It's Not a Pile Of Trash Floating In The Ocean. It Is Something Which Is Going To Surprise You.

What you see here isn’t a tiny island of trash floating through the ocean (even though it looks like it). It’s actually Migingo, a small fishing island located in Lake Victoria. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and the largest tropical lake in the world. The fishing is so good there, that over a hundred people live on it, crammed together just so they can take advantage of the profitable location. What you see on top of the island isn’t trash, they are little lean-tos that the inhabitants turned into homes. Oh, and did I mention there is a much bigger island right next door that no one lives on?

This is the tiny island of Migingo, where 131 fishermen and fish traders live.

It’s in the middle of Lake Victoria and it’s jam-packed… 

Even though there is a much larger island right next door that is basically uninhabited. 

Two fishermen from Kenya first arrived in 1991. 

Then, others followed in their footsteps. 

More than100 boats bring in their catch every morning to this little island for weighing, then they sell it to buyers. After fish processing firms buy what they need, the fish is transported to the Kenyan mainland.

Pirates began to target the island, so the people living there asked their governments for help. 

The result was a huge ownership dispute between Kenya and Uganda. 

Ownership still hasn’t been determined, but that hasn’t stopped people from carving out a life there. 

Being able to separate your work and personal life is important, so what do these fishermen do? They literally live and work in the exact same spot. I hope everyone gets along with their neighbors, because there isn’t much room for moving around. (That is, unless someone just thought to move to Usingo, the much bigger island that’s just 200 meters to the east.)