Author: Anwar Sadat Swaka
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Films
Seen and Unseen. Life after 60 in Kibera Format: Short Documentary (15–30 minutes)Style: Observational, intimate, and character-drivenSetting: Kibera, Nairobi, KenyaLanguage: Kiswahili, English, and local dialects with subtitles In Nairobi’s Kibera settlement, a community of older persons continues to shape their life, preserve collective memory, care for one another, and contribute to their community while navigating…
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Bon Odori Festival
Bon Odori is traditionally associated with Japan’s summer Obon celebrations, where communities gather through dance, music and collective participation. In Nairobi, the festival creates an encounter between Japanese cultural traditions, the Japanese diaspora and Kenyan and other African communities. Central Question? How do diasporic and local communities come together to reimagine tradition and create spaces…
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Life After 60 in kibera
Through long-term observation, visual storytelling, and intimate narrative encounters, the project explores how aging is experienced and negotiated in a resource-scarce urban environment. It documents the everyday realities of growing older in Kibera. Moments of joy, pain, laughter, survival, the weight of physical decline, economic uncertainty, acts of caregiving between peers, and the emotional labor…
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Conditions and Built Environment
Commissioned by The Lancet, this body of work documents the intersection of health, environment, and inequality in Nairobi and Kenya as a whole. Through grounded, observational photography, the work examines how systemic challenges, ranging from inadequate waste management and climate-related disasters to limited access to healthcare, shape everyday life in marginalized communities.
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Older Not Over
#OlderNotOver is a global campaign aimed at challenging stereotypes and celebrating the diverse experiences and contributions of older adults aged 60 and above. The campaign seeks to promote a fuller, more authentic portrayal of life after 60, highlighting the vibrancy, wisdom, and continued relevance of older individuals across different cultures and societies. #OlderNotOver inspires greater…
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Next Billion Users (NBU)
The Next Billion Users (NBU) project by Google was focused on expanding digital access and fostering innovation in emerging markets. It reflected Google’s commitment to understanding the unique needs, challenges, and aspirations of people in regions where the next wave of internet users will emerge—primarily in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.In 2021, I documented communities…
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GenZ Led Protest
The June, July and August 2024 protests in Kenya, led primarily by Gen Zs, gained significant traction as they pushed back against economic hardships and government policies, particularly the controversial Finance Bill 2024. These youth-driven demonstrations reflected a broader frustration with high unemployment, inflation and government inefficiencies, with many protesters demanding greater accountability and even…
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Local Markets as Community Ecosystems
The Market Project was a collaborative project with Parijat Chakrabarti Of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan. This project explored the dynamics of local markets and how they function as ecosystems of community life. These markets, often the heartbeats of towns, tell stories of survival, commerce, and community connectivity.…
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Pollution Crisis in Dandora
In the sprawling Dandora dumpsite on the outskirts of Nairobi, a grim reality unfolds daily. Stretching over 30 acres, this open dumping ground receives waste from the entire Nairobi region. It has become an epicenter of environmental injustice, where the poorest of Nairobi’s population—residents of Korogocho, Baba Ndogo, Mathare, and Dandora—are forced to live and…
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Kibera Fashion Week Photovoice
Rooted in the personal history of Kibera, one of the largest informal settlements in Africa, shaped over decades by migration, resilience, and community life—this Visual Narrative reshapes how the world sees Kibera by documenting fashion as a tool for dignity, self-expression, strength and cultural pride. Using photography, interviews, and community-based inquiry, the work presents Kibera…