Most photographs that capture Kenya appear in technicolour, zooming in on the country’s vibrant hues and landscapes. Their subjects are usually animals. (Tourism propped up the Kenyan economy until 2007, when the presidential election dragged down the industry.) This collection is quite different. In 2005 and 2007 ALEXANDRA SUICH, now a contributor to The Economist, worked with organisations in Kenya that provide at-home care to people who are HIV-positive. There she met and photographed a number of people, mostly women, who are fighting the disease or caring for people stricken with it.
Pictured: Charlotte Washe, Malindi, Kenya
Government hospitals are often oversubscribed, with two to a bed and patients on the floor. The hospital in this photograph is small and private, with only a few beds. Charlotte Washe, a nurse, helps oversee the hospital. In her free time she serves as a community health worker, providing at-home care to people who are HIV-positive and are too poor, too afraid or too sick to travel to hospitals for care.
