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Shootback Volunteers

2011-07-05T03:49:00.000-07:00

Shootback has received Interns in the project from Germany, Poland and Czech Republic. They will be helping other Shootback on their daily activities for three months.

Home alone

2011-05-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

Home alone, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

Fred in an Interwiew

2011-05-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Fred in an Interwiew, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

Learning by doing.
East African Film group 2010.

23

2011-04-01T01:59:00.001-07:00

23, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

19

2011-04-01T01:58:00.003-07:00

19, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

18

2011-04-01T01:58:00.001-07:00

18, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

17

2011-03-30T12:57:00.003-07:00

17, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

19

2011-03-30T12:57:00.001-07:00

19, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

20

2011-03-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

20, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

MYSA 25th Anniversary

2011-03-21T09:27:00.001-07:00

MYSA 25th Anniversary, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

SHOOTBACK

2011-03-21T09:26:00.001-07:00

Good Shot!, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

Shootback is one of the MYSA Project that let the youths tell their own stories about their lives and environment, using pictures and films.
Shootback project is managed by the youths themselves and trains more than 50 youths from different parts of the slums for free.

Peter and Bob

2011-03-21T09:21:00.001-07:00

Peter and Bob, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

Where has this picture been? I think that is the question that Bob Munro would like to be answered by Peter Ndolo the current MYSA Shootback Manager.
Shootback had an amazing exhibition that attracted lots of the people in the event to cut down the 25th MYSA Birthday.

MYSA Girls International Tournament

2011-02-28T05:01:00.001-08:00

2, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

The tournament brings about more than 100 girls teams.
From the tournament they interact, get award and learn.
Its always so amazing and it shows football fantasy.

Ghetto Path

2011-02-23T01:10:00.001-08:00

Ghetto Path, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

This shows how the people in the slums lives. The houses are so closed and squeezed alongside garbage.

Game time

2011-02-23T00:47:00.001-08:00

Game time, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

The child on the picture pose off as he wheels up a tire. This is one of the games that keeps the children busy after school and during the weekends

Ghetto

2011-02-23T00:40:00.001-08:00

Ghetto, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

The picture above shows a road through the squeezed houses in the slum which are mostly mad or iron sheet houses that are very hot on day time and so cold during the night.

Huruma Shootback Class

2011-02-23T00:05:00.001-08:00

Huruma Shootback Class, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

The Huruma Shootback kids pose off during their sessions at MYSA Huruma Office. They are trained freely on photography and video production.

2010-09-25T04:08:00.001-07:00

Shootback Book " Volunteering Against Poverty"

2010-09-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

I LOVE KENYA

2010-07-06T02:37:00.000-07:00

A short movie about what different people think about their country Kenya.
A movie by MYSA Shootback.

Produced by:
MYSA SHOOTBACK.

Local Brew

2010-07-03T04:16:00.001-07:00

IMG_0343, originally uploaded by FREDRICK OCHIENG.

The man on the picture is so drunk that he cannot walk anymore as he is forced to sleep on the streets. He has even forgotten that he has other better things to take good care of like catering for the family than just spending all the income on changa(local brew).
Such people get addictions to changa that they cant do without it but its effects are calling..

Fredrick Ochieng

2010-06-16T04:02:00.000-07:00

My name is Fredrick Ochieng. I was born in August 24 1993, i live at a place called Babadogo in the slums of Mathare which is the second largest and poorest slums in the world and is a few kilometres from the capital city Nairobi. My family name Ochieng means born at noon. I live with my younger brother who is only 10 after the death of my mother who was only our bread winner.
I joined MYSA in 1998 as a football player and fully participated in its yearly leagues. Later i was trained as a coach of which i was able to handle teams aging 14 years and below till now that i coach Babadogo Stars youths club. I also been involved in MYSA projects like Environment and got much interest in MYSA Shootback.
I joined Shootback lately in 2005. This was as a result of it was to help me achieve my interests and carier which is becoming a great Photojournalist Artworker. Here in Shootback im seing my dreams coming true. This project has provided me with skills and right exposures.
Since joining Shootback i got a chance of involving in publishing books like Millennium Development Goals(MDG's) in the year 2006, Hakuna Matata in 2007 alongside allot of exhibitions.
With the skill installed to me via Shootback i am know instructing other kids from different parts of the slum on Basic Photography.
Which has been my a great achievement. I also managed to win a certificate of excellence with the Adobe Youth Voices which was an international photography competition.
My great ambition is to use pictures and articles alongside film to change the life in the slum through creating awareness to the people living in my neighborhood.

By Fredrick Ochieng 17

ALEX NDEGWA

2010-04-20T04:35:00.001-07:00

My name is Alex Ndegwa I am 19years old. I live in githurai we are five members in our family my father, mother and my two brothers with me live in a two roomed house. I am the oldest son my parents as the first born I lead my two brothers to follow by doing good things, motivating and encouraging them. I also help in overcoming difficult situations which may hinder their day to day activities. I cleared my high school studies in 2009 for now I am waiting to join a college of my wish.
I joined MYSA in 1998 as player till now. In 2005 with help of zonal staff I was luckily able to join Shootback which is one of the organization under MYSA it deals with helping and motivating youth the MYSA zones achieve their dream in journalism (i.e.) photography ,documentation and editing.
Since then am working to achieve my dream as a journalist.
By: Alex Ndegwa.

SHOOTBACK

2010-04-20T04:33:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by the great work they do and that’s why I decided to join Shootback in order to achieve my dreams as a journalist.
By: Alex Ndegwa.

VIOLENCE

2010-04-20T04:32:00.001-07:00

Violence-cruel and harmful behaviors or action.
The past years have been one of the most tragic periods in the history of Kenya. How did we move from a peaceful voting to a violent protest?
After achieving a prosperous Christmas day two days after the election an electoral battle between ODM and PNU arisen where nearly 1,000 people were killed and more than 350,000 displaced and property worth billions of shillings destroyed in violence occasioned by presidential election. Cases of sexual violence against women, girls, and boys in some make shift camps had occurred also many children were being raped which led to the infection of sexually transmitted diseases.
Most youth were engaged in the terror where they were used up by their leaders to protest which led to the killing of many youths in different parts of the country. Business premises went up in flames and products were lost through the fire riotous mobs began looting and burning property in many parts of the country to protest which was considered as a rigged election churches were being burnt with people inside and leaders killed. The heavy damage inflicted to the Kenyan economic from which we were to reach to the second world countries.
Low turnout of pupils was marked across the country as schools reopened for the new academic year where to many schools were burnt.
The entire world was shocked by brutal killing and displacing away of people. Attackers moved from houses to houses then from village to village. They dragged passengers out of vehicles and requested for identification people from certain communities were beaten to death in their own motherland.
Will such attacks restore the vast losses of properties or reduce the painful suffering thousands have?

By: Alex Ndegwa.

OUR FIELDS ARE OBSTACLES

2010-04-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

Mysa has helped our society by providing sports activities on our society, this has helped many teenagers, youths and small children to develop their football skill, make them busy and evict them from engaging themselves in bad immoral behaviors. But the main problem which we face on our fields during the rainy seasons, it tend to look like a Shamba and make it difficult for us to play our matches.
The fields in our area is capable of giving out better players and most talented if only their playing ground are brought to a better standard. I think it will be better if donors can come in to assist in improving of our fields. Allot of prominent persons have come to our field including even politicians with their empty promises which they don’t implement. We need to see action but not just words. We are still hoping that our field get better mostly during the rainy seasons. This can be done if god water drainage plans are laid down.
Today our field is slowly turning to a dump site for garbage. When the garbage are burnt they cause major air pollution.

By Carlos Thomas Okumu
Ruaraka

LIFE IN THE SLUM

2010-04-15T01:59:00.000-07:00

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
This is the major crisis affecting most of the people in Kenya and mostly those living in the slums. Pollution is the introduction of substances that affect the environment negatively or positively. Pollution is rampant due to lack of awareness on conservation process.
Poor disposal of sewage materials, domestic wastes, chemical, into the land, air and water pollutes it. This leads to outbreak of dangerous diseases like cholera, skin disease and the burning of them emits gases like carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases into the air that create a lot of difficulties in breathing system and disease like TB, typhoid or even heart failure.
Most of the rivers here are not in usable state because of pollution. The rivers are polluted by the emitting of wastes in liquid form to the water with high chemical conservation. Some sewage are directly connected to the rivers and human activities like the disposal of garbage directly into the rivers.
I myself think this issue can be easily controlled by following right procedures on the environmental conservation measures.

WATER SCARCITY

Kibera is the second largest slum in the world. The houses here are crowded to certain a larger population of the people living under poverty and the rise of rural to urban migration. Due to the concentration of houses at a point, this does not allow for good water network system and hence people suffer from lack of water
Water is an essential commodity to human and hence can’t do without it. The residence here men women and children are forced to walk a distance in search of which is always scarce. Places with clean water from taps are sold at Kshs 5 per every 20litres. For those who can’t purchase strive along the street of the ghetto to allocate leaking tap to fetch water for use.
The rivers here can’t provide water for domestic use due to their population. Polluted by the submission of dangerous chemicals from factories damped garbage and the sewage connections direct to the rivers.

By Fredrick Ochieng

CHILDS LABOUR

2010-04-14T02:03:00.000-07:00

By Fredrick Ochieng

A child is anyone below the age of 18 years according to the Kenyan constitution. Child labour is the excessive and forced work that children undertake that causes or may result into physical and mental torture and also hinders them from enjoying their rights, e.g. right to education.
The major cause of child labour is poverty, some employees tend to employ young children to benefit fully from them by paying them little wages, it’s also caused by limited access of children to school. But should children work!!!
Yes, children should work and MUST only take duties after school, and also should work for learning purposes, they should also work always under parental care and should be tasks that develop their skills, morals and responsibilities of the same children. The duties MUST NOT be exploitative or reduce children abilities.
The picture shows an example of child labour as a young girl is left behind to take on all domestic duties and not attending school due to poverty in which the both parents are out in search of enough income and resources to cutter for the family which sometimes is always very difficult. Others are forced to take care of their young siblings plus they don’t get the chances to socialize with other children. But who to blamed!!!
Let join up to HAULT child’s labor and support children’s education and rights..

By Fredrick Ochieng, 17

THE CRY OF THE INNOCENT

2010-04-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

Something really troubles me from the bottom of my heart whenever I express my emotions and feelings towards these mere victims of HIV/AIDS and those living in Poverty.
It was neither mission nor my will for disaster to conquer our families leaving young children orphaned and who later find their way to the Streets Of The Ghetto wondering all over at least to find something to sustain their basic needs like food, shelter which they hardly find.
Many are the times I nurtured suicidal deaths when I watched these young children wearing ragged clothes and almost half naked struggling for themselves in order to put a meal on their stomach. Truly! A misfortune never comes and it does, it’s occasionally.
It was late in the evening when I popped into the streets and got many of the street children at a place they termed as a base. Oh! It was unbelievable and suddenly a salty fluid ran over my checks, the air within their abode was dusty and full of stench of rubbish. When I entered into a tiny polythene room where they used to spend their nights and the blankets were clinking with water and the flour was wet such that no Creature could admire to sleep in such a place, not even a pig. I gave them pieces of advice as they looked at me despairingly with empty stomach. I wished I had the capability to assist them but unfortunately it was contrary.
The answers they gave me on their life:
We spend most of our time at dump sites where they are in search of the food remains and scrap metals that they sell to scrap dealers to get some little amount that they use it to buy glue that they usually take glue just to forget their past and what they go through, horribly it’s a pity. The scraps and recycled plastics cost KHS.13 A Kilogram.
I urge Parents and leaders to assist in getting rid of this traumatic disease which leaves our dreams and goals reduce into ashes and we children grow responsible and wanted people in the future..

By Fredrick Ochieng

FREE TIME

2010-04-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

This is the time when everyone is through with his or her duties and can rest. This is also the time when one can get together with his or her friends to share ideas, play together and also do some charities work. Many people abuse this time because they don’t understand the meaning of leisure time. You can find particularly youths abusing this time by engaging into activities which in turn harm or destroy instead of being of importance to them.
Such activities are fighting, drinking beer or taking drugs like bhang. Such activities in the name of free time have made and led many people lose their precious wanted live in the development of the society or getting terrible injuries.
Free time is time where one should utilize in visiting the sick people in hospitals and needy friends, helping the disabled, helping in the charity organizations, help in cleaning the environment and also developing and sharpening our talents.
Free time also gives one the humble time to communicate with the Creator, God. This will increase and promote our spiritual trust with the Almighty.

By Vivian Atieno
Fredrick Ochieng

2010-03-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

SHOOTBACK

"I LIKE DOING PHOTOGRAPHY WHEN NOT PLAYING SOCCER".

By Fredrick Ochieng

2010-03-27T00:25:00.000-07:00

EDUCATION

Education in today’s society is very important key element. They say that education is the key to success and to a better life their after. We have seen a lot of prominent persons emerging in today’s society because of good education. Let us look take a wider look in girl’s education mostly in African developing countries. Girls in most communities were not supposed to go to school but instead remain at home taking care of all the domestic duties.

Currently thing are advancing and there are some observable changes as girls are now given chances to school and the full access. This has produced ion ladies in our societies who are of a great assistance in the development of our society and the country as a whole.

The Kenyan government has played a major role of introducing free primary education which has greatly given the girls greater opportunities in school. But there are so many questions still to be answered. Mostly you find that classes with pupils sitting on the floor with only one teacher. Will they really learn anything when the classes are congested? What about when the girls finish their primary school. Are their any chances for them in high school particularly the girls in the slums?

Let us look at area s like Kajiado where female genital mutilation is still practiced. You get that a young girl is circumcised and then after a few days she is married to an old man. What I am trying to emphasize is that the government should at least go to areas where girls are bound by culture and empower them. Show them the real need of education by building school in those areas. If they do that the girls would have a better world to live in.

By Michael Maina
Shootback

Forest

2009-11-18T23:29:00.000-08:00

FOREST

A forest is an extensive area of land covered with trees. Forest is faced with many problems which are, trees cut down for use in the timber industry which leads to over-exploitation. The other problem is where people are in need of land where they can do farming and stay they clear forest. There is also the major effect which is deforestation which means cutting down of trees in a forest without planting others to replace them. Defforestation leads to loss of rain fall, trees improve the climate of a place when trees loss water through their leaves they add moisture to the atmosphere which help in the formation of rain when trees are cut down there may be loss of rainfall or even no rainfall. Forest also are habitat for wild animal which attract tourism in Kenya where the country is able to earn foreign exchange from the tourist, when the forest are destroyed the animal lose their habitat making animal to migrate. All this problems can be overcome through the conservation of the forest in the following ways, the government and the non-governmental agencies should educate the people on the importance of forest and conservation of the environment it may be done through schools, media, people should also engage in public campaigns for the conservation of forest .The government and other environment groups should also give free seedlings to the public for the planting of trees.

BY; Alex Ndegwa,
MYSA Shootback

Political Violence

2009-11-03T00:31:00.000-08:00

Political violence

For the first time Kenya has experienced one of the worst humanitarian crises in history soon after the presidential election outcome was announced everything went in chaos. Looking around me, I could see clouds of smoke in a distance. I couldn’t believe my eyes, this was not the peaceful Kenya that I grew up in.
Some people chose to let anger blind them and strike down the innocent,yet other chose to walk off with the property of other. so many families were forced out of there homes. The displaced families were packed to capacity in police station,churches,mosques and schools. Mostly women and children were facing serious shortage of food and water as all shops and supermarket remained closed. it also emerged that crime such as rape cases whereby both boys and girls were sexually molested.
Violence in the country has led to senseless loss of lives and massive looting and property. Politics should not divide us along tribal lines, lets not the so-called politics tear us apart because once that happens, it will be very difficult to put the pieces together again. Lets not go to the point of no return.
Kenya is a beautiful country; we are one nation, one country and let’s keep hope alive.
LET’S STIMULATE CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT BEFORE THE EXTERNAL WORLD DEMAND IT.

Story by; Irene Waisonga
Photos by; Nicholas Mathenge, Peter Ndolo and James Njuguna

STREET CHILDREN

2009-10-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

STREET CHILDREN
Some innocent children lack parental care either because they are orphaned , have single parents or both unable parents who can’t afford to cutter for their needs like shelter, food , clothing and even education. These types of children fall back to the streets to look for places to live or find food to feed.
It’s a pity seeing young children on the streets of the slums. The questions I ask myself are: What do they feed, sleep and how do they spend their time? The answers are…….
They spend most of their time at the dumping sites where they feed on the left over and food remains. They are also in search of scrap metals, plastics and other recycled materials in the purpose of selling them in order to get little amount to sustain them which normally is not easy.Since a one Kilogram of the scraps is only Kshs 7.

A bigger percentage of these street children sniff glue which they believe that its assists them forget their horrible past and also not to recognize that they are going through peoples discrimination.
After the hard work they don’t have homes to go to or places to call their homes. They do send their cold nights out on the streets or on unfinished houses even during rainy cold seasons throughout the night till the next day.

By Fredrick Ochieng, 16
Shootback