Saturday 9 May 2015

In remembrance of Beccy Vassie...

It's exactly two months today since you left us but you are dearly missed by all that knew you.
I went back to Kyangwali to finish up with the project you were doing for AAH/I. I took some really interesting images but am not gonna post them as this time I instead decided to do a little something for you. Hope you like it...
Your very first picture on the 9th of February 2014

An old man heavily infested by jiggers is seen getting treatment from an official from AAH/U

The first thought that came in my mind when I saw this image was of what could be going on in that boys head as I know he had just been woken up by the mum and walla, there you were. Maybe he had never seen a white person up close like that before... ;)

Officials from AAH/U readying themselves to teach Refugees at the Kyangwali Resettlement how to make soap 

Refugees are seen being taught how to sew at the Kyangwali Refugee Resettlement  

A refugee family is seen posing for a picture at Kyangwali ressetlement

A woman is seen smearing mud at her newly constructed house at the Kyangwali refugee resettlement. 

A woman is seen smearing mud at her newly constructed house at the Kyangwali refugee resettlement. 

An old man heavily infested by jiggers is seen getting treatment from an official from AAH/U

Your last picture. I want you to take more amazing pictures for us but I know it's not gonna happen; maybe in another world, or another time. 

Rest in peace Beccy Vassie. You are dearly missed by all, in different corners of this world. You will never be forgotten.

Thursday 18 December 2014

M23 rebels at Entebbe airport and at the Rwamwanja Refugee resettlement.


More than 1000 M23 Rebel fighters escaped the Bihanga Training Camp during a repatriation process stating that the Ugandan and DRC Governments were forcing them to back to their country without the Nairobi peace agreement being implemented.

A 120 more were taken back to the DRC even though it's not clear whether they agreed to the process or were forced in to the waiting trucks at the Bihanga Training Camp...

Here are a few of what I captured from Entebbe and Rwamwanja.



Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 16, 2014 at the Entebbe airbase waiting to be taken back to their country

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 16, 2014 at the Entebbe airbase waiting to be taken back to their country

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 16, 2014 at the Entebbe airbase waiting to be taken back to their country

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 16, 2014 at the Entebbe airbase waiting to be taken back to their country

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 16, 2014 at the Entebbe airbase waiting to be taken back to their country

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 17, 2014 at the Rwamwanja Refugee Resettlement after the escaped from Bihanga Training Camp where they were supposed to be repatriated back to their country 
Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 17, 2014 at the Rwamwanja Refugee Resettlement after the escaped from Bihanga Training Camp where they were supposed to be repatriated back to their country 

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 17, 2014 at the Rwamwanja Refugee Resettlement after the escaped from Bihanga Training Camp where they were supposed to be repatriated back to their country 

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 17, 2014 at the Rwamwanja Refugee Resettlement after the escaped from Bihanga Training Camp where they were supposed to be repatriated back to their country 

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 17, 2014 at the Rwamwanja Refugee Resettlement after the escaped from Bihanga Training Camp where they were supposed to be repatriated back to their country 

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 17, 2014 at the Rwamwanja Refugee Resettlement after the escaped from Bihanga Training Camp where they were supposed to be repatriated back to their country 

Members of the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 rebel group are seen on December 17, 2014 at the Rwamwanja Refugee Resettlement after the escaped from Bihanga Training Camp where they were supposed to be repatriated back to their country 

Monday 15 December 2014

Kampala shooting (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENTS)




Two Ugandan suspected robbers were today, December 15, 2014, shot dead near the Kololo Airstrip and a third arrested. According to police at the scene they were trying to rob two people of UGX 1 million ($360).

Some have questioned whether the robbers would be so stupid as to try to rob individuals in one of the most security conscious environments in Kampala.

Not only has there been heavy deployment at the airstrip over the past week in preparation for the National Resistance Movement party's delegates conference it's also an area heavily guarded by the military which uses the ceremonial grounds at the airstrip as offices.  

There are question marks over whether this is just a made up story by Ugandan security officials or did it happen as we were told.


One of the suspected robbers lie lifeless under a Uganda police vehicle after he was shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

One of the suspected robbers lie lifeless inside a Uganda police vehicle after he was shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

One of the suspected robbers lie lifeless in a pool of blood after he was shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

Bodies of two suspected robbers lie lifeless on a Kampala street after they were shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

One of the suspected robbers lie lifeless on a Kampala street after he was shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

One of the suspected robbers lie lifeless on a Kampala street after he was shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

One of the suspected robbers lie lifeless on a Kampala street after he was shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

One of the suspected robbers lie lifeless on a Kampala street after he was shot dead by Ugandan Military and police near a cordoned off area in Kampala

Wednesday 12 November 2014

Obstetric Fistula in Uganda (My hardest assignment so far, yet!)



Virtually unheard of in wealthier nations, obstetric fistula (Latin for hole) is an affliction of the very poor, and is predominantly caused by neglected, obstructed labor. If the obstruction is unrelieved, the baby usually dies.




Obstetric fistula is particularly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Uganda has been reported to have the third-highest rate of fistula in the world.



The persistent incontinence and the rank odour that result, together with myriad other possible outcomes, such as secondary infertility, chronic infection, excoriation of the skin, and neurologic injury, are debilitating and humiliating enough in and of themselves, but a far more devastating outcome awaits most of those with obstetric fistula.




Such women frequently find themselves abandoned by their husband and family, shunned by society, and barred from employment.




That the condition is essentially an affliction of the very poorest of society seals the fate of its victims, who often spend the rest of their lives alone and destitute.



Although surgical repair can cure most cases of obstetric fistula, poverty, social stigmatisation, widespread misconceptions about the condition, and a paucity of surgical capacity effectively make treatment unattainable for most of these women.




Virtually eradicated in industrialised countries after caesarean section became routinely available, obstetric fistula remains a scourge in large swathes of the developing world.