The Second Act: Contrast in Kenya

I woke up at 7 a.m. on Friday morning which was a bit of a miracle considering I had barely slept the night before and didn't take a nap. While eating breakfast I was joined by Marcel, the Dutch man working with Sieraden 4 Life, the NGO funding five schools in Kenya and running the beading workshop I was about to visit and Megan, the Canadian I met the night before who would be joining me on the excurssion to Kibera.

I was surprised how close Kibera was to the neighbourhood that I was staying in, in fact it was only about a five minute drive away. When we reached the Sieraden 4 Life workshop it was apparent that we were not actually in Kibera but on the outskirts. Even though it was only 8:30 when we arrived at the beading workshop about 50 women were already there. Our arrival interrupted their morning prayer to start off their day.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post the Sieraden 4 Life beading workshop employs 12 women full time, and up to 60 on a casual basis. All of the women who work there live in the Kibera slum and many of them have children enrolled in the schools that the organization funds. The women are paid to do the beading work which is then sold in retail chains in the Netherlands and the profits are used to support the schools.

As the ladies began to work Marcel explained that the women were working on knotting the leather bands that would be used to string the beads for the 25,000 bracelets that needed to be sent to the Netherlands the following evening. It was clear that the women were following a pattern on some cardboard. We were then taken upstair to see the room where the beads were kept and we were introduced to several people including Abdul who runs the Kenya Girls Soccer Academy, one of the schools funded by Sieraden 4 life, as well as supervising the beading workshop and a social worker who works with the women who work there on a regular basis. Marcel also showed us some sample bracelets which were on display in the upper level and we were invited to purchase some of the extra bracelets they had available. Of course we jumped at the chance.

After finalizing our purchases we returned downstairs where we were shown more rooms full of women beading and arranged for a tour of the Kibera slum. While we waited for our guide to arrive we sat down with some women who had moved with their work onto the sunny proch of the workshop. I sat with a woman named Rose who tried to teach me how to knot the leather bands they were working on. I got it on the second try but I could see what they were doing was tough work. Through her work Rose has been able to support her family that lives in the slum. After some pleasant conversation and photography our guide arrived to take us to see inside Kibera.

Being able to visit Sieraden 4 Life was a wonderful experience. It gave me a real sense of how a small NGO can sustain itself and support the community at the same time. Of course its practices are not perfect. The beadwork which is undertaken at the beading workshop is done based on designs produced by a Dutch woman in Nairobi. From a business perspective this makes sense, perhaps the designs developed by the Kenyan women would not appeal to consumers in the Netherlands. However from a women's empowerment and community development perspective, allowing the women to occassionally design necklaces or bracelets would give them an additional skill which they could then use to promote their own livelihoods. I was also distressed to learn that the workshop does not provide lunch for their employees. While I understand that the women are being paid, living in a slum as all of them do, implies that they may be spending their money in other manners such as feeding their children or buying clothing. Yet, despite those short comings I think the organization is having a very positive impact on the community. I saw Marcel again before I left and I asked him what happened to the women who were not able to bead as quickly as some of the others and he explained that there were many different levels of skill in the beading workshop but as long as the women wanted to be there they were happy to have them.

So we headed further into Kibera to see the slum. The Kibera slum is one of the largest slums in the World and is home to approximately 2 million people. In the slum there is no electricity and no sanitation which means there are streams of raw sewage which run down the sides of the road. Mountains of garbage are piled on either side of the train tracks which cut through the middle of the slum and we learned about many of the dangers which affect the inhabitants of the slum, where the average life span is only 30. That being said, being in the slum on a sunny Friday morning, most of the people we saw were going about their daily routines, walking along the train tracks, selling things either int he open sun or in the markets.

During our walk we stopped at the top of a hill with our guide Byrons who showed us a number of things in Kibera including the Doctor's Without Border's Clinic, the public washrooms which you had to pay to use and a stream where he used to play as a child but was now contaminated due to poor sanitation. He said that the sanitation situation had many impacts including giving rise to outbreaks of cholera, which if not kept under control can lead to excessive mortality rates.

We then continued our journey to the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy which is supported by Sieraden 4 Life where Byrons works as a teacher. Despite the fact that the school had closed for the holidays there were about 20 girls who were studying chemistry and physics. One girl told me how happy she was to study. Byrons explained that the girls continue to come to the school because it is often safer for them than remaining at home.The girls who attend the school are selected based on financial need, academic ability and in 10% of cases an interest and ability in playing soccer. Having recently returned from my trip to Kasese I asked Byrons about the issue of child-motherhood at the school. He explained that initially when the school started about 10% of the girls became pregnant within the first three months. Realizing that this would mean that the school would lose a large percentage of its students every year the staff did some research as to what was causing the girls to have sex. One of the key factors was for the girls to gain access to basic materials in exchange for sex, such as sanitary napkins and food. In response the school has made sanitary napkins available free of charge and they have a lunch program and are looking at starting a breakfast program. They are also looking into building a dormatory so that the girls who want to can stay by the school so they don't have to face the dangers of the slum on their way to and from school. I was also pleased to learn that some of the girls have an opportunity to go to University. Being in the slum, where only 8% of children get to go to school really raised the question for me of how much un-recognized potential there must be not only in Kibera but throughout the world, where even if a child is lucky enough to go to school that they may not have the resources, be their financial or personal, to progress beyond primary education. How many great scientists, peace-builders, artists and teacher must there be living in these slums while at home back in Canada we are concerned about the price of lattes and designer electronic devices. Enough said.

Now for the contrast. Upon leaving the Kibera slum we headed directly for the David Sheldrake Wildlife trust where we saw 7 orphaned baby elephants eat their lunch. The elephants were 18 to 27 months old and certainly had a lot of personality. One of the keepers described how they did a llot to keep the elephants happy including playing soccer and hide and seek with them.

After seeing the elephants we moved on to a Giraffe Sanctuary where we were able to feed Giraffes. Megan opted to feed one pelet to a giraffe from her mouth so that she could get a kiss but the saliva on my hand was enough for me. We fed quite a friendly giraffe whose name was Laura. There were two other giraffes close by who would head-butt you if you didn't feed them.

Finally it was time to feed ourselves so we headed back to the Artscafe where we had eaten the night before. The mall is truly remarkable. Unlike in Kampala where shopping centers are basically glorified, multi-level strip malls, Junction is a mall with all of the fixings. It has shoe stores, designer clothing stores, electronic and souvenir shops and even a starbucks style coffee shop. I have to say that not only was the mall a bit of a shock in contrast to Kibera but it was also a contrast to life in Kampala. Made me think that I might have a touch of trouble readjusting when I go home.

To end the day we attended the International Jurist of the Year Award at the International Justice Commission where Josh and Gitonga work. It was a very lavish affair with several high profile guests. The award recipient was a judge who has been presiding over the trials of the individuals involved in the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007. I have to say the food at the dinner really made my day. Beyond its superb quality, I discovered that Kenyans do not eat Matooke which is what has really turned me off from Ugandan food. Although it is by no means the only or primary option, Kenyans instead eat this mash of potatoes, green vegetables, corn and beef which is absolutely delicious.

So there you have the full spectrum of Nairobi one of the world's largest slums just blocks away from living the high life.

In tomorrow's post I will reflect on the wedding and my last day in Kenya. (I warned you that I had a lot to say.