Mental illness takes a significant toll on your ability to function in any job. When you're a single mom and have the added pressure of being the sole breadwinner, depression, anxiety and PTSD can cripple your ability to cope.

"I had lost that real passion for music. But it's so back again."

Beatrice Mutai is only 13, but she knows first-hand that small changes can make a big difference. Until last year, she would wake up before dawn every morning to fetch water from the Ewaso Ng’iro River.

Here in Canada, most of us don't really think about water. Easy access to clean drinking water is part of our daily expectations. But in many parts of Kenya, where I recently visited to see some of Plan International Canada's programs, it's impossible not to think about water -- or rather, the severe lack of it.

In late 2016 when the rains failed, a severe drought hit the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya, affecting over 2.7 million people. Marsabit is one of the hardest hit counties, where thousands of children are food insecure and in dire need of treatment for severe malnutrition.

Telling a great story should be the goal of every photograph. Food is chock-full of nostalgia and emotion. Photographing a great meal means styling, lighting, and shooting in a way that invokes a specific emotional response from the viewer. Is it a date night? Game day? Thanksgiving dinner? All very different experiences, and your food photo can tell that story.