DeeJon-Owino Ochieng grew up in East Africa's largest slum. He witnessed his father attempting to kill his mother, and was raped by a drug addict when he was 12 years old. He found solace in breakdancing. He transformed his anger into strength and whirled through the dust of Nairobi until his talent for movement caught the eye of a German social worker. The social worker was visiting Jon's uncle. A few years ago, the two men founded a circus collective in the slum.

The social worker eventually brought the boy to his circus school in Germany. For Jon, it was a golden ticket. But complete happiness was never to be for the boy. For while he lives in the wealthy West, which he can barely afford, his mother spends her life in the slums. He is torn.

Jon has now been studying artistry in Rotterdam for two months, at one of the most renowned universities in the world. But he struggles. With himself and the world. His mother, his brother, his uncle, friends, and acquaintances are far away. He has no money, no white skin, and no safety net. And really, he only wants one thing. He wants his mother to have a good life. And then he wants to die.

How long is he willing to fight this battle? What's the point of it all? And in the end, isn't success everything?

I accompanied Jon to circus school in Germany. I also met Jon in Rotterdam and followed him with my camera during his studies.
The story was created in collaboration with journalist Tim Winter, who also wrote the short project description. The text is now available. The story has been published in Go Magazine by the Reutlingen School of Journalism and will appear in Stern magazine on January 5, 2023.