• Simon Akam / Reuters

    A child stands in pouring rain in the slum of Susan's Bay in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, Aug. 22. At the height of the wet season, over-populated areas with poor water and sanitation are exacerbating the spread of the disease.

    Cholera infects 13,000 in Sierra Leone, national emergency declared

    Sierra Leone's government has described the current cholera outbreak in the West African state of Sierra Leone as a "national emergency." According to Associated Press, more than 258 have been killed and some 13,000 more are infected by the disease.

    "All of this is the aftermath of the 11 years rebel war when we had a huge rural-to-urban migration and a huge population clustered in the urban area where adequate provision has not been made for water and sanitation. This is what we have been witnessing today," Minister of Health and Sanitation Zainab Hawa Bangura. Continue reading AP article.

    Cholera is an infection of the small intestine, contracted by eating or drinking contaminated food or liquids. It can cause acute diarrhea and vomiting and can kill within hours.

  • Roberto Schmidt / AFP-Getty Images

    A member of a brass band holds a tattered sheet of music at a local school in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi on October 16, 2010.

    Roberto Schmidt / AFP-Getty Images

    Seventeen-year-old Steve Odieno (R) warms up his trumpet in a corner before a presentation at a local corporate function in Nairobi on October 19, 2010. Odieno, who was born and raised in Western Kenya, is the eldest of five siblings and came to live in Nairobi with his father and to look for better quality schooling.

    Roberto Schmidt / AFP-Getty Images

    Seventeen-year-old Steve Odieno blows into a trumpet during band practice at a local school in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi on October 16, 2010. Odieno, who was born and raised in Western Kenya, is the eldest of five siblings and came to live in Nairobi with his father and to look for better quality schooling. Through a local church, Steve joined the "Ghetto Classics" about a year ago.

    Roberto Schmidt / AFP-Getty Images

    Young children watch as older kids play in brass band practice at a local school in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi on October 16, 2010.

    Roberto Schmidt / AFP-Getty Images

    Kennedy Odhiambo blows into the banged up tuba assigned to him during a presentation by his band during a corporate event in Nairobi on October 19, 2010.

    Roberto Schmidt / AFP-Getty Images

    Seventeen-year-old Steve Odieno (C) walks through his neighborhood as he heads home after school in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi on October 18, 2010.

    Music to empower the youth

    AFP Photographer Roberto Schmidt photographed kids involved in a project in Korogocho, Nairobi called "Ghetto Classics" that uses music to empower the youth there. The brass band group is comprised of some 25 kids that only gets to practice every two weeks as the musical instruments they use are borrowed and there are not enough funds to pay the band director more often. The Ghetto Classics Project is a partnership between the Art of Music and the Kutoka Network - a network of parishes and organizations working in the urban slums, working to creates policies and new plans to help slum dwellers work their way out of poverty. Its purpose is to use music education to provide youth living in the slum with opportunities to better themselves and their community by giving them life skills that come with the discipline of studying art music.
    Mr. Schmidt said he, "was really happy when I heard that you guys wanted to do this slide show. I really hope that someone in the wider audience is affected by it and would be willing to help out this outfit. They are truly good kids who are making an honest effort." See more photos here.

    Click 'Show more' below to watch the video.