Kibera

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

We spent our morning yesterday in Kibera. As I've mentioned before, Kibera is the biggest slum in Africa. It is about the size of Central Park, which is about one square mile. It holds anywhere between 700 000 and 1 000 000 people. It is hard to get an exact count, so the numbers are really only an estimate.

I go into Kibera every day on the way to work to pick up a few coworkers. We only drive about 45 seconds in, and it's on the main road, so it's basically the nicest part of the slum. I didn't really realize this though, so I naively thought that Kibera wasn't really so bad.

Graham is working for a group called Carolina for Kibera, which is based out of the University of North Carolina. They were involved in a clean up project yesterday, so we all went along for a chance to see Kibera. I was so glad we got the chance to visit while making a positive difference instead of just wandering around as tourists. There was Graham, Natalie, Heather, Hallie and I, as well as Hans and Amanda (our new friends/roomies, more on them later).

We had to walk basically from one end of Kibera where we got dropped off, to the complete other end, so we saw so many things. It is nearly impossible to describe, but I'll do my best. The first thing you notice is the smell. Urine and human waste flow freely down the drain channels along the sides of the roads. In some places, the smell is so bad. There are very few public services, and the few that there are are just centralized. There are central water taps on the main roads, so households have to carry jerry cans to their houses for water. There are very public washrooms,so people either squat into the drainage trenches, or else go in plastic bags, which they then chuck onto the streets, earning them the nickname "flying toilets". The main roads are filled with storefronts, selling anything you could think of: cell phone credit, shoes, electronics, food, clothes, and more.


I was very apprehensive about going to Kibera for the day. While I had seen the "glamorous" side of Kiberba from the work van, walking down the side streets in an entirely different experience. We were walked in by Ebra, a local man that Hallie works for. While we are totally safe when accompanied by a well-known local, you could never walk around alone. Pickpockets, thieves and rapists are a real threat.

It took close to an hour to walk to the location where the clean-up began. There was a large group of residents as well as a few other NGO workers who showed up to do the clean up. Unfortunately, there weren't enough rakes and shovels to go around, so we all took turns. The trenches along the sides of the roads are filled with sewage, dirty water and tons of trash. We basically took turns shoveling all sorts of garbage from the ditches, while others came along with shovels and scooped the piles of stuff into garbage bags. We veered off the main roads and headed into the side roads, which were more like alleys. Barely wide enough for us to fit through, there were sections where the roofs were so low, you had be walk totally crouched over, all the while trying to sidestep the sludgy human waste rivers running down the sides of the "roads". It was so narrow and the stench was so bad. It would have been so easy to have a complete panic meltdown. Once we got back to the main road, we all felt alot better I think.

Out on the main roads, there were piles of garbage at least a story high. There is virtually no way for these people to get rid of their trash. You see women just throwing things out their front doors into the rivers and ditches. The sheer volume of garbage EVERYWHERE was overwhelming.

One thing that surprised me was the amount of wild farm animals wandering Kibera. Tons of goats, chickens, roosters, pigs, and dogs just wander the streets. Graham jokes around that the goats must live off plastic bags, its all you see them eating.

We all were a little apprehensive about our day in the slums, especially me. I have been known to be a little over-cautious when it comes to food and germs and travelling (what can I say, I don't wan't to spend my summer stuck in bed with a gross parasite or something!) When the day started, we were all super cautious, trying to sidestep gross things on the roads and snivelling when our feet slipped into the sludge (aka human waste) on the roads. However, it didn't take long before we were completely over it. I was literally scooping the piles of garbage into the bags with my bare hands by then end of the day (although a massive Purell sesh. definitely followed!!!) The real impressive moment came when I ate mundazi (yummy deep fried bread balls) and chips from the road side vendors. Once you've eaten street food from the slums of Africa, what can't you handle?! I have to say, it was some of the yummiest food I've ever eaten (and earned me definite street cred. points with the roomies!)


While the Kibera I've described sounds like a horrible, disgusting place, it's also hard to describe the feeling of community that exists there. While it is just a place that I had the chance to visit, to so many people, it is there home. Many people have families who have lived there for many genereations. To them, it is all they know, and they live happy prosperous lives there. There are happy kids playing in the streets, women chatting on their front steps, men working hard to provide for their families. So many of the people that live there are just happy, normal people who happen to call Kibera their home. The sense of community is inspiring. Back at home, we may have money and shelter and food, but our sense of community doesn't even seem close.

We headed back home midafternoon and spend the afternoon together at the pool in the hotel. Hans and Amanda were with us as well. She is a student from UBC that Cherie introduced us too, and Hans, who is from Wisconsin, is travelling around Africa with Amanada. They met in Capetown, South Africa while doing a semster abroad. They met up with us yeterday morning and then spend the entire day with us. After the fun in the pool, we headed upstairs and all made a nice family diner: home made guacamole and tortilla chips, spaghetti bolognese, garlic toast, and wine/beer. For the first time, we acutally ate together around the table like a family, with the flowers that Graham brought home as a center piece. It was really really nice. We have all become so close so quickly, not just the four UFV students, but Hallie, Amanda and Hans as well. This kind of experience is made so much more special because of the friendships we are making, which are sure to last much longer than 90 days.

After dinner, we headed out to another ex-pat hangout, this time a place called Gipsys. We had a great time drinking and dancing with our newest friends, a group of guys from Australia who had just landed yesterday afternoon. Great fun was had by everyone!

Today was our very first day with no obligations since we got here! We slept in (it still seems funny that 930am now counts as a sleep in!) and then had a big scrambled egg breakfast together before starting a big day of: laying around doing nothing!! It has been totally amazing! I spent a few hours by the pool, and after this blog entry, I may just curl up for a little nap! :)

We leave tomorrow morning for the Maasai Mara, the game reserve where we are going on our safari. It's about a 5.5 hour drive, then we are spending two days there! It is supposed to be an amazing resort, we stay in "tents", which are canvas rooms with acutal floors and a bathroom. I am SO excited, I can't believe that this time tomorrow, I'll be on a real, live, African safari!!!!!!!! I will be out of internet range until Wednesday night, but I'll certainly have some entertaining tales to tell after the most amazing trip ever!

-Delaney xo