Not all kids in Nairobi have this opportunity; we were about to meet some of those kids.
It’s was one thing to do a drive-by camera shoot on the outskirts of a slum, but getting out of the car and walking through the despair and among the desperate was something I was not prepared for. Nonetheless, I had requested it and we were there.
Isaac, a trusted worker at the orphanage had driven us to an area called Ekodoro. The van had been bumping and sliding down a narrow, muddy road for half a mile. We turned right and crested a small hill and suddenly, we were surrounded by dozens of children and an odd collection of dogs and mud stained goats.
The hand gestures offered by the kids offered were not designed to welcome us. At that moment, I sat there with my cameras thinking that I really didn’t belong here, but, in truth, I did. We were here to show the conditions that the kids at Rehema Home have been spared. We were not there to exploit them.
Some young men who insisted we not take any photographs in the area approached us. Isaac explained that we were making a film for the orphanage and although our pictures might not directly benefit them, they might have an impact on their children in the future.
That seemed to satisfy him and for 200 shillings, he offered to watch our van while we entered the rows of sheet metal and chicken wire homes.
Yeah, we were hustled, but it was a fair compromise.
Without hesitation I slung the Kata bag on my back, grabbed the video camera, handing off the tripod so that I could film as I was walking. Jonathan, Lance and myself followed Isaac down the narrow paths of mud, laced with animal and human waste. The area was composed of dozens of small shacks made of wood slats and metal scraps. Some were insulated with mud and others with rags or sticks.
As I was primarily dealing with the video end of things, I had handed my still camera off to Lance and he did a great job taking these pictures.
As I was primarily dealing with the video end of things, I had handed my still camera off to Lance and he did a great job taking these pictures.
The NX5’s active stabilization in addition to the wide-angle lens allowed me to track smoothly. My footing was not all that secure and the kids marching alongside of us took turns holding our hands and pulling at our pockets.
I’ll admit that I was burying myself in the technical aspects of my job to block out the physical and emotional stench of the environment. The conditions were horrendous. No one in the world should have to live in a sewer like this.
It was all quite overwhelming. Unless you've seen this in person, it is truly difficult to imagine. I began to think of my wife and child, our home and the work I choose to do. I couldn't help think of all the trivial stuff we complain about and how, in our worst times, we really have it quite good.
We walked a few hundred yards and it was just more of the same. I mounted the camera on my tripod to do a slow pan of the area. The kids, being kids, always ran in front of the camera, regardless of which way I was pointing it. It quickly became a game and for a brief moment were having some fun with the kids.
It was time for us to leave and it was that fact that we could leave that made it difficult for me to look at the children’s faces without my camera as a buffer.
Although I never felt that we were in danger, Isaac was thanking God that he got us out of there not only with all we were carrying, but without harm.
When we returned to the orphanage, I set the camera up to shoot a panoramic of the property. The kids immediately gathered in front of the lens and as I panned they laughed and scrambled to stay in front of the camera.
Remarkable trip, Chuck.
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