June 20, 2011Kibera Slums, Nairobi, Kenya
Intense, thick, muddy, sweaty. Those were my first thoughts when I stepped off the bus at the top of the street in Kibera. We parked in front of a butcher shop. In the window hung the full carcass of a cow. There were smaller carcasses hanging along side it. Flies and a bloody knife - that's what I saw. Then I was hugged and greeted by several petite women with bright eyes from the WEEP Center. They eagerly grabbed our elbows and guided us down the slippery muddy "street". Both sides of the street were filled with shacks. In front of the shacks sat vendors selling things from white rocks, to charcoal, to pieces of fruit. The children ran along side of us waving and singing "Hi! How are YOU?" We'd wave back and they would giggle! The poverty here is intense. It makes Mexicali look upper middle class.
The mud is thick and sticky and smells. It's difficult to know where to step. There is a running creek along one side of the road. It appears to be a drainage "canal" but the kids are playing in it and it is obvious that there is more
than runoff water in it.
After walking/slipping about 4-5 blocks, we come to Kibera WEEP. It is smaller and dirtier than I had expected. And it is not just one building. It is 5 rooms but they are not all connected. And there are squatters living in 5x5' "sheds" in between these rooms.
We gathered in the meeting room and soon the room was filled with singing and dancing women! Beatrice, Gladys, Evelyn, Helen, Lillian, Mary - they all broke out in praise songs. They attempted to teach us their dance moves - it was difficult for them to continue singing while laughing at us! We spent time with them, heard their stories, saw their work stations (sewing machines in a room) and bonded. These women are strong.
It takes a lot of courage to get HIV tested in Africa. All of these women had husbands who either died of AIDS or have AIDS. All of these women were blamed for giving the disease to their husbands and were kicked out of the family. Being homeless and then sick, they got tested for the virus. They were brave to get tested and even braver to search out programs like WEEP. The Kenyan government gives out free antiretroviral medication to HIV patients. The catch is that these meds must be taken on a full stomach. A health worker said that "taking these meds on an empty stomach is equivalent to digesting razor blades - it is extremely painful". Homeless women do not take their meds.
The WEEP center not only provides a training program to teach women a marketable trade, they also provide health services. WEEP's main goal is orphan prevention. Keep the woman healthy and then there will be healthy children. Nutrition is key.
Our first day was spent learning exactly what WEEP was all about. We painted the sewing machine room, we played with the children in the preschool there. We had lunch there. Part of our team fees paid for lunch for the center. These little women were eating as
much as a high school football player! No exaggeration! I loved chipati - a tortilla or nan bread. Mokimo was a great salad made of pumpkin leaves and maize. Of course there was rice and a stew. The meat in the stew was very gamey and strong so I let others eat it. I ate the potatoes and onions.
The people in Kibera are amazingly strong and proud. No photography is allowed in the slums - it is considered an invasion of their privacy. They are considered to be an organized slum with mob justice. I learned that "necklacing" was a form a capital punishment - a tire is slipped around a person's torso and set on fire. While walking back to the van, my mind snapped a lot of photos! The children appeared to be happy and healthy. The dogs seemed to be sickly and lethargic. Most men were idle and most women were cooking/selling/watching the children.
There wasn't a lot of immediate conversation once back on the bus. Most of us just stared out the windows.
Intense, thick, muddy, sweaty. Those were my first thoughts when I stepped off the bus at the top of the street in Kibera. We parked in front of a butcher shop. In the window hung the full carcass of a cow. There were smaller carcasses hanging along side it. Flies and a bloody knife - that's what I saw. Then I was hugged and greeted by several petite women with bright eyes from the WEEP Center. They eagerly grabbed our elbows and guided us down the slippery muddy "street". Both sides of the street were filled with shacks. In front of the shacks sat vendors selling things from white rocks, to charcoal, to pieces of fruit. The children ran along side of us waving and singing "Hi! How are YOU?" We'd wave back and they would giggle! The poverty here is intense. It makes Mexicali look upper middle class.
The mud is thick and sticky and smells. It's difficult to know where to step. There is a running creek along one side of the road. It appears to be a drainage "canal" but the kids are playing in it and it is obvious that there is more
than runoff water in it.
After walking/slipping about 4-5 blocks, we come to Kibera WEEP. It is smaller and dirtier than I had expected. And it is not just one building. It is 5 rooms but they are not all connected. And there are squatters living in 5x5' "sheds" in between these rooms.
We gathered in the meeting room and soon the room was filled with singing and dancing women! Beatrice, Gladys, Evelyn, Helen, Lillian, Mary - they all broke out in praise songs. They attempted to teach us their dance moves - it was difficult for them to continue singing while laughing at us! We spent time with them, heard their stories, saw their work stations (sewing machines in a room) and bonded. These women are strong.
It takes a lot of courage to get HIV tested in Africa. All of these women had husbands who either died of AIDS or have AIDS. All of these women were blamed for giving the disease to their husbands and were kicked out of the family. Being homeless and then sick, they got tested for the virus. They were brave to get tested and even braver to search out programs like WEEP. The Kenyan government gives out free antiretroviral medication to HIV patients. The catch is that these meds must be taken on a full stomach. A health worker said that "taking these meds on an empty stomach is equivalent to digesting razor blades - it is extremely painful". Homeless women do not take their meds.
The WEEP center not only provides a training program to teach women a marketable trade, they also provide health services. WEEP's main goal is orphan prevention. Keep the woman healthy and then there will be healthy children. Nutrition is key.
Our first day was spent learning exactly what WEEP was all about. We painted the sewing machine room, we played with the children in the preschool there. We had lunch there. Part of our team fees paid for lunch for the center. These little women were eating as
much as a high school football player! No exaggeration! I loved chipati - a tortilla or nan bread. Mokimo was a great salad made of pumpkin leaves and maize. Of course there was rice and a stew. The meat in the stew was very gamey and strong so I let others eat it. I ate the potatoes and onions.
The people in Kibera are amazingly strong and proud. No photography is allowed in the slums - it is considered an invasion of their privacy. They are considered to be an organized slum with mob justice. I learned that "necklacing" was a form a capital punishment - a tire is slipped around a person's torso and set on fire. While walking back to the van, my mind snapped a lot of photos! The children appeared to be happy and healthy. The dogs seemed to be sickly and lethargic. Most men were idle and most women were cooking/selling/watching the children.
There wasn't a lot of immediate conversation once back on the bus. Most of us just stared out the windows.
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