The children of Umar Bin Khattab Bypass Mosque

Enlarge image: Children at the mosque

We had just finished Friday prayers at the Umar Bin Khattab mosque on the Bypass road. We sat for a while to rest, waiting for a cloud to drift across the sky and shield us from the Gorontalo sun — so hot that, as people here like to say, this town has two suns, haha.

Then the children around us caught our attention. At first I thought they were playing, but they were actually helping to tidy up the mosque's carpets after the congregation had finished praying. I saw their small faces light up when the mosque caretaker handed each of them 2,000 rupiah. Their innocent smiles spread happiness all around. It's a sight you rarely see, so I decided to capture the moment.