A Day of Extremes: The Slums of Nairobi

First off: Hi Mom. If and when you read this please read this disclaimer first: I promise that I did not get sick from today's trips, even though I was most definitely exposed to communicable diseases and unsanitary conditions.

The point of this trip TODAY was to be made aware of the issues that face Nairobi and Kenya and the developing world in general.

Secondly: With this blog, I'm stating right now that I don't want to be this girl from Canada who travels to Africa and experiences all these 'life changing things' and comes to all these 'life changing conclusions' and preaches my deep and intense thoughts. Really - I think that a lot of what I'm going to write about aren't my ideas. They are ideas from other students that have emerged through on going discussions that I really think are worth sharing.

Today, the CFSIA students went into TWO slums in different areas of Nairobi, one called Kibera (also known as the largest slum in East Africa) and the other called Mathare. Mathare and Kibera are exactly what you imagine a slum to be like. If you can't imagine, let me help: Imagine a garbage dumb in your city. Then scatter aluminum sheeting all leaned up against each other to fit 600,000 people. Then throw in some running streams that pick up all the garbage and sewage, and of course, put in adults, children and animals alike living on top of all of this.

Mathare

Basically, these people - children, parents and business people - are living on a garbage dump. This is because they don't have any where to dispose of their waste, and because the city will not provide garbage pick up services because these people are living in informal settlements and don't pay taxes.

The slum was also full of these kids that ask (without knowning the meaning): How are you? every where you turn, because that is what they've learned from English tourists. Through this experience, I got to thinking about how different the standards of living are in different parts of the world:
While looking for our apartments back in Montreal, how many of us ask our landlord questions such as:
1. How is the water pressure in the shower?
2. Is there a washer and dryer inside the apartment?
3. How many people can take a shower without running out of hot water? 

and how many of us decide on an apartment based on the answers to these questions and really take them into consideration? A lot of us do because some of these apartment characteristics are just expected according to our standards of living...

Then I come to this slum where they have no shower, no laundry machine, no hot water...

I spent a portion of the day talking to International Development Students about how although we all KNOW that the living conditions of the slums need to change because everyone deserves to have their basic needs met, what change do we make? Which one will work? Where do we start???

But then I reconsider my questions: If I get discouraged by trying to figure out a plan, and if all we end up accomplishing is TALK, then NOTHING will ever happen to cause change. So we might as well take chances, make mistakes and GET MESSY (in the wise words of Ms. Frizzle...she really did know what she was talking about). 


Pictures from Mathare and Kibera:

Children playing in Mathare

Mathare kids in school

UN HABITAT's Office and project in Kibera

Kibera in all its glory

Click on the photos to enlarge!
Note: There are a lot of grassroot NGOs working in Kibera and Mathare improve the quality of life. Please check out Mathare Roots Youth Group Facebook page. The CFSIA program raises money for them every year and they provide a number of extra curricular activities to children in Mathare to prevent them from getting caught up with the wrong kind of crowd... if you know what I mean.