This funny goat had snuck up on a plate of popcorn and stolen a mouthful, before being chased away by indignant yells and reprimands from the stall owners.
Yesterday I took a matatu to Nairobi, an exciting and interesting experience. Matatus are tiny buses made up of scraps from broken down vehicles, which run on set routes but with no particular schedule. One waits until the matatu is full before it can leave, and pays a small fare to the conductor who is often left running to catch the matatu as it leaves, or leaning out of the window as the matatu speeds at 150kph signalling for passengers. I bumped my head a number of times, but otherwise escaped unscathed. Later that day the matatu I was in nearly ran over a drunk man, a rather traumatic experience for me but everyone else appeared nonplussed.
I met Patto in town and we had lunch at a lovely bakery that sold banana-shaped banana cake! Yes, I know I always wear the same clothes but I didn’t bring very many. For this reason we explored Adam’s and Toi markets and I bought a few more clothes :) I have mentioned Patto before, in my post on Corruption and poverty (http://melchang06.tumblr.com/post/14510170785/corruption-and-poverty). I wrote that he was a former resident of Kibera, but in fact he actually still lives there and we went to his place.
Kibera is a 5km squared community of 1 million residents, 80% of whom are children. The roads are narrow and there is no running water (they buy pumped water from the council 3 times a week but it is not enough), no garbage disposal, but most people own TVs! The antennas rise high over the tin roofed mud-brick houses. The slum is such a maze, that without a guide one would easily get lost!
Our first stop was Mama Tunza’s orphanage and school. Hudson and his wife saw children playing in the streets instead of being in school, and moved into Kibera to help. They house over 100 children, a number which rose drastically during the 2007/8 election violence, where many parents abandoned their children at the home and fled. A main motivation for the slum children to attend school is the prospect of a meal. They would otherwise starve. Corruption and inept resource distribution has led to food cost inflation, and Hudson struggles each day to feed the children. Sometimes they are unable to afford even one meal per child each day, but their faith in God’s daily provision is so strong and inspirational.
The second school we visited was actually no larger than my house in Australia, and taught 800 students from grade 1-8. Eight hundred. A major goal of Spur Afrika is to raise funds to sponsor children all the way to year 12. If they drop out after grade 8, they often become just “smarter thieves.”
Both these schools need your help! If you are able to pray, donate, or visit and build or teach, please contact me!
One of Patto’s initiatives for this year, in addition to a mentoring program and sports program, is a medical clinic. To give an idea of the health problems, one girl in the 800-student school died from typhoid fever last year. How can this be?? I helped him type up a questionnaire to determine the cause of the abdominal pain which plagues over 70% of school aged children at any one time. Hopefully in June this year there will be a clinic and public health initiative to improve sanitation and reduce infection in Kibera. The sewers here are open and overflowing with litter and excrement. Children play right beside them.
At Patto’s house I met his sister Winnie. They too are orphans, and live in the house their father built before he died of TB. It’s a one-bedroom house and although it reminded me of my Boston apartment (sleeping, eating, and living in the one room), the two cannot even be compared. A few years ago Patto found ground water and dug a well, which provides much needed water mid-week to many, many residents in his area.
On a legislative note, land in Kibera is “sold” by people who claim ownership of it, and any disputes are solved the tribal way by two or three people, including the banishing or burning of thieves.
We spent the afternoon watching Hurt Locker on Patto’s laptop. Great movie! And yes, the slums do have, albeit inconsistent, electricity. No wifi though :) We headed back into town to grocery shop at Nakumatt Prestige and waited to be met by Kijabe friends. Said “see you later” to Patto (Kenyas don’t say bye!) and went for dinner at Junction, beautiful with its Christmas lights still up. As I ate my pizza and drank my mango smoothie I couldn’t help but think of the contrast and irony of having so much and enjoying my meal having just left Kibera, where most people wouldn’t even have food that night.
Nonetheless it was an enjoyable evening with much laughter and interesting conversation. Did you know Grade 1 Kenya tea is for export only (illegal to retain it in Kenya), and sells for over 300 pounds per box at Harrods? [Edit: I could not find any evidence to back this one up.]
Here is a photo of the tent outside a certain hospital as we dropped Muthoni for her neurosurgery call. I got in trouble for taking this photo, as the government fears negative propaganda. This tent is used during the day to cope with the literally overflowing emergency department. Take that Kenyan government. (Please don’t arrest me.)
“Now that I have seen, I am responsible” - the lyrics from Brooke Fraser’s song Albertine. It is a great song written after her trip to Rwanda. Seeing Kibera and the way people live (and die) there, made me angry, sad, overwhelmed, defensive and confused. But I am also encouraged by God’s provision, people’s faith, and the hope that everyone, including me and you can make a difference. Part of me wishes I never knew the situation, but guess what… now you know too.
So what are we going to do about it?
