BALLET CLASS IN KIBERA, KENYA

Two girls go through their steps at a ballet school in Kibera, an informal settlement outside Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city. With estimates of up to a million inhabitants in under a square mile, Kibera is plagued by extreme poverty. Residents do not have access to adequate health services, education, sanitation or housing. The average life expectancy of its residents is just 30 years of age, with 19 percent of children dying before their fifth birthday and an estimated 50% of all girls between the ages of 16 to 25 pregnant at any time. Crime, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence are common, giving way to hazardous conditions for women and children. 2016.

Sarah Waiswa is a Ugandan photographer, living and working between Kampala, Uganda and Nairobi, Kenya. Her work focuses on the New African Identity, which explores themes around isolation and belonging. She applies poetic and metaphorical language to generate thoughtful images that leave traces and balance on the edge of recognition and alienation.

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Filename: TYTW_GirlsOnTheBrink_030.jpg
Copyright: 2016
Image Size: 3840x3840 / 5.6MB
Contained in galleries: Girls on the Brink Exhibition

Two girls go through their steps at a ballet school in Kibera, an informal settlement outside Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city. With estimates of up to a million inhabitants in under a square mile, Kibera is plagued by extreme poverty. Residents do not have access to adequate health services, education, sanitation or housing. The average life expectancy of its residents is just 30 years of age, with 19 percent of children dying before their fifth birthday and an estimated 50% of all girls between the ages of 16 to 25 pregnant at any time. Crime, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence are common, giving way to hazardous conditions for women and children. 2016.<br />
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Sarah Waiswa is a Ugandan photographer, living and working between Kampala, Uganda and Nairobi, Kenya. Her work focuses on the New African Identity, which explores themes around isolation and belonging. She applies poetic and metaphorical language to generate thoughtful images that leave traces and balance on the edge of recognition and alienation.