Kalobeyei, Turkana, 9 January 2018---Kalobeyei Youth Photography Group has been established with the support from UN-Habitat through the funding Government of Japan. The 10-member host community group was formed in the initial stages of the project inception in 2016, with the key objective of supporting UN-Habitat in doing a rapid visual documentation exercise through photography to unearth the condition of the local economy, waste management, roads, WASH, climate change, environment and housing. The outcome was very inspiring and their knowledge on these urban issues increased significantly as evidenced in their individual presentations.

In December 2017, government of Japan’s mission to kalobeyei new settlement in Turkana County, the photography group managed to get support to open a group account with Equity Bank in Kakuma town. The proceeds gotten from this initiative will go a long way in empowering the youths as a livelihood source and also expanding their knowledge to better participate in the implementation of the Kalobeyei spatial plan and other civil society activities for the local government.

Supported by UN-Habitat, the group has conducted the first visual documentation of the settlement one year after establishment following the changes in transport, shelter, economy, public space and environment. The visual documentation will serve to better present the process of urban transformation from emergency to durable approach, supporting peaceful coexistence and seizing opportunities from hosting refugees in Turkana County, Kenya.

Moreover, the group will get free access for editing and printing services in the community center in the refugee settlement which is planned to be open for public in March 2018. The Center is designed to offer a computer room with unlimited access for both host and the refugees.  The main scope of the photographers will be to perform their skills in the refugee and host communities but also to document the fast physical development process of Kalobeyei Settlement.