Bangladesh has a population far greater than its size can comfortably support, and as a result, an enormous amount of waste is produced each day. At Anandabazar dump yard, the largest in Chittagong, hundreds of underaged children from poor families work collecting recyclable materials. These families survive on roughly $20 a month, earned through 8-10 hours of daily labor – the same hours that should belong to their children’s schooling. Despite receiving so little from life, the young workers give everything they can to support their families. In this project, Sultan captures moments of these little angels, growing up with love and hope despite the odds; like flowers pushing through cracks in the pavement of an unforgiving urban landscape.

Bangladesh, as part of the South Asian Seas (SAS) region, is facing one of the worst-case scenarios of plastic pollution – a crisis that continues to harm seas and oceans across the world. A survey recorded 6,705 pieces of waste along an 18.5 km stretch of four sea beaches: Laboni and Inani in Cox’s Bazar, and Ananda Bazar and Patenga in Chittagong. Plastic pollution in Bangladesh continues unchecked, posing grave threats to both human and animal health, while the government has yet to take meaningful action to reduce its production or ensure safe waste management.