Photo Contest Winner
Companions
A primary school on the island of Savai’i, in the Independent State of Samoa
![Two young boys walk with backpacks on a tree-lined path in Samoa.](https://brightspotcdn.byu.edu/dims4/default/4942a5f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/800x976+0+0/resize/800x976!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbrigham-young-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcb%2F86%2Fdd7acd604209906d2f1294f409cc%2Fw2020-photo-contest.jpg)
Photo by Ethan S. Andersen
It was a hot, humid morning and the first school of the day. I was sitting under the shade of the fale (pronounced “fah-lay”) where we were helping to screen children for rheumatic heart disease and give out school supplies. As we were finishing with the last kids, I caught this glimpse of two boys walking home with their new backpacks and a tale to tell their family about. For me, this picture captures not only the beauty of Samoa, but also the joy I felt being with the people who call it home.