A group of students at Escola Primaria de Mafacitela pause for a group photo during a break from a Portuguese lesson.

A Plains zebra (Equus quagga) in Welgevonden Game Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

This Swallow-tailed bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) was found on a branch overhanging the Khwai River in the Okavongo Delta in Botswana.

From the inside looking out; a newly renovated schoolhouse serves as an interesting vantage point to observe temporary classrooms made out of logs, mud, and tin.

Local children from the village of Mafacitela play a game of soccer in the dust. A wad of plastic bags filled with sand is the only necessary gear.

A road block in Gaza Province, Mozambique consists of cows, donkeys, and stray dogs.

A star-studded night sky is guaranteed during the winter months in rural Gaza Province, Mozambique.

Sunrise at Búfalo Moçambique, a privately owned and operated wildlife reserve in Gaza Province, Mozambique, near Banhine National Park.

A Painted reed frog (Hyperolius marmoratus) clings to an ilala palm at Búfalo Moçambique in the waning hours of the late afternoon.

A butterfly, recently emerged from its chrysalis, dries its wings in the bright midday sun of rural Mozambique.

A particularly spiky caterpillar that I found on a morning walk in a remote corner of Gaza Province, Mozambique.

A mathematics lesson, in Portuguese, frozen in time at Escola Primaria de Mafacitela, a small primary school in rural Gaza Province, Mozambique.

The Southern Masked Weaver or African Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) is a resident breeding bird species common throughout southern Africa. This individual was photographed in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

A trio of local children from a remote corner of Gaza Province, Mozambique aren't camera shy.

Curiosity gets the best of three students at Escola Primaria de Mafacitela in rural Mozambique.

At Escola Primaria de Mafacitela, the school bell is manually rung by the headmaster to indicate changes in the day's schedule.

An empty bottle filled with sand serves as a timer for a game played by children at Escola Primaria de Mafacitela, a school in rural Gaza Province, Mozambique.

The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a water kingfisher and is found widely distributed across Africa and Asia. This individual was photographed while hovering over his (eventual) breakfast in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Students at a small primary school in rural Gaza Province, Mozambique, want a closer look at the camera. For most children in this area, seeing a photo of themselves taken by a Westerner like myself offers them the best look that they have ever seen of their own face.

A boy poses proudly with his grasshopper during a miniature bioblitz that we conducted in Mafacitela, Gaza Province, Mozambique.

Two sticks serve as goal posts for a soccer pitch in rural Gaza Province, Mozambique.

This Lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus) was photographed in the Okavongo Delta in Botswana, a birder's paradise.

A Painted reed frog (Hyperolius marmoratus) rests on an ilala palm near Banhine National Park, Mozambique.

A weavers' nest, an architectural masterpiece in its own right, hangs from a wild fig tree near a seasonal pan in Gaza Province, Mozambique.