22 September, 2025
Gabriela (12) hides behind a cloth at her grandmother’s house in Los Patios, Norte de Santander, Colombia. The house was built by her grandfather and uncle, who died in 2016 and 2023 respectively.
Colombia has the world’s highest rate of single mothers. The photographer and his family experience this reality not as a statistic but as a “recurring wound.” In 1999, Ferley Ospina’s father was murdered in the border region of Norte de Santander, forcing him to flee with his mother. Photographing the women in his extended family, Ospina seeks to understand the “weight of absence” and the systemic and personal impact of “growing up incomplete.”
Behind every powerful image is a story someone chose to tell. And often, a risk someone chose to take. Support World Press Photo by making a donation to ensure these important stories are seen across the globe.
