Mediastorm, a television programme about media logic and stories behind the news, asked me to talk about my day to day work in African countries. How do you take pictures in an IDP camp where many people are suffering? And how is the way we perceive Africa linked to the small amount of correspondents that are active on the continent? I tried to answer some of these questions in Mediastorm, which was aired last Saturday.
TV
New work for VPRO: do they have internet in Africa?
“I don’t even think they have internet [in Africa]”
“Maybe the phones over there are nothing more than a cardboard homescreen”
“They can’t even build many houses, let alone an internet transmitter mast”
“There probably isn’t any wifi”
“Maybe they don’t even have a phone”
The answers these children gave when they were asked about how they would imagine what the internet in ‘Africa’ would be like, say a lot about how Dutch people (and their kids) perceive the African continent.
Luckily, there are TV shows like VPRO's ‘De Dikke Data Show’ (about big fat data and the worldwide web). They asked me to tell something about how people in Kenya use internet.
And so I interviewed Nairobi-based Nahla, who follows online classes on her laptop (but also uses it to watch Minecraft videos), and Douglas, who lives near Oloitoktok with his cattle and reads the news and chats using his smartphone.
The video above is just a small snippet - to watch the whole episode of De Dikke Data Show (and also see how the internet is different in China), click or tap here.
New work for RTL Nieuws: vaccines in Kenya
For Dutch news broadcaster RTL Nieuws, I worked on a reportage by their Africa correspondent Saskia Houttuin. While The Netherlands is vaccinating millions of its citizens, Kenya has so far only vaccinated 1.8 percent of its population. Community Health Volunteers Joyce and Anne, who are working in Nairobi’s Kariobangi informal settlement, say that they can’t get a jab because they have to pay for it. A vaccine would cost them 3500 Kenyan Shillings, they told us – even though getting a vaccine in Kenya should be free.
You can watch the whole reportage by clicking on the picture above, or by following this link.
Tills (14) fell pregnant after her school closed: a reportage for RTL Nieuws
Kenya’s schools have been closed for over six months. And so Tills, who is fourteen years old and lives with her mother in Nairobi’s informal settlement Korogocho, has had a lot of time on her hands. She frequently met up with friends when her mother was working, and had sex with a boy who was a bit older than her. He told her that she wouldn’t get pregnant from sleeping with him once, but he turned out to be wrong. When neighbors saw her body changing, they were afraid that Tills would abort the unborn child, and so they brought her to the police station. That’s how Tills’ mother found out her daughter had fallen pregnant. Even though her mom will be the one who will take care of the baby, Tills will not go back to school, as teenage pregnancies are stigmatized.
See Saskia Houttuin’s report I filmed for RTL Nieuws below:
RTL Nieuws: a YouTube playlist with all our reports
As a visual journalist in Africa, I have worked on multiple reports for Dutch news platform RTL Nieuws. To see all of the reports that I have worked on with Africa correspondent Saskia Houttuin (who also has a YouTube channel, by the way), you can click here.
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New work for RTL Nieuws: France is preparing for (Dutch) tourists
For Dutch news broadcaster RTL Nieuws, Saskia Houttuin and I made two reports from closed-off France. How were the French preparing for the arrival of tourists from Europe? Watch the web-only versions of the reports on the RTL Nieuws website or click on the videos below:
RTL Nieuws report about sand mining in Kenya
In some Kenyan states, sand mining by organized crime mobsters is a big problem. In Makueni County, however, the local government has found a way to reduce people from removing the sand from dry river beds. Kenya is building more and more, and sand is indispensable for the creation of glass and concrete. One can make quite some money by mining and selling the thick grains of Makueni sand.
For Dutch TV broadcaster RTL Nieuws, Africa correspondent Saskia and I created a report on why illegal sand mining is such a big issue, and how some county’s are putting it to a stop.
RTL Nieuws report on avocado farmers in Kenya
On toast, in a salad or just as a healthy snack: the Dutch love avocados. My colleagues at MENDO even created an avocado cookbook for the avo only restaurant The Avocado Show! Our love for avocados has a clear effect on countries where the fruit can grow: in Kenya, farmers even uproot their coffee plants to make money off this ‘avocado boom’.
With Africa correspondent Saskia, I traveled to Machakos, a region where more and more farmers are growing avocados to cash in on the global avo trend. You can watch our TV report above, or you can check it out on the RTL Nieuws website.
TV work: Veel Liefs Uit Holland
For 'Veel Liefs Uit Holland', my partner Saskia and I directed and filmed the Nairobi bit of the final episode. Five expats from all over the world tried to find a partner through this Dutch reality TV show and we followed Nairobi-based Joep, who eventually met his girlfriend Thirsa through the program. They have been living together for some months now, so we visited the couple to film how they're doing.
'Veel Liefs Uit Holland' is produced by John de Mol's Talpa and aired on Dutch television stations Net 5 and SBS 9. You can check out the bit we have worked on here, from 52:30.
'Depart' is still for sale, also in 'Meerdijk'
Look what 1.5 million people saw in a recent episode of 'Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden': Depart! The book was recently visible in a store scene that took place in 'Meerdijk', the fictional village where the most popular soap of The Netherlands takes place.