Series of 53 images, archive pictures and collages

This is the story of the student housing Maison Africaine (African House also as known as « Maisaf »), through a juxtaposition of my photographs, collages and appropriated photo albums as well as a variety of edited written sources such as interviews, notes and journalistic news.
"Chez moi loin de chez moi" ("Home away from home") maps a particular place nestled in the Brussels neighborhood of Matongé, echoing Kinshasa’s area.
This photographic series is an encounter with the world of these buildings, spaces and their inhabitants. An exploration of everyday moments and intimate places in the heart of the house. Who are these residents? What is happening between the walls?

I wanted to explore the fears and hopes of the students. Provide a deeper understanding of their passage through this place of transition. It became essential to understand this state of being. To recognize that this condition is natural. It was then that I wondered how the students live: confusion, questioning, nostalgia, adaptation, sense of failure or success.




Conversations with the students

Blandine, from Dassa, Benin, has found a warm place where she lives with her daughter Melissa, 3 years old. Thanks to the cooperation grant of the University Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), she’s working on a PhD in history of cultural heritage in Benin in collaboration with the University of Abomey-Calavi. Finding accommodation is not easy when you're a single mother and you're studying between two cities and two countries.

In Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), peace remains an empty word. The fights are just the latest event marking a deterioration of security conditions and a long series of massive violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. For millions of Congolese citizens living in the densely populated eastern region who face the daily struggle for survival, peace does not exist. It is in this city where Amani, whose name means "wish", was born in a big brotherhood of 6 brothers and sisters. After an internship managed by priests he pursued law studies. In Brussels he studies a master in humanitarian law. "I have the feeling to do justice, it needs to change to defend society in front of crimes »

Jean Soleil, a law student from Congo, was with a friend during the shoot or on the phone. Very little information has been found, however the natural and everyday aspect of his experience as a resident of Maisaf is reflected in the photos. He has had hip surgery several times and continues his studies despite difficult circumstances and reduced mobility. His generosity and patience were very touching.

The master's degree in Public Health, as part of the program for developing countries, is one of the steps in Tania's training. Far from her husband and her 7-year-old daughter, this master will help her improve her working conditions in Bangladesh. Her friend Judith, a pediatrician, also a master student and co-inhabitant of Maisaf, had no great cultural shock when she arrived in September 2015. La Maisaf facilitates the insertion of its inhabitants well before their installation in Belgium. This training will shed light on her research on screening for sickle cell disease, a genetic disease that is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. She speaks every Saturday with her daughters Clelia and Amelia, 7 and 11 years old, who live in Yaounde, Caméroun.

"It's not easy when you do not speak French." Ebenezer speaks in English and tells me that he comes from Nsawam, a city in southern Ghana. Thanks to an agreement between the German and Belgian cooperation, he follows a three-months-training of as part of a ULB program to identify trees through genetics. Passionate about the environment, he enjoys walking in nature, and is interested in the regeneration of forests. Mahogany, a tree with medicinal properties, is his favorite species.

The ones I could not photograph (or almost not):
Alexis, Mireille, Mohammed, Sakira and Sandra did not want to participate in the project. Sabi, of Mauritanian origin and gardener of the African House was fleeing my camera in October 2015. He lived all over Spain until the financial crisis of 2007. He is since in Belgium. Eight months later I managed to photograph him during the end of the year party, without his uniform.