Green Screen…

The Chinese invasion of low-cost smart phones into Kibera has reached near saturation point for the under thirties. The insatiable appetite for social media and instant chat has had little effect on the more traditional forms of communication. Competing music can be heard pounding the sinews of elderly part functioning speaker stacks daily. Local radio stations operating from the humblest of studios dance with genre and local news.

Mature CRT televisions are communally watched for a small fee and the variety of content is immeasurable. American sitcoms stoke aspiration of life beyond Kibera and nestle alongside a multiplicity of local soap, news and political promise.

Taking part in a local chat show necessitated a visit to the smallest of TV stations. A couple of rooms rented in empty shopping centre in central Nairobi set the stage. A bijou studio, cloaked in green screen, a single camera, one monitor, no rehearsal and a hastily scribbled set of notes just out of sight. Fifty minutes punctuated by commercial break relief developed a new respect for this adrenalin fuelled rooky anchor.

Meanwhile, Mr Norton can relax…

These writings are penned whilst in the field working with our friends who live and work in Kibera and it is hoped that they bring insight, understanding and a provocation that the status-quo is unacceptable. Please feel free to unsubscribe or share as appropriate. Any opinions implied or expressed are my own and names may have been changed for the sake of privacy.