Four Stories about Hunger - Gideon Mendel
© Gideon Mendel
High levels of child malnutrition exist in many rural and urban communities in Kenya, reaching alarming rates in the slums of Nairobi. Commissioned by Concern Worldwide, Gideon Mendel travelled to Kenya to photograph people who daily face a struggle to feed their families. Visiting families in the crowded slums of Nairobi and the barren rural areas of Northern Kenya, he documents their challenges and how they are overcoming them.
Teso Diba lives in the dusty and barren settlement of Sahgel, around 18 miles from the mountains of Marsabit in northern Kenya. She faces a daily struggle to provide food for her children. Teso and her family are pastoralists who herd livestock and rely on their animals for food and income, but poor rainfall has depleted the herd and the remaining animals are weak and hard to sell.
Diba's four-year-old son is being treated for severe malnutrition in Concern's outreach nutrition programme. "My son Umuro started losing weight and getting sick, and I knew it was because I didn't have enough food in the house," she says. "When Concern arrived at the village, they asked if I wanted to have my children checked and weighed and I was glad someone was seeing him finally. Now he is in the programme he is getting better and stronger, but food has really become a problem for us lately."
Gideon Mendel is regarded as a leading contemporary photographer, engaged with advocacy and collaborative projects. Gideon has produced a number of pioneering photographic advocacy projects working with charities and campaigning organizations organisations such as The Global Fund, MSF, Treatment Action Campaign, The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Action Aid and Concern International. Many have included multi-media components such as recorded location sound, animated stills and panoramic images. The final products have ranged from poster sets, to booklets, to short films and website presentations. Gideon has been documenting the impact of HIV/Aids in Africa for more than 12 years, working in 10 different countries to show the many ways the disease has devastated the lives of millions of ordinary people. For more information about Gideon's work, please visit http://gideonmendel.com
Teso Diba lives in the dusty and barren settlement of Sahgel, around 18 miles from the mountains of Marsabit in northern Kenya. She faces a daily struggle to provide food for her children. Teso and her family are pastoralists who herd livestock and rely on their animals for food and income, but poor rainfall has depleted the herd and the remaining animals are weak and hard to sell.
Diba's four-year-old son is being treated for severe malnutrition in Concern's outreach nutrition programme. "My son Umuro started losing weight and getting sick, and I knew it was because I didn't have enough food in the house," she says. "When Concern arrived at the village, they asked if I wanted to have my children checked and weighed and I was glad someone was seeing him finally. Now he is in the programme he is getting better and stronger, but food has really become a problem for us lately."
Gideon Mendel is regarded as a leading contemporary photographer, engaged with advocacy and collaborative projects. Gideon has produced a number of pioneering photographic advocacy projects working with charities and campaigning organizations organisations such as The Global Fund, MSF, Treatment Action Campaign, The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Action Aid and Concern International. Many have included multi-media components such as recorded location sound, animated stills and panoramic images. The final products have ranged from poster sets, to booklets, to short films and website presentations. Gideon has been documenting the impact of HIV/Aids in Africa for more than 12 years, working in 10 different countries to show the many ways the disease has devastated the lives of millions of ordinary people. For more information about Gideon's work, please visit http://gideonmendel.com
