We left Nairobi yesterday for the town of Makindu, a couple hours east of Kenya's capital. We were able to travel with a friend of mine who works at one of the many NGOs in the region and it was great having him there for our first location on the road.
For those of you I haven't told, we are working with the International Transport Federation on the creation of a documentary that reveals how the HIV/AIDS has been spread in Africa via public transportation, specifically truck drivers. I arrived in Kenya at the beginning of May and had to establish contacts around the country and organise our travels for when the crew arrived on the 10th.
Our cameraman, Niru, arrived from Mombai a day before the director, David, of Parachute Pictures and Thomas our Bohemian bodyguard/grip arrived from the U.K. and Germany. With our driver in Nairobi, Francis, our little crew is truly unique and beyond the scope of convention. I feel as though I have landed in a Hunter S. Thompson's adaptation of Life Aquatic starring Dr. Strangelove in an east African setting. And I could tell many stories in support of this, but I think last night really epitomised the eccentric/absurd reality in which I am living.

We arrived in Makindu in the early afternoon to meet with female sex workers that are receiving educational support from the German NGO, and after a short meeting with them on the grass outside, we all headed to their homes in town.
The three we chose to follow live in neighboring huts behind a bar/restaurant along the highway. We spent the afternoon with them and the few interested neighbors that chose to come and hang out in the pueblo-like setting with us. As the crew interviewed the women, I photographed those outside and particularly enjoyed watching a small boy carrying a little kitten around like a ragdoll. Poor thing, but it really illustrated how children are children regardless of continent.
We left the women in the early evening and headed on foot along the highway for GVs, General Views for those not familiar with the cinema term, and stills. As the stills photographer, I have a little more latitude because it doesn't take as much time for a snapshot. I usually tend to venture off a little further into the bush, small villages, dark alleys etc to see what I can find.
And today I was lucky. I found a group of kids that hadn't seen the likes of me before and I had an instant little fan club for about an hour. And man we had fun!
For a quarter of an hour they were very shy with me and chose to just stare. Then one came up and asked me about my camera. 'What is that?' So I showed him the images I had just taken and there was an instant chorus of 'more!' So I raised it again and suddenly I had 10 little boys practicing their kung fu techniques in front of me! It was fantastic! And I really could not stop giggling. I was running out of space already on my memory card, otherwise could have spent the day with this little impromptu photo shoot. I instructed them to come a little closer and showed them I wanted them to kick over top of the camera etc. And they followed perfectly!
From there I returned to the little pueblo and met up with the women we'd met earlier in the afternoon and headed to the club for the evening. It proceeded about as can be expected, drinks, food, conversation, filming and pics. Thankfully no fistfights or bar brawls over the presence of foreigners with cameras and we were finished by about 12:30am.
At this point, after having been up since 5:30am, I was exhausted and really looking forward to retiring at the sheik temple up the road for the evening. But no, the boss had other plans. And within ten minute of wrapping, the cameraman and I were suddenly on the 6 hour, overnight bus to Mombasa with all the crew's luggage. 8 bags! I'm not really sure how it all happened and how the director managed to convince us that this was the right thing to do, but, I think as I alluded to earlier the spontaneity, element of surprise and the subject matter are exactly why I've chosen to explore this way of life. (That and being able to spend a day at the most perfect beach waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive)
In the meantime, as I alluded to in my first email, I meet a lot of people that are in extreme poverty and could use help. I can't help them all, but if any of you feel inclined please let me know and I'll partner you with the individual.
Today it's one of the women we were with in Makindu: