Standing in the heart of Asunción, surrounded by beautiful old buildings, history and the bustle of the city, I noticed something that stopped me in my tracks.
Just behind Plaza Constitución were these tiny, makeshift homes — timber, plywood and corrugated sheets pieced together to create somewhere to live.
And then I noticed the people.
A few men stood outside, chatting quietly beside their homes. There was no drama, no posing for the camera — just ordinary people going about their day, living with what they have and making the best of it.
It would be easy to simply see poverty. But behind every doorway is a person. A family. A story. Someone’s attempt to create a home with whatever they have.
The contrast is striking — beautiful historic Asunción on one side, hardship on the other, separated by little more than a street.
Travel isn’t always about photographing the beautiful places. Sometimes, the most powerful photographs are the ones that make us pause, look a little closer, and remember that behind every wall, every doorway and every makeshift home, there are people — with lives, hopes and stories of their own.