The Lazarus Effect

Prints For Sale

Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Limited edition prints of the photos on this website are now for sale. Please email me at prints@mathieuyoung.com and I will respond with a price list.

All proceeds from the print sales will go towards post production of the movie, and all proceeds from the movie will go back to the Kanga Community Health and Education Project.

Please feel free to email with any questions.

Heathrow

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0700

147 days ago, I was sitting right here, in Heathrow's Terminal 1, scared shitless about flying to Africa. And now, here I am again.

Brief Update

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I suppose that it's a good sign that I've been too busy to type up journals. But to give the briefest of updates:

Another World

Sat, 03 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I'm back in Kampala, another world. Gulu is already just a memory, though hopefully one well preserved in patterns of light burnt onto strips of celluloid, and scribbles of fading pencil led in this disintegrating journal.

Thanksgiving

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

My heart is heavy, my head is light. At home, stateside, people are just finishing their turkey dinners. Left overs are being wrapped up and put in the refrigerator for tomorrow's sandwiches. Some is being fed to dog. Dessert abd drinks are being prepared. It's time to kick back with the family, pack more food into an already bloated belly, get drunk (or more drunk), and relax. Let the melatonin seep through the veins. Save some of the dishes for tomorrow morning. Sleep heavy tonight.

In Transit

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I will catch up with the entries when I find time. Presently, I am in Kampala, in transit to Gulu, the north of Uganda.

Mob Justice

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Kisii. 8pm or so, waiting for the bus to Kampala.

Harambee

Sun, 13 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Translations with Robert. Quick errands in Rongo. Lunch.

Tired But Ready

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I am awake. I am alive. I am clean. I am hungry. I am not tired but I am so tired. Tired of my thin collapsing child's mattress and sleeping bag and my Mexican blanket for a pillow. Tired of heavy food. Tired of people asking, begging, needing. Tired of having to say No. Tired of obstacles. Tired. Tired even of mashed bananas (though they are made perfectly this morning.)

VCT (as easy as 1-2-3?)

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

We went to take Monica to VCT. She suspected herself because her husband had symptoms of an AIDS related death, and her co wives are HIV positive. She wanted to get tested for a while but hasn't had the money for transport to Migori. So we brought her. The process was painfully slow. There were rumors of highway patrols, so matatu crews were all skittish. We had to wait 20 minutes at Kanga Center before one with three seats on it showed up. And when it finally did, it turned out to only go as far as Awendo, about half way, before they decided they couldn't go on because they had expired road licenses. There were a lot of people, maybe 50, waiting for a ride in our direction. Whenever a bus would pull up there would be a mob scene, people yelling and pushing and pulling each other, trying to clamor inside with their bags. People even started climbing in the back of one bus, over the last row of seats, getting stuck on each other A sedan type taxi pulled up and somehow we all got in (along with four others) The driver jumped out and then returned with three bottles of water, which turned out to be for the three police at the road stop a few kilometers up the road.

Holding Hands In The African Way

Thu, 10 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I spent the day over at Mzee Elisha Onduro's house. I love that guy. We ate chapatti and drank tea and talked.

Oh, Drunken Market Women

Wed, 09 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I spent the morning walking alone through the rat routes, looking to make some photographs. I have no help today because Robert is in Eldoret, Mzee Elisha and Shikuku are on duty for the church's 'week of prayer' (yes, a full week of prayer, 6am till 9pm everyday, which they look at as vacation.) Even Othies was gone, off to some market past Rongo, so it was just me. And time is too scarce to just sit in my simba and read and write and blah blah blah. So while I'm still not confident to just take out the DVX and start walking around pointing it at people, I was confident enough to walk through the back paths and greet people and ask for pictures here and there. I found myself a few kilometers from the A1 and Kanga Center and Mama Liz's, and there was a young man and his wife at a well hidden water hole doing their laundry and washing dishes. After I greeted them in Kiluo and asked for a picture in Kiswahili, suddenly we couldn't communicate any further They spoke no English and I'm ready to admit that I'm pretty bad at learning foreign languages, and so after I had made the photos, and this guy kept asking me questions, I didn't know exactly what to do. I assumed he was asking him how he could get a copy, the only word I recognized was 'wapi' ('where') and I was trying to explain that would send them posta to Kanga Primary, but he didn't seem to get it, but it didn't seem to matter, we said goodbye (Kiluo) and then they laughed as I struggled up a hill of dead sugar cane.

50 Cent One, You Are John Travolta

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I love Mama Liz, but I am really getting tired of the food here, everything but the fruit and vegetables. It's just all so greasy and heavy. Anyway, I ate it quickly and we set off at 7:30am, down the A1, past Kanga Center, up through some rat routes, past Mzee Jim (who asked if his picture was ready), and then to this lady's house. Her kids were outside, running, playing, she took us in. I filmed Robert counseling her. It was a beautiful 2.8 with some wonderful textures thrown out of focus behind her head. It was a quick session, and as we were walking back, Robert said 'I wish I could crack that nut." He explained that even though all the signs of AIDS were in her husband when he died, she has continuously refused to be tested because of her fear of stigmatization. But he said that this time she seemed closer than ever to agreeing to get tested.

The Bull

Mon, 07 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

After I watched the bull get killed I walked up to Robert's place and then we carried on to a lady (Monica)'s place a kilometer or two north of the A1. I had asked Robert to find some villagers that he could convince to get tested at a VCT. This lady talked about having wanted to get tested but being unable to because of lack of money for transport and confusion about what she would do if she tested positive. Robert counseled her well (in Kiluo, we translated it later and I got to see how the conversation was.) I had him offer to pay her transport costs and she readily agreed to get tested on Friday. I should be able to film the process.

Sunday Best

Sun, 06 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0700

It was obvious that the girl had put on her Sunday best to be filmed, so it was a strange dichotomy as this girl who sleeps on the floor with a thin blanket, who can barely afford to eat, was breaking the ground with a jembe in a decent dress. The young boy was more sensible, he was wearing torn pink sweatpants and a green tank top with a picture of Ronaldo the Brazilian soccer star on it. Actually, that may have been his Sunday best as well