Back Story
“The place I call home—and countless other overlooked communities, has always had storytellers. They were never defined in a formal sense or by cameras, notebooks, or professional titles. They were locals whose lived experiences carried the knowledge, history, and identity of their communities long before a photographer, researcher, or international media organization arrived.” By bringing together visual anthropology, visual ethnography, documentary storytelling, and social research, we create work that speaks to both academic audiences and the wider public. We envisions a future in which communities are recognized not merely as subjects of documentation but as producers of knowledge, culture, and history.
Watch the Story
Eight-hour journey into one of Africa’s most misunderstood communities.
Because every community deserves to be seen with dignity, context, and humanity.
Featuring: @sadatphotostories
Watch now: @wherejodyat
FRIENDS FORVER
WhereJodyAt journeys into Kibera, Nairobi with @sadatphotostories,to meet the older men and women whose lives Continue to shape our lives. We explores the realities of aging, community, and resilience through honest conversations and lived experiences.
Every Tuesday, Kibera Day Care Center for the Elderly becomes a shared place of dignity, belonging, laughter, learning, and care.
Here, older persons share meals, participate exercise together, receive emotional and spiritual support from each other, and remind us that aging should never mean being forgotten.
❤️ Stand with our elders.
🔗 Click the GoFundMe link in the website and help us keep this vital community thriving.
Anwar Sadat Swaka is a documentary photographer, visual ethnographer, and researcher whose work explores the intersection of photography, anthropology, and community-led storytelling. Having grown up in Kibera, Nairobi, his practice is rooted in the belief that local communities are not simply subjects of documentation—they are producers of knowledge, memory, and culture. Over the years, Anwar has collaborated with community organizations, academic institutions, humanitarian agencies, and international partners to document everyday life, aging, identity, youth culture, public health, and social change. His work combines documentary photography with qualitative research, oral history, and visual anthropology to create stories that are both visually compelling and grounded in lived experience.
He founded The Locals Research & Storytelling Exchange to address a simple but important question: What happens when communities become active partners in research and storytelling, rather than subjects of someone else’s narrative?
Anwar’s vision is to build a living archive of everyday life—one that documents communities with dignity, values local knowledge as a form of expertise, and demonstrates that the most meaningful stories often begin with the people who have lived them all along.
Although largely self-taught, Anwar enhanced his skills through training at The VII Academy under the Foundry Foundation and Reuters Digital Journalism programs which equipped him with expertise in visual storytelling, photojournalism, and immersive reporting, fostering his ability to document life with a profound sensitivity to people’s realities.
Anwar’s has been notably recognized in, including awards from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for winning the Zero Maternal Mortality Health Photo Award, the Global Health 50/50 Representation Matters Awards, and the United Nations Aligned Photo Awards. His photography has been exhibited and showcased by The Guardian, Global Health 50/50, University College London (UCL) . He work has been featured by The Lancet, HelpAge International and other publications. Now working on“Unpack the Personal and Make it Universal”
We are seeking $40,000 to establish the foundation for The Locals Research & Storytelling Exchange—a community-rooted creative storytelling hub where research, photography, and lived experience come together.
Guiding Priciples
Trust Through Respect and Transparency
We always approach everyone with honesty about our intentions and the importance of their perspective.
Prioritize Empathy and Patience
We understand that people may have personal fears or reservations. We love to meet people where they are, physically and emotionally by being patient, understanding their hesitations, and allowing them the time and space to open up on their terms.
Professionalism and Integrity
It’s not always a must to share our stories, We treat everyone with dignity and respect. We believe, relationships built on integrity often lead to future opportunities for connection.
Guiding Values
