1. Project description

Our proposed project will help document human rights violations by oil and gas companies in our community through photography and videography. This will culminate in the production of a video documentary which will be screened in the Turkana community and shared with the media in Kenya. As a community that has an illiteracy level of over 97%, the local community do not understand the co-relation between the hazardous waste and the health complications they are experiencing. We strongly believe that this documentary highlighting the untold suffering the Turkana indigenous community has gone through in the face of the dumping of highly-toxic waste in their midst by oil and gas companies will challenge the government to act and help bring justice for our at-risk community members.

2. Project progress up to now

On the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st of June 2020, our team of social changemakers, visited Lomokamar village in Turkana South. This is the village where the oil and gas companies dumped the hazardous and toxic waste. We hired a local filming company to accompany our team to the site and to interview residents and medical experts on the negative impacts that the toxic waste had on the community members. We signed a legally binding "Video Production Agreement" with the filming company. The distance of the affected village from the major town is about 250 kilometres. We filmed and conducted interviews with the community women, with youth leaders, local professionals, community elders in Lomokamar village for three days. In particular, we interviewed a medical expert who accompanied us to the field and who gave an expert medical opinion on the hazardous waste and its effect to community health. The filming company has produced a trailer of the main documentary and we are still reviewing it to ensure the privacy of interviewees is guaranteed. The filming company team is finalizing on the main documentary and we will be screening it to the members of the public and the media in our community as earlier scheduled.

3. Project plan forward

Going forward, we plan to have the trailer finalized then we can publicize it to ensure attendance of the community members to the documentary screening. We also plan to work together with the filming company to ensure that the documentary is well done as agreed in the contract signed. Once the documentary is ready for screening, we plan to organize for the civil society and media forum to show the documentary to the public. It is also at this point that we will share the posters and placards/booklets to the persons attending the forum. Once we screen the documentary to the public, we will then compile the necessary documents and submit the necessary final report to Korea SHE Foundation.

Some political leaders who heard about our interviewees with the community members have indicated that we want to destroy the name of the oil company. However, we will proceed as planned and implement the project because we must protect the interest of the local community. We endeavor to implement these projects within the shortest time possible and within the set timelines as agreed in the agreement with Korea SHE Foundation.