Day 3

 We got up early to head for the border. We passed though Tsavo East on our way to Tanzania and were able to see animals, including zebras that crossed the road right in front of us. It was a long hot day, but a chance to get to know each other. We arrived at the border and getting Visas was easy. Getting through customs was another story. It was hot outside and though we had letters from high ranking officials, the customs guy would not let our medicines through. We were there several hours negotiating, but he would not budge. This is why it is difficult for people to help in Africa, even with the right paperwork.

Now that we were all hot and sweaty, we made the 2 hour trek to the hotel, where were greeted with such warm hospitality. We saw a dung beetle and a group of mongoose that were hissing at the hotel cats. There are very large bugs here and there is no way to escape them, except at night under the mosquito netting.

Tomorrow we are screening the community for Hepatitis B. The government became concerned when they tested the blood in the blood bank and 50% of the blood tested positive for Hep B. Unlike in America, where we are vaccinated for Hepatitis B, here it is a real concern as the vaccine is available in limited quantities.

Sorry we have not uploaded a lot of pictures, but you can see some on our Facebook page.

Lala Salama (good night).

Day 2

 Today, after a good night's sleep we we headed to an informal settlement (slum) in Nairobi. It's always difficult to describe the sights and smells, but to see the smiles on the face of the children at the school, after receiving soccer balls, was priceless. The school was on holiday but many of the kids showed up to see what was happening. The slum is predominately Muslim and the school educates children from all religious backgrounds. They have over 300 students. The husband and wife who run the school are saints and have sacrificed a lot to give these children an education and hope for the future. We also handed out candy-those of you who have been on our trips know the chaos that ensues. Several of the team members had their long hair braided by the children and they were very fascinated by Brian's tattoos and bald head.

Next we stopped at a pastor's school who teaches English to adults and also has an evangelistic outreach. Such self sacrifice. 

We were all happy to head back to the hotel for dinner (lunch was peanut butter an jam sandwiches made by Julie and April). We know tomorrow is a long travel day as we head for Tanzania.

Pictures from Kibera and Lukenya Getaway

 

Monkeys at Lukenya Getaway

Kibera

Day 1 in Kenya- a visit to the slums

 Our team started the day off with a wonderful breakfast hosted by the Lukenya Getaway Resort in Athi River, Kenya. It was a challenge to get here with over 20 large duffle bags filled with donated supplies, so having good food was a great start to the journey.  

 

After breakfast we were able to take a short walk around the resort and found a few friends along the way.  Shortly after breakfast, we made our way to the Kibera slum. Entering the slums of Kibera was an overwhelming experience.  

 

We were warned as we entered the community of extreme poverty and picked up our armed guards for safety. Although there were drivable roads and paths to avoid the open sewage, which seemed to be an improved system from what the years prior showed, there was little room to move with the amount of people in such a small area. The sights and sounds created a vivid picture of extreme poverty one can only comprehend by being there.  

 

• Kibera is home to approximately 2.5 million slum dwellers representing 60% of the Nairobi population and occupying just 6% of the land. Kibera houses about 250,000 of these people. Kibera is the biggest slum in Africa and one of the biggest in the world.  

• 
  

We were welcomed into a church service where you were overcome with immense emotions of the faith in Jesus Christ and the hope and generosity of those attending. We passed around a microphone and introduced ourselves as a team. You could feel nothing but the joy others had to share with us visiting. Each person was dressed in their best attire for Sunday service.

It was a profound reminder that in the face of adversity there is still hope.  

 

After church, we toured one of the schools. This school had 300 students and 11 teachers. Ages ranged from 2 years (Primary 1) - 7th grade. They are currently planning on buying 20 more rooms to turn into classrooms for the children, to have more education past the 7th grade. In US currency only $800 would be needed to fulfill this goal. To most, the may not seem like much to give hundreds of children years more of education. The school had one lightbulb in the teachers office and they did not hesitate to turn it on just for us.  

• Only about 20% of Kibera has electricity. Street connections to shacks are done by overhead wires that cost about 900 Kenyan shillings per shack (roughly $9 USD), which in most cases is not affordable.  

After touring the school, we walked the dirt paths made in between humble shacks to find our bus. The short walk was simply enough to make your heart fall right out. We were stepping in and out, up and down different spots of the path not to step in sewage, or to get up onto wooden planks to cross over washed out areas.  

• In most of Kibera there are no toilet facilities. One latrine is shared by up to 50 shacks and costs money to use, which again is usually not affordable. Once full, young boys are employed to empty the latrine and they take the contents to the river.  

• 
  

In our time here, we witnessed a child bathing in the sewage and up stream a mother doing laundry in the same sewer water.  

The most interesting part of it all, is the amount of happiness, tenderness, hope and joy you felt so deeply walking among the people of Kibera. This makes you wonder, what are we missing- it’s clearly not material things? What is truly important? How can we to find peace, love and hope in the face of adversity, like the beautiful souls living in Kibera?  

 

Kibera needs land/tenancy rights, housing, water, electricity, health clinics, education, employment, security plus much more. All these issues are being addressed to a lesser or greater extent by many organizations including Hope Without Borders.  

 

However, money cannot help without people to direct it – all the organizations require assistance. They all need intelligent, keen, willing, and compassionate people to help.

The most interesting part of it all, is the amount of happiness, tenderness, hope and joy you felt so deeply walking among the people of Kibera. This makes you wonder, what are we missing- it’s clearly not material things? What is truly important? How can we to find peace, love and hope in the face of adversity, like the beautiful souls living in Kibera?  

 

Kibera needs land/tenancy rights, housing, water, electricity, health clinics, education, employment, security plus much more. All these issues are being addressed to a lesser or greater extent by many organizations including Hope without boarders.  

 

However, money cannot help without people to direct it – all the organizations require assistance. They all need intelligent, keen, willing, and compassionate people to help.

Courtney and Edyn

PS: Pictures to come....

Welcome to our adventure

 We'd love to welcome all of you to our adventure in Kenya and Tanzania. We will do our best to post daily as long as we have internet and electricity. In this blog we will share with you what we have been doing on this volunteer trip. We can't wait to share this adventure with you!

Hope Without Borders