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Lorunye Emekew was 12 years old. He didn�鶹APP�t go to school. Instead he looked after the family�鶹APP�s herd of goats in a remote part of northern Kenya.

And he carried a rifle to stop invading militia stealing the animals. He�鶹APP�d had the gun since he was nine, after his father was killed in an attack.

But Lorunye still dreamed of finishing his education. His story is told in a video film that has helped Kenyan reporter Maurice Oniang�鶹APP�o win the coveted .

Maurice is a TV producer and blogger for MEDEVA (Media Development in Africa), a Kenyan-based non-profit that trains young talent to make popular, public interest television and radio programmes, mostly for East African broadcasters.

Maurice Oniang�鶹APP�o receives his award Picture:

He went to the Todonyan Turkana area after hearing about children who carry guns to protect their families and villages from Merille militia who carry out cross-border raids from Ethiopia into Kenya. The Turkana and Merille peoples �鶹APP� some of whom live in Kenya �鶹APP� have been fighting for decades over ethnic differences and competition for resources including food and water.

Lorunye told Maurice: �鶹APP�I carry this gun for my security. I was given this gun by my mother after my father died in an attack. I use this gun to protect our property.�鶹APP�

He said he used to go to primary school but his mother told him to leave to look after goats. Lorunye said: �鶹APP�My future dream is to go back to school and finish my education.�鶹APP�

Maurice�鶹APP�s film also features Loyiane Ekai, who is 14, and fishes to provide for his family. He said: �鶹APP�I have never gone to school �鶹APP� I am just a fisherman. If I go to school who will fend for my family?�鶹APP�

Loyiane told of a two-hour gun battle with Merille militia who tried to steal his nets. He added: �鶹APP�Many people were killed. My father and I were lucky to have survived.�鶹APP�

Maurice won his Thomson Foundation award at a ceremony in London on November 25 for three pieces of work. The others featured a university student who has set up a feeding program for street families and food waste in Kenya and its effect on the environment.  

His video on Lorunye and Loyiane created a debate within Kenya �鶹APP� and an NGO stepped in to help the children get back into school and to improve residents�鶹APP� water supply.

Maurice said of his award: �鶹APP�I feel very humbled by this experience. It was an eye-opener for me and has made me all the more determined to produce stories about Kenya. I hope that, in a small way, by doing that I can make Kenya, and Africa, a better place.�鶹APP�    

Loyiane Ekai with his gun to protect fishing nets

The award saw journalists aged 30 and under from developing countries enter published work produced over 12 months in any format �鶹APP� print, audio, video or multimedia.

Maurice was one of three finalists. The others were Priyanka Dubey, a freelance journalist from India who submitted stories on women traffickers, the gang rape of an Indian policewoman and the abduction of two young girls who were raped and murdered �鶹APP� and Andrew Ochieng, a news reporter for NTV in Kenya.

The prize was part of the UK Foreign Press Association Awards. Entries were received from young journalists in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South America and Oceania. Nigel Baker, Chief Executive of the Thomson Foundation, said: �鶹APP�Maurice deservedly caught the attention of the judges with his engaging and revelatory accounts of challenging circumstances in Kenya.�鶹APP�

Maurice appeared on BBC Radio4�鶹APP�s Media Show yesterday to discuss his award. He said: �鶹APP�I tell stories to change people�鶹APP�s lives. That means you go to areas where no other people have gone, to areas totally cut off from the rest of Kenya.

�鶹APP�This award is encouraging young journalists from Africa and the developing world to come up with story ideas that will change people�鶹APP�s lives positively. I believe that as a journalist I have the ability to make the world a better place.�鶹APP�