Beyond Words...

Today we made our second foray into the heart of Kibera, the world's second-largest slum. Our destination was Tabitha's Clinic, a combined project of Carolina for Kibera and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). From the offices of CFK, a young man led us downhill to the clinic...and what a trip it was. Narrow alleyways bordered by ramshackle buildings of mud and wood, with metal roofs...the ground covered with a combination of garbage, animal and human excrement, discarded clothing and plastic bags, mud, and flowing sewage...dogs and chickens scrounging for feed in the garbage piles, while runny-nosed children stood in doorways and stared with often-empty eyes as we passed by. And the odors were truly beyond description. On and on we went, for what seemed like a very long distance (though it was probably less than a mile) and a very long time, as we had to watch our step so carefully. Never in my life have I wished for hip boots, but today they would have been most welcome!

Tabitha's Clinic was remarkable, a real oasis of calm and cleanliness in that ocean of chaos and filth. The staff we met were amazingly dedicated people who work incredibly hard to bring health care and information as well as improved nutrition to this impoverished area. The patient-families we saw- mostly mothers and babies or young children- were amazingly clean, one of those seemingly-oxymoronic facts which has been rearing its head over and over as we've visited the slums. How do people living in such squalid conditions, without electricity or running water or waste disposal of any sort manage to look so clean when they go somewhere like the clinic? It seems a matter of pride for them...and I cannot cease from marveling at it.

All too soon it was time to return to CFK. This time the trip was all uphill, with more slippery areas to negotiate and rocks covered with a slimy coating to avoid, if possible. I slipped once on a half-buried plastic bag and felt my legs being splashed with mud- at least I hoped that was what it was. Putting my hand out against a mud-covered wall steadied me and I beathed a huge sigh of relief, as landing in that morass of garbage and sewage would have been an experience I would gladly do without! When at last the headquarters of CFK were in sight, I found myself hurrying to the car to get out the wipes I carry everywhere so I could clean the mud from my legs and pant legs, as well as wipe my hands. So deeply shocking was the whole experience that I was unable or unwilling to take any photos at all and it was with much relief that we left Kibera today. The only thing I could think about is how much I would love to hug my grandchildren right now.

Are You Tired Yet?

Oliver, almost 4

Was greeted this morning by Oliver, the son of our hosts at the Wildebeest, Lanita and Alan. They also have a new baby this year, Joel. It is so delightful to hear Ollie's ever-deepening Australian accent (his parents and grandparents are from there and the family just returned from several months "at home".) Last year he was just a little more than a toddler; this year, he is a BOY!!!




Then it was off to the pre-school 

Julius in the Sewing Center

to await the arrival of some
people from the Kenya Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Development. While we were
waiting, we took some photos of
the new sewing center located
in a building behind the pre-school
building, a place where people from the community can come and, for a very nominal fee, rent
the use of a machine for 3 hours
a day for the week. When it is running at full capacity, it will be a most welcome additional income source to help the pre-school to become a self-sustaining venture.
In talking with people from other non-profits, having projects become able to sustain themselves financially is a critical piece- and one of the most difficult. We ALL seem to spend inordinate amounts of time and energy fund-raising, unless, of course, a source with very deep pockets becomes an organization's "angel".

 Dear Beatrice, one of the original "Nyanyas"

Mary Martin & Beatrice at the Sewing Center, named for Mary's brother

The trash-fueled stove & oven

And then it was off to see the project of yet another group,
located deep in Kibera. This unique structure is a stove/oven
which uses trash as fuel. At the rear is the place where the trash is gathered and sorted (no glass or batteries are burned and plastic is saved for recycling). The rubbish is shoveled into the chute, where it comes down and is then pushed into the oven, where it
burns at about 800 degrees. There is about 99% combustion, so there is very little ash remaining, which has to be cleaned out only about every 3-4 days. There is a very large cooking surface and 2 generously-sized ovens and food is being cooked each day to feed lots of people very cheaply. The heat produced also heats water which peopl can get for 5 shillings for several gallons (about 7 cents U.S.) to use for bathing, a real gift in the slums.

The company building these ovens is known as PLANNING. When a oven is ordered, they send people to build it on-site, as well as to train the people who will be running the oven in operational and saafety skills and management. Of course, the cost is daunting to Kenyans- 690,000 Ksh- but that translates into $8117 American and with the great money-making potential and the employment opportunities it would generate, it seems to me a really worthwhile investment if that initial amount could be generated. Doesn't presently hold a lot of potential for us in the Nyanya Project, but for a couple of the non-profits with which we've established connections here it holds a lot of possibiities.

Walking through the slums is always an eye-opener. We were assaulted by the smells of rotting vegetables and meat and human waste, by the sight of all this running down the open gutters on either side of the paths (can't be called streets...only wide enough for human traffic), by the on-going sounds of a continual mass of humanity. Snapshots: a ribs-showing dog rooting through the garbage in one sewer and finding something to eat; a tiny girl sitting beneath a table of vegetables, playing right next to an open sewer; a small boy, his lower face virtually covered by...okay, I'll say it...snot; the path on which we walked absolutely covered by trampled-down garbage, discarded shoes, and plastic bags. All in all, a day filled with information and sensory input...and I am very tired.

The World of Kibera

Just finished reading Rye Barcott's new book, It Happened on the Way to War: a Marine's Path to Peace, and found it captivating. It brought Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, to life for me, as Barcott wrote about trying to balance his work there with his work in the Marine corps...making peace with the task of making war. 

For those of you who don't know, Rye Barcott was one of the founders of Carolina for Kibera, a non-profit begun in 2001 when Barcott was still a student at UNC/Chapel Hill, had received a fellowship to study in Africa and- intending to go to Rwanda- ended up in Kibera, in the city of Nairobi, Kenya.

Though i must confess to a lack of understanding Rye's dedication to the Marine corps and his seeing his serving in places like Somolia, Djibouti, and Iraq as part of his dedication to peace-making, i found myself fascinated by the way in which he linked his learnings and experiences everywhere he served to his work in Kibera. And his descriptions of that place brought it alive again for me, making me ever more certain of my decision to return there this summer. Places to go, people to see, things to learn...this is how i felt over and over again as i read this book, as it described realities and envisioned hope for the people in this place so far beyond the imaginings of most Americans.

Kibera is the home of the Nyanya Project preschool...the home of most of our grandmothers and their grandchildren, along with nearly 2 million other people. It is a place where homes are 10x10 shacks and kiriboto (bedbugs) prevail and running water and flush toilets are only dreamed-of luxuries...where famiies live on less than $1 a day...where hunger and malnourishment are the order of the day...where tribal unrest still raises its ugly head and where HIV/AIDS takes lives each and every day.

So why in the world, you might ask, so i want to return there? What draws me back to this dreadful-sounding place? It's the people... their courage, their determination, their willingness to work to make things better for their children and grandchildren. Perhaps Rye Barcott summed it up best in the closing lines of his book as he describes the buiding of what would become Tabitha Clinic, the largest, most modern medical clinic in Kibera, named for one of the founders of CFK who had herself died of AIDS-related complications. He is speaking with Salim, the young man who has been director of CFK's on-the-ground youth program in Kibera for 8 years:
 I turned to him (Salim). "Before she passed, Tabitha said, 'Don't quit pushing this thing.' We won't quit."
   "No, my brother, we won't." Salim placed his hand on my shoulder and looked into the community. There in the crisscrossing alleyways mamas balances jerricans of water on their heads; children kicked soccer balls made of plastic bags and twine; and men hauled bricks and mortat to what would become the largest clinic in Kibera. "We won't quit pushing because they won't."

Having been there, having come to know just a few of the people, having felt their spirit and courage and determination, i won't quit pushing, either...pushing myself and the Nyanya Project in our work, and pushing the rest of you to reach into you hearts and pockets to help with our work there. Visit the Nyanya Project website http://www.nyanyaproject.org/ to learn more and to make a contribution. There is much to be done...and you, YOU, can make a difference.