In Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya, Congolese refugee Fidele Wabenga taught himself photography and filmmaking before founding Season of the Time Productions as a teenager, having fled was in the DRC when he was just 15.
Working from a small studio, he documented weddings, events, and everyday life while training other young people in media skills. His work challenged the idea of refugee camps as places only of waiting, showing instead creativity, ambition, and self-representation.
A ruined structure stands beside the area where Fidele Wabenga, 16, operated his studio in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. The surroundings reflect the scarcity and impermanence of camp life, in contrast to the ambition growing inside.
Fidele Wabenga enters his studio workspace in Kakuma Refugee Camp. From this small room, he built a photography and film business serving the community.
Fidele Wabenga at work inside his studio. Self-taught as a teenager, he used media as a tool for both livelihood and representation.
Fidele Wabenga inside Season of the Time Productions, the company he founded in Kakuma Refugee Camp. He later trained other young people in photography and filming.
Film posters cover the walls of Wabenga’s studio, reflecting global influences and creative aspirations shaped inside the camp.
The small handheld camera used by Fidele Wabenga to begin filming and photographing life in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
The hand-painted sign inside Wabenga’s studio. The business provided photography, filming, and local storytelling services to camp residents.
A poster addressing support for survivors of gender-based violence hangs inside the studio, showing how media spaces in the camp also served wider social and community needs.
Fidele Wabenga stands at the entrance of his studio in Kakuma Refugee Camp, where he created a space for storytelling and opportunity.
A price list and contact notice outside Fidele Wabenga’s studio in Kakuma Refugee Camp advertises DVDs, television series, and film services. The handwritten updates reflect the practical realities of running a small media business inside the camp.