The Face of Water - Samburu

• Prize
• Photographer
  Rudi Dundas, United States

The Face of Water

Drinking water is life’s most basic need. Yet nearly a billion people on our planet do not
have access to it. For the past five years I have traveled to over 15 countries making
portraits of the people affected by lack of clean water, including the Samburu in Northern
Kenya, whose portraits here bring a human face to the story of how each person has been
affected by the water crisis.

The Samburu of NW Kenya are traditionally nomadic, but the government has settled them so
that they can be taxed and documented. Now when there is drought, they can no longer move
to another area. Young girls walk many hours every day carrying 43 lb. jerry cans on
their backs to bring water for the family. Deep tube wells must be dug to supply the
water that they need to survive. With well water, the Samburu are learning to make drip
irrigation gardens, and grow their own food for the first time in their history.

The face portrays the grace and nobility of culture, to show the human side of this crisis.

Awards Awards:
1989 – Mid Atlantic NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship

1990 – New York foundation for the Arts Fellowship

2011 – Adobe Foundation Grant for Photography – Samburu Project in Kenya

2012 – Adobe Foundation Grant for Photography – Lifeline in Uganda