On this New Year’s eve, let us celebrate the magic that lives in Kenya. Looking past all the corruption and general human evil-ness that resides in Kenya, the people are beautiful, the land is plentiful and majestic like no other, the wildlife is a vision. So I chose to join CNN.com in their tribute to the beauty of my homeland, Kenya.
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Kenya celebrates Thursday its Golden Jubilee year following 50 years of independence from British rule.
To commemorate the event, Nairobi-based photographer Mutua Matheka teamed up with Samsung last month to launch Picha Hamsini, a photo contest celebrating the East African country’s heritage from past to present. They asked photography enthusiasts from across Kenya to submit images of people or places with historical and cultural significance and explain why these were relevant to them or the country.
“The goal of the contest was to see and show Kenya from the eyes of Kenyans,” says Matheka. “(To) use images to celebrate our country and get people involved in that celebration. We have a lot we are not happy about as a country, but I believe we also have a lot to celebrate and I feel photography is usually a tool to further and foster that.”
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