My earliest memory of photography is looking at pictures in the newspapers in 1984, when drought ravaged the Horn of African nation of Ethiopia.
I took a keen interest in photography from an early age and specialised in photojournalism while studying journalism in Nairobi.
The assignment which left the biggest mark on me is covering the famine and drought in the Horn of Africa in 2011. I witnessed the resilience, suffering and death of people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya where the United Nations had declared the famine as the worst in 60 years.
The audience I have in mind when taking pictures is the average family reading the newspaper or a magazine or looking at a website at the dinner table.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that patience pays in photojournalism, and the more I research the better story ideas I get.
The people I respect the most are my parents, who continue to inspire the value of life in me. They have taught me to appreciate new surroundings and how to easily adapt to new challenges in life.
I’m grateful that I can use photography to change the global perception of different cultures, social status and economic values. I salute my camera as an agent of positive change for the next generation.
