A Nuacht RTÉ documentary for TG4

national | miscellaneous | press release Friday December 19, 2008 21:06 by newsmedia - newsmedianews newsmedia@eircom.net 086 8682717

Photographer Brian MacCormaic has spent the last five years in Nairobi, living and working among the slum communities of Mukuru. The Dubliner has been the driving force behind numerous projects aimed at improving the economic and social conditions of the local community. In this half hour documentary, Seán Mac an tSíthigh visits Brian, and sees at first hand his role as an educator and facilitator working with a slum population of over 100,000.

A Nuacht RTÉ documentary for TG4
Saturday, 27th December, 2008 @ 19.15 and repeated: Sunday, 4th January, 2009 @ 20.30
Title: Fear Bán na Slumanna (The White Man of the Slums)
Video Journalist: Seán Mac an tSíthigh Director: Matt Kelly
Producer: Michael Lally Irish with English Subtitles
Photographer Brian MacCormaic has spent the last five years in Nairobi, living and working among the slum communities of Mukuru. The Dubliner has been the driving force behind numerous projects aimed at improving the economic and social conditions of the local community. In this half hour documentary, Seán Mac an tSíthigh visits Brian, and sees at first hand his role as an educator and facilitator working with a slum population of over 100,000.
In the face of overwhelming poverty and educational under-achievement MacCormaic oversees a pioneering scholarship scheme for children from the slums, principally young girls. The Harambee Scholarship, which is administered by a team of local primary school teachers who volunteer their services to the project free of charge, provides over forty children from the slums with the invaluable opportunity of furthering their education beyond primary level. The children attend renowned secondary boarding schools outside the city, receiving excellent tuition in beautiful surroundings, while also overcoming the economic and social constraints of their position in a stratified society. For its recipients, the scholarships provide the only means of escaping the poverty of the slums and forging a better and brighter future for themselves.
The scheme is funded by staff and students at Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT Dublin), among others. MacCormaic spent a number of years as resident photographer at the Institute, and through this connection, a strong bond has developed between Mukuru and the staff and students of ITT in recent years: In 2003, a team of students visited Mukuru where they created a Street Festival and Carnival to mark the opening of a primary school, which MacCormaic helped fund. Then, in 2004, a team of staff and students, including the then Director, Dr Columb Collins, and the South Dublin County Mayor, Cllr Máire Ardagh and her husband Seán Ardagh TD, climbed Kilimanjaro to raise funds for educational projects in Mukuru.
Poor sanitation, a lack of clean water and the absence of a sewage system in Mukuru has led to widespread disease and an unusually high death rate. The average life expectancy in Mukuru is below 40 years of age, with HIV/AIDS as one of the biggest, most feared and most stigmatised killers, along with other, treatable and curable diseases such as Polio, Typhoid, and TB.
In an attempt to combat the spread of the epidemic, MacCormaic is deeply committed to a number of related projects. Local home-based care (HBC) teams provide much needed care and assistance to AIDS sufferers, many of whom are confined to their beds, offering not only practical help but also emotional and spiritual support. A women’s group has also been formed providing those living with HIV&AIDS with a support network and a friendly forum whereby the women can share their concerns and hopes for the future. Numerous activities are organised for the women – many having an educational or income-generation thrust. One of the main aims of the group is to ease the isolation experienced by those infected and affected by HIV, while also creating a greater awareness of the virus within the wider community.
Interviews include staff and students of Our Lady of Nazareth Primary School, KwaNjenga; students sponsored by Harambee, and their parents at Ruchu Girls' Secondary School; Mwamko Mpya Women's Support Group and Home Based Care team, and staff at the Mukuru Central Dispensary, KwaNjenga. Seán also visits Ruben Primary School; Gatoto Community Primary School and St Elizabeth's Primary School, to hear their success stories and listen to their beautiful choral music.
Brian MacCormaic is originally from Tallaght in Dublin. He worked as a freelance photographer with local and national newspapers before moving to Nairobi.
In August 2009, a team of Irish Army personnel and volunteers will visit Mukuru to construct a Public Library and Adult education Centre in Mukuru for the community. This project is organised by MacCormaic, and will be run by the local committee of volunteer teachers in Harambee.
For those wishing to volunteer, or to make a donation to his work, please contact Brian on 086 2437043 (Ireland) or +254 722 646354 (Kenya), or e-mail: harambeescholarship@gmail.com, or brian.maccormaic@gmail.com.
http://www.harambee-scholarship.com/
(this website is under construction at present and will be operational in the near future)