BABITA PATEL
MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE
Babita Patel is on a mission to evolve societal’s “us vs them” way of thinking to an “us and them” by deepening the world’s understanding of each other through storytelling. As a freelance humanitarian photographer documenting social impact issues around the world, her work has appeared on ABC, Al Jazeera, HBO, MSNBC, NY1 and PBS; featured in Forbes, The Guardian, The Marshall Project, The New York Times, Slate and The Washington Post; and exhibited in multiple countries.
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Babita is the fresh(wo)man author of Breaking Out in Prison, which introduces 15 men who were locked out of society long before they were locked up. The book puts a human face on systemic racism, the epidemic of mass incarceration and the need for community investment.
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She is the founder of KIOO Project, an NGO that advances gender equality across the globe by teaching photography to girls who, in turn, teach photography to boys.
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Along with co-founder Tara Abrahams, Babita launched kahani, a new print magazine of stories for girls by girls from around the world to inform, elevate and inspire one another.
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Babita frequently speaks at keynote events, joins panel discussions, hosts workshops and guest lectures at universities around the world. The topics are as wide and varied as her work.
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Babita has walked across a bridge into Myanmar, hunted with a Maasai warrior and slept in a Bedouin cave in Petra.
MY PERSONAL LIFE
I wanted to grow up & be a cashier.
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I am named after a Bollywood actress from the 1960s.
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I do not know how to parallel park, whistle or keep a plant alive.
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I bathed in the icy Himalayan waters at the source of the Ganges River.
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I ate at the first ever McDonald’s in Moscow right after the fall of the USSR.
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I have been sneezed on by a horse & an elephant, but only spit on by a camel.
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I camped in a tent at 16,000 feet, slept in a Maasi hut & napped in a Bedouin cave.
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I have been threatened with getting shot by the Secret Service for trying to get too close to President Clinton.
I listened to Tibetan monks chanting, Nepali Brahmins praying & Ethiopian worshipers singing. Each time – no matter the faith, the language or the color of the skin – the sounds flowed into my body, purifying all the tiny dark crevices inside & changed my being.​​​
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I started off as an Art Director in advertising before finding my purpose & becoming a humanitarian photographer.
​
I live what I love.
MY PROFESSIONAL LIFE
Babita Patel is on a mission to evolve societal’s “us vs them” way of thinking to an “us and them” by deepening the world’s understanding of each other through storytelling. As a freelance humanitarian photographer documenting social impact issues around the world, her work has appeared on ABC, Al Jazeera, HBO, MSNBC, NY1 and PBS; featured in Forbes, The Guardian, The Marshall Project, The New York Times, Slate and The Washington Post; and exhibited in multiple countries.
​
Babita is the fresh(wo)man author of Breaking Out in Prison, which introduces 15 men who were locked out of society long before they were locked up. The book puts a human face on systemic racism, the epidemic of mass incarceration and the need for community investment.
​
She is the founder of KIOO Project, an NGO that advances gender equality across the globe by teaching photography to girls who, in turn, teach photography to boys.
​
Along with co-founder Tara Abrahams, Babita launched kahani, a new print magazine of stories for girls by girls from around the world to inform, elevate and inspire one another.
​
Babita frequently speaks at keynote events, joins panel discussions, hosts workshops and guest lectures at universities around the world. The topics are as wide and varied as her work.
​
Babita has walked across a bridge into Myanmar, hunted with a Maasai warrior and slept in a Bedouin cave in Petra.
MY PERSONAL LIFE
I wanted to grow up & be a cashier.
​
I am named after a Bollywood actress from the 1960s.
​​
I do not know how to parallel park, whistle or keep a plant alive.
​
I bathed in the icy Himalayan waters at the source of the Ganges River.
​
I ate at the first ever McDonald’s in Moscow right after the fall of the USSR.
​
I have been sneezed on by a horse & an elephant, but only spit on by a camel.
​
I camped in a tent at 16,000 feet, slept in a Maasi hut & napped in a Bedouin cave.
​
I have been threatened with getting shot by the Secret Service for trying to get too close to President Clinton.
I listened to Tibetan monks chanting, Nepali Brahmins praying & Ethiopian worshipers singing. Each time – no matter the faith, the language or the color of the skin – the sounds flowed into my body, purifying all the tiny dark crevices inside & changed my being.​​​
​
I started off as an Art Director in advertising before finding my purpose & becoming a humanitarian photographer.
​
I live what I love.