Born by torchlight: living without power in Benin – in pictures

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For 300 people in the Beninese village of Kokahoue, life without electricity is a daily reality, forcing midwives to deliver babies using lamps and torches. French photographer Pascal Maitre, winner of London Business School’s annual photography awards, has documented the problem in a stunning series of images, while entries from other contestants explore how communities have improvised to deal with issues ranging from poaching to deforestation

Main image: Mariette Dossou is giving birth at the house of midwife Raisa Godjo, with just an oil lamp and a flashlight to help with the delivery. The lack of electricity makes it a difficult environment for childbirth in their village of Attankpe, near Allankpon, Benin. Photograph: Pascal Maitre/LBS Photography Awards

  • Competition winner: Africa living without electricity, by Pascal Maitre

    This series by French photographer Pascal Maitre documents the challenges people face in areas of Africa that lack power. Sub-Saharan Africa is a focal point for the problem, with roughly two-thirds of people forced to live without electricity. Maitre’s images explore the impact on living standards, and on society in general. In Benin, in the village of Kokahoue, 300 people live without electricity. This photograph shows the daily night market in Kokahoue, held at the foot of a big mango tree and lit by kerosene lamps
    The daily night market in Kokahoue, Benin

  • In Attankpe, Benin, midwife Raisa Godjo helps Mariette Dossou to deliver her baby using light from an oil lamp and a torch
    In Attankpe, near Allankpon, Mariette Dossou gives birth at the house of midwife Raisa Godjo

  • In the village of Gbekandji, Benin, a teacher gives classes at night, thanks to a local family who spent £35 on a Chinese sun lamp
    A teacher gives classes at night under a sun lamp in the village of Gbekandji, Benin

  • Virunga’s hydroelectric promise, by Brent Stirton

    Finalist Brent Stirton focuses on the effect of hydropower on conservation efforts in Virunga national park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Deforestation is one of the Unesco world heritage site’s biggest threats. Here, conservation rangers at a camp inside the park capture a man who was exploiting the hardwood habitat to manufacture charcoal, the cooking fuel used in the region
    Conservation rangers capture a poacher at a camp inside Virunga national park

  • Virunga’s rare mountain gorillas are a big draw for foreign tourists, bringing cash into the local economy and boosting jobs. These two alpha male silverback mountain gorillas from the Mpua family are pictured in the Jomba rainforest, within the national park
    Alpha male silverback mountain gorillas from the Mpua family in the Jomba rainforest

  • Aerotropolis, the way we’ll live next, by Giulio di Sturco

    The Italian photographer offers a view of the future in the shape of smart cities directly connected to airports. The market auction of Aalsmeer, in the Netherlands, the world’s largest trading centre for plants and flowers, takes place at night, close to Schiphol airport
    The market auction of Aalsmeer, in the Netherlands

  • The Songdo international business district in South Korea, designed around Incheon, the country’s largest airport
    The New Songdo international business district in South Korea

  • The Slumtown Chronicles, by Sudipto Das

    This series documents the commitment of teachers working in the most deprived areas of India. Here, educator Shanaz Begum teaches destitute children at a dedicated night school in the Darapara settlement in Kolkata
    Shanaz Begum teaches destitute children at a dedicated night school in the Darapara slum in Kolkata, eastern India

  • After a hard day’s work at his school in Darapara, Mohammed Alamgir goes out to teach poor children in the evening. He has single-handedly ensured 90% literacy in the area
    Mohammed Alamgir teaches slum children in the evening, after a hard day’s work at his school in Darapara
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