Scott Clarke, Botswana's Peace Playground (Travel 2017)

Most Australians visit Botswana today because of the abundant wildlife. These images, however, highlight how much more there is to see and learn. A young group continue to stare at the visitors. Then, as if by magic, the tension was broken. As soon as my wife tosses the ball through the air, all the young bystanders from the local community were on their way, excitedly running to the large field area in an effort to catch the ball. It was clear that ‘the ball’ was a powerful symbolical tool to promote peace on a global level within a small community. As the game of ‘catch’ continued my youngest daughter decided to join in. The ‘game breaking’ moment was when both of my girls were physically embraced by the young members of the local community.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.