Monday, Kibera

Monday started off with breakfast and laundry. We begged some soap from Jenny, and then washed clothes in a bucket. A fence served for a clothesline. About 9:30, a "taxi" arrived to take us to Linda's home in the South C section of Nairobi. Linda is a homeschooling mom of 4 children. She has been homeschooling about 5 years. She uses the Bible and a smattering of other books for curriculum. Homeschooling materials are difficult to get in Kenya; shipping is prohibitive and there are no resources available within the country.

We participated in a Hebrew lesson, and then watched as the children worked on a few other subjects. We took a break for tea, and later, lunch. After lunch we headed out to Kibera.

Kibera is one of the largest slums in the world. There are over 1 million people living in this 600 acre area in Nairobi. They live in makeshift cubicles constructed out of scraps of lumber and corroguated metal. The average person lives on under $1 per day. Water is dispensed from large tanks, and toilets or shower are available, all for a fee.

We visited Ken, who directs a ministry called Center for Viable Development, Research, Innovation, and Intervention, or CVD for short. CVD has a small office space inside the edge of Kibera, and provides counseling and training for people in the slum. They are trying to encourage people to move out of the city and farm the plots of land that is theirs by tribal rights. Rather than live a subsistence life style in cramped and unsanitary conditions, they could begin to provide from themselves through farming and earn money providing food to others. Nairobi attracts people from the countryside who are looking for a path to economic success. Unfortunately most become trapped in a lifestyle that is worse than what they left behind.

One encouraging aspect to the conversation is that Sadili Oval Club (see earlier post) is on the edge of Kibera, and there may be a possibility of collaboration between the CVD and Liz, the director of Sadili Oval Club, that would benefit both groups of people.

After leaving Kibera, we visited a cyber cafe to check for urgent email messages, then Gail, Sarah, and Kayla were dropped off at Jenny's house (a different Jenny from the one staying with us at Eshel Gardens) to meet with a group of women to talk about home birth. David and I continued on home to a good supper. Afterwards, I was sitting in the living room, waiting for the others to return, when I noticed a few large flying insects. I chased them out the door, and closed it. About that time a swarm of them came under the crack at the bottom of the door. There was no keeping them out. It was obvious they were being attracted by the light, so I turned it out and opened the door. In just a few minutes, they had all left the room and were swarming around the front door (white) and porch light. Eileen came in, and said, Oh! Termites. Then she started gathering them up in her hand. When she got a handful, she said her daughter loves them. She offered to fry me some, but I declined. About an hour later, they were all gone, and we did not see another the whole night, except for when Gail picked up Kayla's jacket and one flew out.