Bénédicte Desrus

Documentary Photographer + Photojournalist

www.benedictedesrus.com

Dandora

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Location: Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

Nationality: French

Biography: Bénédicte Desrus is a French documentary photographer based in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. (In July 2024, she will be based in Mexico City) Her work is distributed by Sipa USA agency in New York. She is a... MORE

13 february 2013 - Dandora dump... Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - People and pigs search through trash from Kenya airways at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - A Kenyan man eats food waste that he found on the Kenya airways' trash at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - A Kenyan man puts on some clothes before starting to search for items to sell and food waste to eat at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - Kenyan scavengers dig for items to sell and food waste to eat at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - Young Kenyans take a break from scavenging for recyclable materials at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - A boy weighs recyclables on a scale in Dandora Dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - A Kenyan scavenger looks for metal scraps exposed by waste burning and methane fires at the edge of the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. This activity can be lucrative for the scavengers, but the fires cause severe diseases. A study by the Nairobi-based U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) found that half of 328 children tested around the site suffered from respiratory problems and had lead concentrations in their blood exceeding the internationally accepted level. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - A young Kenyan woman eats an ice-cream at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - A Kenyan woman lifts a sack of recyclable materials at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

13 february 2013 - Dandora dumpsite, Nairobi, Kenya - A Kenyan man lifts a sack of recyclable materials at the Dandora dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. The site receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

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Thumbnail of 13 february 2013 - Dandora dumps_. Photo credit: Benedicte Desrus

Public Story

Dandora

Copyright Bénédicte Desrus 2024

Updated Feb 2021

Location Nairobi, Kenya

Topics Africa, Children, Contamination, Dandora, Documentary, Dumpsite, Environment, Food crisis, Health, Kenya, Landscape, Nairobi, Photography, Pollution, Portraiture, Poverty, Street, Toxic, Waste

DANDORA

Located near slums in the east of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the Dandora dumpsite is one of the largest and most toxic in Africa. The open dump site was created in 1975 and covers 30 acres. It receives 2,000 tonnes of unfiltered garbage daily, including hazardous chemical and hospital wastes. It is a source of survival for many people living in the surrounding slums, however it also harms children and adults' health in the area and pollutes the Kenyan capital.

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