FilmAid is set to premiere the first part of a documentary, A Journey Through My City, about Kenyans and refugees building communities of mutual support and respect. The film premieres nationally in Kenya on KTN. A Journey Through My City is a chance to see what life is like for refugees and communities who host them.
A Journey Through My City follows Anne, a young woman from South Sudan, and Ignatius, an older, visually impaired man from the Turkana community. Anne and Ignatius take audiences on a tour of their communities and introduce the audience to the many ways Kenyan and refugees are working together as neighbors.
Anne arrived in Kakuma Refugee Camp because of high levels of violence in her own country, South Sudan. Anne is eager to introduce the world to life in a refugee camp, to dispel the myths, and remove the stigma associated with displaced people in East Africa. Anne is most proud of the diversity of the camp comparing it to Nairobi, New York or other international cities.
Ignatius is a Kenyan from Turkana, where he has lived his entire life. Turkana is where his heart lies and as a former teacher and a mentor to others, he has spent many years collecting knowledge and stories about the people in his community and the traditions that they’ve kept. Ignatius teaches the audience how the refugees and the local Turkana community are neighbors, working and living together with a mutual respect for one another’s cultures.
FilmAid's community-based approach to content production was essential to telling the stories of Anne, Ignatius, and their communities. FilmAid's production team was made up of members of the refugee and Turkana community. The team spent six weeks researching and filming the stories with both the refugee community in Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee settlements, and with the Turkana community that generously hosts the refugees on their land.
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Ann Nyandeng, on set in Kakuma Refugee Camp
Ann Nyandeng, on set in Kakuma Refugee Camp
The documentary was produced by FilmAid for the SPARK (Support and Protection for Affected Refugees in Kenya) Livelihoods project. The goal of the documentary is to tell the stories of the different cultures living together and supporting one another in Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee settlements in Turkana County, Kenya.
Funded by DFID, Department For International Development
