Kenya

Rhinoceros on field with gentle sunlight behind him

Can a controversial in-vitro fertilization process save the northern white rhino?

The process is estimated to cost $9 millions and some have questioned the practicality of pouring such heavy financial resources into saving a species that is already at the brink of extinction, rather than using the money to protect existing healthy rhino populations:

Can a controversial in-vitro fertilization process save the northern white rhino?
Author Anna Dahlqvist talking with Saudah, a teenager in Kampala, Uganda

The 'menstrual awakening': Shattering the period stigma

The 'menstrual awakening': Shattering the period stigma
A woman recycles plastic bags from a river near the Dondora dumpsite close to the slum of Korogocho in the capital Nairobi, Kenya, March 17, 2015

Where using plastic bags can land you a $38,000 fine

Where using plastic bags can land you a $38,000 fine
Inmates at Kamiti Maximum Prison in Kenya wait to vote.

In Kenya this month, prisoners voted for president for the first time ever

In Kenya this month, prisoners voted for president for the first time ever
Ben and Salma are Kenyan students studying journalism at the Nairobi community news hub, Habari Kibra. They are looking out over their home town, Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world.

Student journalists in Kenya's largest slum have their own stories about the country's elections

Student journalists in Kenya's largest slum have their own stories about the country's elections
Peace messages by graffiti artist Solo7 adorn Nairobi's Kibera slum in the run-up to the election on August 8.

Kenyans worry 'fake news' might spark more election violence

Kenyans vote on Tuesday for a new president, and videos with phony CNN and BBC logos have popped up online to sway the elections. People are worried about a contested result and more violence breaking out after the elections, as it did in 2007.

Kenyans worry 'fake news' might spark more election violence
Somali refugees run from the dust at Dadaab's Ifo camp, Jan. 8, 2007.

These young Somalis refuse to go 'home' when Kenya closes the world's largest refugee camp

Since the Dadaab refugee camp complex opened 26 years ago, an entire generation has grown up there. For many Somalis born and raised in Dadaab, it's more than just a camp. It’s home. And Kenya plans to close it in May.

These young Somalis refuse to go 'home' when Kenya closes the world's largest refugee camp
Boniface Mwangi

Police officers treat this Nairobi neighborhood like an 'ATM machine,' residents say

The police say they shake people down for bribes because their salaries are too low to provide for their families. That may be true, but residents say they're targeting ethnic Somalis for extortion.

Police officers treat this Nairobi neighborhood like an 'ATM machine,' residents say
Muthoni Ndonga, outside a Java House in Nairobi, Kenya.

Muthoni the Drummer Queen rules Kenya's music scene

Her parents hoped she'd be an economist. And in a way, that's what Muthoni the Drummer Queen became. Just in the music world...

Muthoni the Drummer Queen rules Kenya's music scene
A girl stands in line in front of a bus with other passengers traveling to Nairobi.  They are in the town of Mandera at the Kenya-Somalia border where terrorist group al-Shabab has launched attacks against non-Muslims.

On an embattled bus, Kenyan Muslims protect Christians from massacre

"You're not going to separate us," Muslim bus-riders told Islamic militants who demanded the Muslims and Christians separate. The Muslims told the militants to kill us all, but we will not sacrifice our Christian colleagues.

On an embattled bus, Kenyan Muslims protect Christians from massacre
leadimage_lockbox

In one of Africa's largest slums, these girls saved to solve a problem

Dozens of young people in the Kibera district of Nairobi have joined a savings club called Mashujaa, which means "heroes" in Swahili. Each member may only contribute a few pennies a day, but it adds up. And it allows the members to make big expenditures that might be out of reach. The deal is, they have to get the whole group's consent first.

In one of Africa's largest slums, these girls saved to solve a problem
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta (L) looks on as U.S. President Barack Obama signs a guest book as he arrives aboard Air Force One at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi July 24, 2015.

President Obama talks gay rights ahead of Kenya visit

It's his first visit to the homeland of his father — but President Barack Obama has already caused controversy ahead of his Kenya trip over his support for gay rights.

President Obama talks gay rights ahead of Kenya visit
Kasiva Mutua first learned percussion from her grandmother

'Every time I hold a drum...I feel like happiness is going to kill me'

How do you learn an instrument you are not supposed to play? Listen to a 27-year old drummer from rural Kenya who found a way.

'Every time I hold a drum...I feel like happiness is going to kill me'
Turkana Women

Why some Kenyan villagers take AK-47s to fetch water

On the border with South Sudan, is a Turkana village called Loblono, in Northern Kenya. These Turkana people have survived for centuries in one of the harshest landscapes on earth, the dry-as-a-bone desert that also stretches across South Sudan and Somalia. They live a nomadic lifestyle based on herding cattle, chasing the rain and the grasslands that sprout from the desert when it’s wet. The Turkana have always been in conflict with neighboring tribes, like the Poquot and the Taposas. But, in recent years, dwindling water supplies have exacerbated the conflict on this smallest of scales.

Why some Kenyan villagers take AK-47s to fetch water
"The Samaritans"

In Kenya's twist on 'The Office,' a fictional aid organization gets skewered

Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, are the non-profits that help provide everything from food to education to business support around the world. And many aid workers joke that NGOs make up an industry in itself. Now, a new comedy series produced in Kenya takes that joke a step further, about the inner workings of an aid group that just aids itself.

In Kenya's twist on 'The Office,' a fictional aid organization gets skewered