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.
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....
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