Special Bond Between Mothers And Their Children That I've Been Documenting For 10 Years During My Travels

In terms of geography, history and culture, Ladakh is very different from the rest of India. It is often nicknamed "Little Tibet". A majestic and impressive region, and an incredible feeling of being at the end of the world. While travelling to Chemrey Monastery, we meet a mother and her son. They live in the middle of nowhere, in a small house made of bricks and mud. They are radiant.

In Harar, Ethiopia, time seems to have been suspended for hundreds of years. With 102 sanctuaries and nearly 100 mosques, some dating back to the 10th century, Harar is considered the fourth most sacred city of Islam. The old town is a real labyrinth. It is good to get lost, to meet its charming inhabitants.

We venture into the Gorges of Todra, under a blue sky dotted with thick clouds carried by the wind. Suddenly, a mother appears in the middle of nowhere. She carries her child on her back and walks through the rocks. She illuminates us with her beautiful smile.

"Every mother is a river," says a famous Bambara proverb. We are in the streets of Porto-Novo, Benin. A mother poses in traditional dress with her son.

I am in Sapa, north of Vietnam. This morning, I left before dawn. It is cold and foggy. I go down to the valley. There are a number of hamlets inhabited by Black Hmongs, one of the main ethnic groups in the region. From 6 am, life starts. Some moms go to the town with their children on their back, others go to work to the fields. I meet them in the mist. Children are all amused to see me. Moms are beautiful with their big earrings and their traditional indigo colors clothes.

A mother poses with her son and their alpaca in the heights of Cuzco, Peru. The people of the Andean Cordillera inspire feelings of respect and admiration.

We are in Uzbekistan. I meet with a mother and her daughter in the old district of Tashkent.

The Grand Marché of Segou is a whirlwind of faces, sounds, smells and colors. The place is full of life, wherever I look. I see this sister, who guides her youngest through the crowd and this saleswoman who dazzles all around her with her beautiful smile. I also notice this mother who, suddenly, sits away from the crowd , to give water to her son.

Maruyama Park is a sublime and soothing place in Kyoto, where people like to hang out at any time of the day. A Mother and her daughter meet there during an autumn afternoon. They have fun and have clearly spotted me taking pictures of the park. And of them, at the same time... which makes them enjoy the moment even more. I show them the pictures on the screen of my camera, they are amazed.

I have been in Barreirinhas for several days, in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. A delicious impression of being at the end of the world, with people of extraordinary hospitality. I live with a family who helped me find a transport to explore the legendary Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. I spend a lot of time with them. The father, Isaias, speaks good English. He serves as an interpreter between me and the others. Lucila, the mother, is proud of her little Gabriel. She spends hours chatting with her neighbors in front of the house. In the last few days, time has taken a different dimension for me.

Puja stands with her two sons in Jaisalmer, on the edge of the Thar Desert. They belong to the Bhopas caste. Considered to be low caste, the Bhopas are from Rajasthan. They used to go from village to village to liven up the festivities and sing local legends. They perpetuated oral tradition in rural areas. Today, they are musicians, dancers, storytellers and puppeteers.

A mother and her daughter walk in the old town of Khiva. The city is located along the ancient Silk Road.

On the train between Kandy and Ella, Sri Lanka.

Viviana and her son Che live in Habana Vieja, the old part of Havana, a few meters from the main tourist sites. They live in a house with 54 other families.

In the center of Rangoon, a mother is posing with her son. They both wear thanaka on the face, a yellow traditional powder made of crushed wood mixed with water. Children and women apply it as protection against the sun or as makeup.

"If strength is synonymous with moral courage, then women are infinitely superior to men. Don’t they have a lot more intuition, endurance and courage? Without women, men could not be. If non-violence is the law of our being, the future belongs to women. Who, better than a woman, knows how to speak to the heart of people and touch their most sensitive point?" - Mahatma Gandhi quote - A mother and her son bathe in holy waters at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India.

We are in the south of Ethiopia, in a camp of the hamer people. Women gather in the shade under a straw roof. Men are sitting a little further. It's been a while since I watch a mother play with her son. She makes him jump on her legs, she caresses his face, makes him pass into the hands of other women before taking him back jealously in her arms. Suddenly, she leans toward him and kisses him three times. Briefly. Firmly.