My personal photographic project for more than four years, focuses on Sub-Saharan African women and orphans affected by the HIV/AIDS virus and poverty. It provides a visual narrative of their daily personal experiences progressing survival in a hostile environment, illuminating their resilience, indomitable spirit, courage, struggles and aspirations. The collection of essays provide a resounding voice for these 'voiceless' victims. My aim is to raise social consciousness, about what is happening in the region and trigger moral responsibility, lest we forget our role as humanitarians.
'ROUGH LIVING', is an essay I have been evolving the last 3 years. It illustrates how the impoverishment of Africa has propagated the continent with a plague of runaways and orphans.
They roam the back streets, live rough, exist on a diet of rotting foods, addicted to drugs, alcohol, gamble and steal. Their future is bleak. Africa is staggering under the load of this emerging underclass. The habitual poverty, lack of self esteem, motivation, and stifling boredom is endemic in their daily life.
This young tribe reside in Kasese, a remote Western equatorial town of Uganda close to the Congolese border, a region of conflict. They are known locally as the 'Dustbin Boys' because they virtually live on a rubbish heap where they have accessibility to forage the meagre scraps deposited in the dumpster.
The boys range in age from 6 months to 14, many under 10. Some joined the tribe at the fragile age of 4. The baby is the child of an HIV/AIDS dying sex worker who the boys have adopted. None of the tribe attend school, they have no access to health care, a safe home, clean water and are tragically deprived of parental nurturing, love. They have become a closely knit family with the eldest member, Ali assuming the role of Chief.
The profanity of poverty continues unabated, as does the lack of support from national and international agencies. This is heartbreaking for all these innocents imprisoned by their catastrophic set of unwarranted circumstances.
All the photographs in this essay were captured with a Canon film camera using 35mm and 50mm fixed lens with Kodak B/W tri-X 400 film.
Save The Children UK
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Carol Allen Storey
carol@castorey.com
www.castorey.com
'ROUGH LIVING'
Carol Allen Storey | Rwenzorie Mountain Kingdom, Uganda
Photographer: Carol Allen Storey
Exhibit Title: 'ROUGH LIVING'
Location: Rwenzorie Mountain Kingdom, Uganda
A tiny 6 month old baby is held lovingly by Muzamiru, one of the younger members of the Dustbin tribe. They reside in Kasese, a remote Western equatorial town of Uganda close to the Congolese border, a region of conflict. The baby's mother is a sex worker, but predictably, like many women in her profession, has acquired the HIV/AIDS virus, is dying from the disease and can no longer care for her child. The 'tribe' has adopted him. Muzamiru is 10 years old, a runaway because his father violently abused the family with knives and beatings. He ran away from the cruelty and has been a member of the tribe since he was 5.
14th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
'ROUGH LIVING'
The spectacle of poverty amongst African children
The impoverishment of Africa has propagated the continent with an emerging underclass of runaways and orphans.
They roam the back streets, live rough, exist on a diet of rotting foods, addicted to drugs, alcohol, gamble and steal. Their future is bleak. Africa is staggering under the load of this emerging new tribe. The habitual poverty, lack of self-esteem, motivation, and stifling boredom is endemic in their daily life. What hope can disenfranchised children have without parents, affection, shelter, education, and moral guidance? Children as young as 5, living in a sub-human environment are a breach of children's rights as guaranteed by the United Nations Charter for children.
This photo essay illuminates the children's breathtaking resilience, spirit, and courage. it expresses their aspirations and their indomitable ingenuity managing the madness of their lives.
The profanity of poverty continues unabated. It is a life without aspiration. This is heartbreaking for all these innocents imprisoned by their catastrophic set of unwarranted circumstances.
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Carol Allen Storey | 'ROUGH LIVING' | Uganda
A tiny 6 month old baby is held lovingly by Muzamiru, one of the younger members of the Dustbin tribe. They reside in Kasese, a remote Western equatorial town of Uganda close to the Congolese border, a region of conflict. The baby's mother is a sex worker, but predictably, like many women in her profession, has acquired the HIV/AIDS virus, is dying from the disease and can no longer care for her child. The 'tribe' has adopted him. Muzamiru is 10 years old, a runaway because his father violently abused the family with knives and beatings. He ran away from the cruelty and has been a member of the tribe since he was 5. 14th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Members of the Dustbin tribe gather under a tree where they spend most of the day. Nearly all the boys have lost their parents to the AIDS virus, have been abandoned, or ran away from abuse. They live rough and by their wits to survive. There are about 17 members ranging in age from 6 months to 14. All are addicted to drugs, engage in petty thefts and are depressed. Ali Fahad, the 'Chief' shared his view of his life ... he said: %u201CI became an orphan a long time ago, both my parents died of AIDS. I had no other family, there wasn%u2019t any money so I had to leave school. I was an excellent student and hoped to study medicine and become a doctor. That will never happen now. I cannot access education; I am hungry every day; I know I will never realise my dream and am doomed to an empty life, depressed. I want to be normal.' 12th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Stretching sublime on a mound close to the rubbish dump that the tribe makes their home, Bright Nyakojo, 11 years rests after becoming high on ganja. Ganja is the local cheap drug that all the members are addicted to. It is similar to chewing tobacco, very bitter and usually taken with sweet chewing gum. He joined the tribe a few years ago. After his father died, leaving his mother destitute, he was forced to leave home and live rough. Poverty prevents him going to school which he hopes some day he can attend. He wants to be a solder to defend his country. 11th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Living rough is a way of life for the Dustbin tribe. Corrugated cartons have a multitude of practical applications. They are used as a mattress, blanket and when it rains, they crawl into boxes in a meager attempt to keep dry. Bernard Baluku, 13 joined the Dustbin tribe a year ago. His parents died years ago but he has no memory exactly when. He was part of another tribe known as the Ghetto boys. He departed the 'older' tribe because he was being harassed. Bright wants to go to school so he can learn to read. 17th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Late in the morning the Dustbin tribe joke around, all are heavily high on their cocktail of smoking the local hash and chewing the ganja weed. It is their ritual after they have consumed their first meal of the day. Joakim's ankle is wrapped in a discarded plastic carrier bag which is used as a make- shift bandage for a deep cut he got jostling with one of his brothers. The plastic bag was wrapped around his foot to keep out the dirt and used in lieu of a bandage since the boys have no money to access first aid medical material. 12th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Drug addiction is commonplace, not just amongst this tribe of orphans, but wide spread in Sub Saharan Africa, where poverty is endemic. Drugs are their alternative to anti-depressant pills. Many of these orphans suffer from acute anxiety and depression from their hopeless existence, drugs lessens the pain. Drugs are also relatively cheap in the region. An 8 ounce bag of home grown hash costs about $.75 cents. In the neighbouring Kingdom of Toro, a respected family has created a vibrant business from growing the hash. The business contributes to the local community's financial platform, allowing all those involved to have money to educate their families and flee the endless misery of living without hope. Joakim Masereka, is a feisty 8 year old, a member of the Dustbin tribe since he was 5. He is a runaway -- he left his family because he said he was not welcome, was beaten. 20th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
The endemic poverty and stream of boredom is a daily reality for this disenfranchised band of boys who rely on their wits to survive. In spite of the harsh conditions rough living dictates, they have framed a world with respect for one another and have formed a closely-knit family who are fiercely loyal to one another. 30th May 2011 Kasese, Uganda
Gambling is mode of earning money for the older orphans when they cannot find odd jobs. They are adroit at handling decks of cards and enjoy the adrenalin rush of the game. 16th June 2008 Kasese, Uganda
A fight breaks out during a heated game of cards. One of the members had cheated which is not tolerated. Gambling is one of the favourite pastimes of the street boys. 16th June 2008 Kasese, Uganda
Joakin 8, one of the youngest members of the Dustbin Tribe is a natural gymnast %u2013 He loves to show off his skills by entertaining his fellow brothers with dare devil tree climbing tricks. Kasese, Uganda 16 November 2009
The Dustbin Tribe of young boys has become intimate like brothers and clown around like most kids do. They would love to have sport equipment, especially a football as that is their consuming passion. Kasese, Uganda November 2009
Infrequently the Dustbin Boys trek to the local Nyamwamba River to bathe and cleanse their clothes. Although they would like to be 'clean', they cannot afford to buy soap for this simple personal hygienic task. 12th July 2011 Kasese, Uganda
The Dustbin tribe hikes along an abandoned railway track to escape harassment from the local police so that they can freely indulge in their drugs without being hauled into jail and beaten. Living rough in the centre of town makes them also vulnerable to abuse from older street gangs who steal their food and meager personal belongings. 11th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
The town of Kasese have organised a dumpster for the collection of rubbish. This is a relatively new initiative to the community with a service not usually available in the more remote towns of Uganda. The tribe take advantage of the dumpster and monitor throughout the day as deposits are made. Many times the boys get badly cut because torn metal and broken glass are also part of the debris discarded. 11th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Young members of the Dustbin tribe scavenge early in the morning for scraps of discarded food, an arduous task in a visibly poor community where little of value is ever thrown away. This is a daily routine for all of the boys in this tribe who live rough, have no money to purchase food. Many times they go hungry because the fodder rots from a downpour of rain in the equatorial intense heat. 9th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Young members of the Dustbin tribe scavenge early in the morning for scraps of food in domestic cooking barbeques from the previous evening, an arduous task. This is a daily routine for all of the boys in this tribe who live rough, have no money to purchase food. Many times they go hungry because there is little left behind. 9th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
The tribe waits patiently as the 'kitchen' crew prepares their first meal of the day. Brewing in the pot is a mixture of chicken feet, goat intestines, potatoes, onions. Patiently they wait, stoking the fire until the master chef, Napoleon advises the food has been properly cooked for consumption. 11th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Discarded on a rubbish heap was an empty honey jar, which Joakim Masereka rescued. He sits like Pooh Bear licking his fingers from the scanty remains. 15th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
At high noon the tribe congregate and smoke addictive cocktails of opium and hash, their escape from the drudgery of their existence. An eight-ounce bag of this locally harvested blend cost 1500 Ugandan shillings, about 45 pence British Sterling. Most of the money they earn is garnered from gambling and menial jobs. This boy is only nine years. He was introduced to drugs at the age of 6. He reveres his membership in the tribe; they are his family. 20th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
Gerard Ngonzi 14 dips his hand into the bowl of the freshly prepared dinner meal. His father died in 2006 from the AIDS virus. Soon after the funeral his mother abandoned Gerard because she could not cope with the poverty. He joined the tribe more than a year ago for comfort and support. It was too difficult trying to survive alone. 14th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
At night the boys huddle together around a bonfire to keep warm. Living rough provides no shelter and most of the boys suffer from chest infections related to continuous exposure of the elements. 3rd June 2011 Kasese, Uganda
On Friday the '13th', six of the Dustbin tribe were rounded up predawn by the local police and incarcerated. The harassment is a routine of the police in an attempt to address local citizens' concern that the boys create 'problems'. A few of them were beaten for their insolence. The local authorities want the tribes to disband and endeavor to find foster families or return the runaways to their families. These initiatives predictably fail as the boys do not co-operate, and the lack of funds creates a void for practical support. It is almost dusk in their cell. The photographer, Carol Storey arrived at the jail in an attempt to help them get released. The Police HQ was very tense because there was a recent assassination	of a top level general and the previous night one of the prisoners was beaten to death by a guard during an interrogation. Friday 13th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
With some encouragement, and endless informal conversation between the photographer, Carol Storey and the officers in charge, they agreed to release the boys with the proviso they return the following day for further questioning. They never returned. Friday 13th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda
The Dustbin tribe boys are being interrogated by a police officer who is attempting to collect information on their backgrounds, families. This is the children's wing, which is isolated from the adult jail. They children are frightened, they do not want to spend time in the cell, they want to return to their 'home' and be amongst their brothers. Friday 13th November 2009 Kasese, Uganda