I am exceedingly honored this week to be posting the story of Julius Mwelu. Julius’ story came to me through Sarah Parker, a mutual friend though a former graduate school classmate of mine, Mackenzie Berg. Sarah follows Mackenzie’s own blog, where Mackenzie had made mention of some happenings here at social he(art), and I’m thankful to Sarah for following up (especially given that her internet connection in Kenya is extremely poor).

Mackenzie and myself have both spent considerable time researching participatory documentary photography projects, like those found through Kids with Cameras (featured in the well-known documentary, Born into Brothels), and The Rwanda Project, which encourage locals (particularly children in these cases) to use photography as a means by which to tell their own stories and show their world from their own, personal perspectives. So, given my own heart for participatory photography, I am absolutely thrilled to have been introduced to Julius Mwelu and his organization, The Mwelu Foundation.

Julius lives in Kenya, where he uses his photography to reach out to and work on several issues, including displaced persons, orphans, street children, poverty, education, and political violence. Below is his amazing story; let it inspire you.

“My name is Julius Mwelu, I was born and grew up in one of the biggest slums in Africa, that’s Mathare slum, a home to almost a million people. Most who live in Mathare are children and women.

Most of my time I like to spend playing soccer, hanging around with the youths from Mathare and taking photographs of day-to-day life in Mathare slum. One thing that I don’t like about life is being idle; therefore, I have always tried my best to follow the footsteps of my role models. The most important role model in my life, and she is everything to me, is my mother, who has been working day by day to make sure that we have food to eat at home and she has been there for me and the rest of the family. We are six of us in our family and I am the second to last born. My father died of malaria in 1994 when I was ten years old and I always feel very sorry for my mother, who always truly loved and respected him. At twenty-four, I am fortunate enough to now help provide for her and my younger brother as she did for me when I was a child.

The place where we live is commonly referred to as the home of gang crime, prostitution and drug abuse. Last year, I celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday, which, due to high child mortality, high crime rate and drug abuse, is not a very common thing to do in Mathare. My friends and I used to joke about the fact that in Mathare, there are essentially more reasons to die than to live. Most of my young friends have been killed, some by mob justice and some by police. Behind the eyes and faces of the inhabitants, behind the walls and doors of their dwellings lie incredible testimonies and cries of despair. However, there is also a formidable energy and will to survive in these people. Herein lies the future of the Mathare slum. This energy, this will to survive, is a constant reminder to me that we need to invest in the future youth of today if we want to create some kind of future for the youths of tomorrow, the youths of Mathare, and for the youths of the world.

At twelve, through a youth initiative program called ShootBack, I took my first picture and since then I have never looked back. Photography became my passion and through the years I worked hard to improve my skill. It has been my goal to share the pains and joys of the people of Mathare with the world. Because of this, I have documented horrific scenes of post election violence, but also the happy scenes of the strong people of Mathare.

Through the years I have come to appreciate the benefits of photography and I wanted to share my passion with the children of Mathare. I started the Mwelu Foundation in 2007 to train kids in photography and videography, to empower young boys and girls to express themselves with the camera. I want them to show those who have never been in a slum how the slum looks, and to show that Mathare slum is not made up of just criminals or bad people. I hope to empower the kids to show how they perceive the world. I am optimistic that our life, our dreams and our hopes will not be lost as I am take pictures of my country and so do the forty-five youths enrolled in the Mwelu Foundation, documenting day to day life in Mathare slum. It is my hope to guide them to a better future one filled with more hope and more opportunities.”

As my first “Follow Friday” organization, this week, I’m featuring Krochet Kids International, based in the United States, but hosting projects in northern Uganda.

Krochet Kids International is a non-profit that works in developing nations to provide valuable education and skills training to women who head households. Through the sale of the products that are created through their programs, all participants and their families are able to be supported. When you buy a hat (or shirt), you are changing lives.

On May 1st, Krochet Kids International will be launching their Spring/Summer hat and t-shirt line. There will be 13 new hats and 4 new shirts available. Visit their site to learn more and view sweet products.

KK Home Page
KK Projects Page
KK Store

As stated on on the history section of their site, they work with Ugandan nationals “to provide economic development and hope for a group of ten women. This group crochets products to be sent back to the United States and sold to create a sustainable cycle of empowerment and change for impoverished communities in Northern Uganda and, in the future, around the world!”

Be sure to check out their site and all of their amazing products, and keep up-to-date often by following them on Twitter, as well!

Also, if you have any future suggestions for Follow Friday posts about a human rights/social justice organization, let me know by emailing me at artists@socialheartblog.com!