The larger building to the left in the picture is the school we visited. It's located on the edge of Kibera Slum near Nairobi.
The view from the 2nd floor of one of the buildings at the school (the blue building in the picture above). The first building you see here is also part of the school.
My friend, Rachel, outside one of the classrooms in Kibera. I believe that God brought Rachel and me together... we met briefly at a church service last year and she asked for my email address. We've been communicating by email all year, and I was so glad to get to spend time with her and especially to see the projects she's working with in Kibera.
This looks like something out of a horror film to me... unfortunately, it's for real. There was a similar door marked "Library."
Lauren with Winnie (left) and Elizabeth (center). Both girls are just 17 years old (almost Lauren's age). It's been hard this afternoon to wrap my mind around how fortunate Lauren (and all of the rest of us) were to be born in the US instead of into conditions like where these two girls live. What a tremendous responsibility we have to the rest of the world. And what an opportunity.
Where to begin… Kibera. Every time I visit this place, I think it hits me even harder as I see more and more and understand less and less. Today has been the most challenging, but yet my favorite, day of the trip. This morning, we met Rachel, a principal of a private school near Nairobi and visited the projects she is working with in Kibera. Rachel is such an inspiration. She had a long career as a teacher in public education and then went on to be a lecturer at a teacher’s college before ending up in administration at a private boarding school. Her school was wonderful – we enjoyed our tour and hearing about her school (which is for primarily middle and upper income students – not the poor). But, Rachel spends her days off in Kibera, about 30 minutes away and hopes for the day when she can quit working and volunteer full time in Kibera.
As I’ve mentioned before, Kibera is a huge slum. There is simply no way for me to describe it accurately for you. For the first time, I was able to take pictures, so I’m sharing those with you. But to be there in person and walk the narrow paths, cross the rivers of raw sewage, and see the impossible living conditions – is really indescribable. There is so much pain and misery but also great beauty in the pride of the people and in the hearts of those who choose to serve there.
Our first stop was a school that serves about 800 students. It is an “informal” school which means that it bypasses a lot of the restrictions of “formal” public schools in Kenya – class size, teacher qualifications, playgrounds, hygienic conditions, etc… It has 22 classrooms and 16 teachers (you figured right – some classes don’t have teachers) covering grades Kindergarten through 12th grade. We had the opportunity to meet a few of the students and to hear their stories – heartbreaking. Elizabeth is a double orphan, having lost both her parents and has no on willing to care for her. She is currently in the 10th grade and wants to be a journalist one day. She has a friend who is letting her sleep at her house but isn’t able to feed her. It’s very common in Kibera for girls and women to turn to prostitution to meet their basic needs of food and shelter. I believe this is part of Elizabeth’s story. Rachel is working with girls like Elizabeth on issues of sexuality, self-esteem, and empowerment – helping them to value themselves and set goals for their lives during the crucial teen years. The school has no feeding program for the high school students, so girls like Elizabeth and her friend, Winnie, don’t have access to food. Lauren gave them our packed lunch to share (wonder what they thought of white fudge covered oreos!!). We won’t soon forget them or their stories.
The neat thing about this school is the dedication and success of its students. The teachers arrive at 6:00 and school starts at 6:45 and ends at 6 at night! That’s Monday through Saturday! We were told that these kids earn strong scores on the national exam – some even outscoring privileged kids from private schools. What a miracle – and what a great way to break the cycle of poverty through education.
After the school, we visited a grandmother in her home in another part of Kibera. It was our first time to be in the home of someone in Kibera, so that was a special experience. We enjoyed visiting and learning her story. Rachel is hoping to find some kind of handiwork – beadwork, crocheting, sewing, etc… that this lady and others can do in their homes to create a sustainable income to support their families.
Rachel also works to supply sanitary pads and underwear for a large number of teen girls at the school we visited (I think about 300 girls). As in other third world countries, girls often have to stay home from school when they have their periods. Underwear are about 25 cents per pair. Some of our team members found directions for making washable/reusable sanitary pads, and brought patterns and samples for Rachel – she was thrilled!
If any of you feel led to make a contribution to Rachel’s work in Kibera or any other ministry I’ve described in this blog, please do so. Global Connections is very unique in that it doesn’t take a penny of your donation out for overhead costs… 100% of what you give goes directly to the ministry you designate, and small amounts of money go a long way here in Kenya. For more information on Global Connections or for their mailing address, visit: www.globalconnectionsonline.org
Tonight we are hosting David (the teacher at the K-Branch of the Children’s Centre) and his family for dinner. Tomorrow, we’re visiting the market in Nairobi and visiting a different Cheshire Home that serves elderly disabled people. I wasn't able to get all of my pictures from today into this one post, so please look at the next two posts (below) to see the rest of the pictures.
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