Photojournalism nominee

Polio sufferer, 30-year-old Rai Kumar lives with his wife Rekha and two children on the streets of Varanasi, India. Despite the painful handicap condition, he holds his spirit unexpectedly high. Rai keeps his family from the collected alms, and what is a great surprise, his beautiful smile attracts much more attention compared to other beggars which are widely seen in this holy city.

Bernard Kwapiński - photographer by education and passion. Graduate of the Faculty of Photography at the University in Dortmund (Visual Communication / Photography)born in Warsaw . Propagator of photography. Founder and sponsor of the Foundation Institute Photography Fort (IFF) - www.instytutfotografiifort.org.pl, which he established in 2016 to support Polish photography. Founder of a photo gallery operating at the IFF, as well as the only one in Poland, unique photo reading room, for which he donated the largest collections of photo books in the country. He is a businessman on a daily basis. Photography is his passion.