THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kenyan artist Dave Ojay remembers how he used to watch the beauty of the sunset over Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest fresh water lake. But during his visit back to the lake in 2009, Dave was shocked to find the lake in a terrible state. He said, “ It was deeply emotional for me to see that the hyacinth, a water weed was covering the water and choking the lake.
The number of fish species had decreased from over 500 to less than 50. The sand from around the shore line had been over-harvested for use in construction, destroying the water catchment area and breeding ground for various species. The trees along the shoreline had been cut, resulting in rising temperatures, less rain and scarce commodity.”
This was when Dave decided to educate himself on environmental issues and began associating with fishermen, local women and youth who were also affected by the deteriorating condition of the lake. He founded the NAAM Festival under the vision ‘Arts and Culture for a better Planet’ and over the last five years, he has built up a team of staff and volunteers, organising a forum on social and environmental justice and bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to talk about how to regulate Lake Victoria.
A photography exhibition titled #JusticeforLakeVictoria depicting the current state of the lake from the lens of photographers from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania was also organised in other countries. He has also used the hyacinth collected from Lake Victoria to make ropes.
“All of us are bound to do something on this planet,” he says. He has brought his #MyLakeMyFuture project to Thiruvananthapuram and is associating with Kanthari which will be held at Manaveeyam Veedhi on Saturday. They have started other campaigns titled #SaveLakeVellayani and #SaveLakeTiticaca in Peru to protect these lakes. “ I see photography as a medium to show how our environment is being polluted by human beings. Those are thing that need to be talked about,” he said.
Participants will speak against social and environmental injustices through art. Dave will also show a documentary featuring both Lake Victoria and Lake Vellayani. There will be a confession booth with materials such as plastic picked up from polluted rivers and lakes and an installation displayed so that people realise how their actions are polluting the environment.