Julius Mwelu and the Mwelu Foundation/Nairobi

This book is about a human adventure – that of photographer Julius Mwelu, a gifted and generous Kenyan who was born, lived and survived in Mathare Valley. This part of Nairobi is one of the huge slums that constitute a permanent social blight in Kenya’s capital. There, in the destitution of an overpopulated district, poor and with little to hope for, the photographer and his team went walking among the people, the sheet metal roofs and the jerry-cans. Above all, though, Julius trained and encouraged children and teenagers to see the world around them in a different light. Trained by their mentor in the use of the camera lens, these youngsters in turn took a complicit but distinctly critical look at the state of the place where they live. With this delicate blend of tenderness and realism, Mwelu offers us 112 testimonies to his mission as an artist and an educator.

Text in English, French and Dutch.

Also available in the Africalia series: Grassroots Upgraded ISBN 9789058563910 Sammy Baloji ISBN 9789058563965 Calvin Dondo ISBN 9789058564214 Kiripi Katembo ISBN 9789058565174 Teddy Mazina ISBN: 9789058565167