While I was working for an NGO in southern rural Uganda, I was tasked with creating a photographic series about the surrounding community. I did not want to create photographs that reproduce stereotypes, so I looked for something that challenged my expectations of rural Sub-Saharan Africa.

The houses did this for me. When I heard the term “village” to describe this area, I imagined a collection of houses close together. These houses were spread out over 10 kilometres. Many of these houses are brick and mortar, just like you might find in the USA. This first house reminds me of the area where my father grew up in rural Georgia, with tall trees and red clay.

“Waka” means “home” in Luganda. This series aims to transmit the feeling of time passing slowly, as it seems to do in Kyotera District. These images were taken in the middle of the day, when people were away at work. If they were home, they still kept their windows closed to keep it cool inside.