This Is Denan

— an essay on the township of Denan, a small village in the eastern part of Ethiopia known as the Ogaden, which has been forgotten by the Ethiopian government.

Background

Denan is an extremely isolated village in Southern Ethiopia and life there is very demanding. Due to repeated drought, Denan has been on the brink of famine for the last two decades, and this is set to continue. Due to political tension in the region, the people of Denan receive very little outside assistance.

In June 2006, I travelled with my sister, Fiona, to Denan with The Denan Project, one of the few humanitarian agencies assisting the people in that region. My intention was to take photographs of the people and the village, which could be used to raise money and awareness for The Denan Project to support the valuable work that they do. We subsequently held three exhibitions in Europe and the USA, using these images illustrate the hardships in Denan, but also to show the resonant dignity of the people there, and the pride that they take in themselves and their village.

All proceeds from the sales of exhibited works went to The Denan Project, which uses OWDA — an Ethiopian registered NGO — to implement projects in the area. These projects include supplying medicine and health care to a field clinic in Denan, the construction of a water pipeline to provide a constant supply of water to the village, and an agricultural extension and inputs program to train farmers on the latest farming techniques, and to provide them with tools and drought resistant crops.