serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Ghana. There, his began shooting photos for his series “Life Without Lights,” which focuses on nighttime in areas of Ghana without electricity. This work won him the “body of work” prize in the British Journal of Photography’s International Photography Awards, garnering him a solo exhibition in London.

From DiCampo’s website:

Year-round in Ghana, the sun sets at 6 p.m. and rises at 6 a.m. – thus, the residents of communities lacking electricity live half of their lives in the dark. More than 10 years ago, the government of Ghana began a massive campaign to provide the country’s rural north with electricity, but the project ceased almost immediately after it began. The work sluggishly resumes during election years, as candidates attempt to garner popularity and votes. But at present, an estimated 73 percent of villages remain without electricity in the neglected north – an area comprising 40 percent of the country.

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alumni, awards, Ghana, Journalism, Peter DiCampo, photojournalism

Peter DiCampo

Peter DiCampo('05)

Peter DiCampo (b. 1984) is an American photographer who divides his time between Africa and the Americas. He launched his freelance career in 2007 while also serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Ghana. Before living in Ghana, he was a staff photographer at The Telegraph in Nashua, New Hampshire, and interned at VII Photo in Paris, Newsday in New York, and the Harvard University News Office. He holds a B.S. in Photojournalism from Boston University. In June 2010, Peter joined the VII Mentor Program.

Peter’s photography and multimedia work has been published by Time, MSNBC, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal and many others. His recent awards include a screening of his work at Visa Pour l’Image, the international photojournalism festival held in Perpignan, France, and a first prize in the ‘body of work’ category in The British Journal of Photography’s International Photography Awards. He is currently pursuing a long-term project on the lack of access to electricity.

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