projects — Emily Caroline Sartin

The elders of Placencia have watched the village transform from a small fishing village to a tourist destination over their lifetimes.

Janice Romero Leslie, 70, poses for a portrait in her home at TradeWinds Hotel in Placencia, Belize on Saturday, March 7, 2020. “The hurricane was a big, made big changes in Placencia," Leslie says. "The hurricane did that. Because that is when Placencia really blew up.”

Janice Romero Leslie's photo album documents the damage caused by Hurricane Iris in Placencia, Belize in 2001.

Merdis Mae Villanueva, known as Ms. Cunchi, grew up as one of 10 children in her family and went on to raise her 10 children in Placencia, Belize.

Merdis Mae Villanueva, 82, poses for a portrait in her home in Placencia, Belize on Saturday, March 7, 2020. “I am a tourist in my own village...When I do go and take a walk out, I don’t know where I am," Villanueva says.

Cherrymay Vernon, 72, has lived in Placencia, Belize her entire life. Vernon's family covers the walls of her home.

Cherrymay Vernon, 72, poses for a portrait in her home on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 in Placencia, Belize. “Telling you the truth, I would like to see how it was just in the nature of what it was, but improvements have to come in,” Vernon says.

A photo of Cherrymay Vernon (left) and Josephine Alberta Eiley (right) hang in Vernon's house in Placencia, Belize.

Josephine Alberta Eiley, 89, poses for a portrait in her home on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 in Placencia, Belize. “Change plenty. They have vehicle around," Eiley says. "We used to never have, never had no street here. Lone soft sand and cement walk.”

Josephine Alberta Eiley, known as Ms. Jessie, was born and raised in Placencia, Belize. The main changes Eiley sees in the village are the road, schools, and access to doctors.

Marcelo Omar Sierra, 69, poses for a portrait outside his home on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 in Placencia, Belize. “We ending up throwing trucks and trucks of fill here and that´s one of the developments that really put Placencia into a growth," Sierra says. "A expanded Placencia.”

Marcelo Omar Sierra's house sits behind Omar's, the restaurant Sierra passed down to his sons, in an area that used to be mangrove swamp.

Carlton Barnard Young, 79, poses for a portrait in his home in Placencia, Belize on Tuesday, March 20, 2020. “In two days, we caught 1700 pounds of mutton snappers," Young says. "That tells you the amount of fishes that was out there. That was in those days. It´ll take you almost a month to do that now.”

Waves roll in on the beach in Placencia, Belize on Friday, March 6, 2020.

Village Elders

The elders of Placencia have watched the village transform from a small fishing village to a tourist destination over their lifetimes.

Village Elders was part of Barriers, a multimedia project produced by Global Storytelling at UNC-Chapel Hill during spring 2020 in Placencia, Belize. The full experience with audio can be found here.

Mountain Prodigy

Inspired by the bluegrass music of the North Carolina mountains, Presley Barker started taking guitar lessons at seven years old. Three years later, Barker was competing in the adult division of guitar competitions. Now at 14, Barker travels the country to perform in bluegrass festivals. “I just keep hoping to play music for as long as I can and just kind of take it one day at a time,” Barker says.

Mountain Prodigy was part of the 2019 Carolina Photojournalism Workshop in Wilkesboro, N.C.