Rein Skullerud has been the WFP photographer for the last 12 years. Coming from drought-hit Niger to capture the story of the Sahel region’s hunger crisis and how WFP is working with communities to get through it, he tells the stories behind his images.
via ONE.org
Just stumbled upon this vice reportage of a trip to the coltan mines of Congo, and a visit to the FDLR and Mai Mai rebel groups. It’s a bit of crazy journey, and it seems that these guys arrive as a bunch of Westerners not really knowing what they are getting into, but as the tension increases and things get a bit more dangerous and chaotic they learn quickly.
Yes, DRC is not an easy place, and it’s not a place you’d just want to walk into. Interesting to see how the languages changes as well, from English, French, to Kirwanda and Kiswahili with the Mai Mai. Congo is a diverse place and as these guys rightly say .. there are no easy answers. Period.
Check out theses videos …
… and read the full story with some historical details here.
via Vice
Photos by Tim Freccia
Image: 2012, Christoph Ziegenhardt for CBM Australia
I met Diana during the second half of my visit at CCBRT, CBM’s partner hospital in Tanzania. I was there to take photos and hear the stories of people with disabilities, and how their lives had been impacted by the work.
The first few days we had spent in the field meeting people in their homes in and around Dar Es Salaam. But now we were in hospital, in the fistula ward.
Image: 2012, Christoph Ziegenhardt for CBM Australia
As I prepared for this interview, I wanted to make sure
The London Festival of Photography (June 1-28, 2012) is featuring the work of Steve Bloom, South African landscape and wildlife photographer, who also documented life in Apartheid South Africa in the mid 1970s, “capturing a critical moment in the history of apartheid-era South Africa. Some of these images are being shown for the first time, while others have not been seen since they were first exhibited internationally three decades ago.”
Bus stop, Cape Town, South Africa, 1976 © Steve Bloom /SteveBloom.com
There is a good feature of some images and Steve’s commentary on the BBC website.
What excites me a little more though is this stitched Panorama of Kitengela Road in Nairobi. It’s some great work showcasing the vibrancy of this area. Check it out:
Kitengela Road in Nairobi, BBC Interview with Steve Bloom.
The longest panorama? It’s 11 meters long and a bit different to my Nairobi Skyline Pano.
Steve also made a book called the Trading Places: Merchants of Nairobi. Check it out Amazon.
Trading Places: The Merchants of Nairobi
Africa is changing. The old “colonial paradigm” has shifted (if you didn’t notice) and it has been doing so for a while now. The 90′s were a decade of massive changes, political, social and economical. And some of the biggest changes can be seen in countries like Kenya.
This video is addressing the concerns of the poorest households and facilitating the inclusion of smallholders in modern distribution chains should be a priority in all East African countries.
World Bank Link: “Beyond the Nakumatt Generation: Distribution Services in East Africa“, World Bank Policy Note No. 26, Oct 2011)
via @JKE
The social media diva put a shout out, and I’m following. Of course! Who could resist? ,-) No seriously, the ideas is to write about dreams.
“The stuff that inspired us, changed us, and fuelled our love for life and/or God. The things that had us move job, continents and through relationships. It’s based on the belief that when we share our dreams, we are dared to chase them. They remind us that everything is possible. In doing so, we hope to remind all of our readers and each other how important sharing our deepest hopes and desires is… for support, for honesty and for accountability.”
So here I am. I guess I’m here (in Melbourne/Australia, working for an NGO, doing photography, online marketing, communications), because many moons ago, when I lived in Nairobi, in the 90′s, my heart was stirred by the things that went down in East Africa.
It was years of uncertainty in Nairobi (my dad got car-jacked, I got knifed, neighbours got shot and cars burned), while Kenya was transitioning from single to “multiparty democracy”, Kevin Carter won a Pulitzer with his epic image of a starving child in Sudan, Mohammed Amin, covered the Ethiopian Civil War, Mogadishu was going crazy, and there was just so much injustice poverty, corruption, violence as part of the every day. Lifeline Sudan was happening.
It stirred in me the longing, the hope for a better world, a just place, and I knew
Being in Tanzania has been an enriching experience meeting people and diving into diverse cultures, discovering some new aspects and facets previously unknown. The Swahili people of the East African Coast, from northern Kenya, typified by the amazing island of Lamu, via Malindi, Mombasa and into Tanzania, Pemba and Zanzibar is the dominant culture that influenced Eastern Africa in regards to language, culture and traditions. Ancient Arab traditions, Indian Ocean trade – as early as 100 AD, and strong African flavours mixed into a very unique, proud and fascinating “Afro-Arab” people group.
Here’s a selection of images captured on Zanzibar.
Zanzibar Roof Top Skyline at Sunrise
Zanzibar has a rich history of fishing, seamanship and ocean trade
Sneak peek into more basic living conditions in Zanzibar
The first week in Dar has just flown by.
As a person not living here, it’s helpful to realise that I am always a foreigner, disregarding how many times I might have been to a place or how much I might know of the culture and language. (In fact, I find that true for pretty much anywhere, including Germany and Australia – where I supposedly come from ,-)
But while East Africa does feel more like home to me than most other places, having grown up in Kenya, the help of a local translator and fixer, who really understands the culture, interprets my interview questions in ways that work with the culture, is just absolutely invaluable. Not to mention the practical help of finding places, or getting a local sim card etc.
Local knowledge and language are in fact often the key that opens the door to a person’s story and home. My work would be much more difficult without it. So thank you Alexander (Translator in Dar), thank you Yusuf (Driver in Dar) and thank you Suleiman (fixer and driver in Zanzibar).
The first days in Dar have been a bit of a treat. Its warm climate, ocean breeze and friendly people are thoroughly enjoyable.
We just finished up the second day here, and things are coming together nicely. Visiting and interviewing some inspiring people and hearing their life-journeys is once again a real privilege.
Below are a few general photos from around the place.
Important Note: You are free to link to this work. You may not copy or repost any images on other websites, blogs or social media, except with written permission. You must give attribution. You may not use the work for commercial purposes. You may not alter, transform, or built upon this work. © 2000-2012, Christoph Ziegenhardt, czed.com, christophziegenhardt.com
The Angry Cripple (@AngryOzCripple) over at “The Punch” published this article on Poverty & Disability. Written by Lucy Daniel (@lucyjoydaniel), the Advocacy and Policy Officer at CBM Australia, a development organisation working with people with disabilities in the world’s poorest places.
I took the photo in Kenya, late 2011, showing a mother and her son, who through the help of a local community based worker helped him get into school and provided him with physiotherapy, training, a standing aid and a wheelchair.
The Punch : Poverty Disability Article, Feb 8th 2012, News Ltd
