Kibera

             Over the last two weeks David and have tried various times to write our experiences of Nairobi so far.  We have written blogs and then, in defeat, deleted them.  How is it possible to capture our experiences?  My only comparable experiences is to relate the poverty similar to my experiences in  Haiti, the generosity of the people to my experiences in Appalachia and the beauty cannot be even compared to top-of-the-line travel magazines. How can we do Kenya justice?

We have experienced many highs in our last two weeks.  We have some snorkeling on a beautiful reef where we saw dolphins, an eel, and hundreds of beautifully colored fish.  We have fed giraffes, monkeys, ridden camels, held baby goats seen crocodiles, baboons, zebras, buffalo, and much, much more.  We have learned so much of the history of Kenya.  We had gone to numerous lectures and our knowledge grows with everyday and every question.  The people here are amazingly friendly and generous, even when they do not have much to give.  They help me extend my little Swahili and give me thumbs up as I run past looking ridiculous in the morning. Today David and I met a bishop and I knew without a doubt that Jesus was in this man. 

            We have also had many lows; felt anger at God, government, and ourselves.  We have had so much trouble processing the misery we are seeing among the poor.  We have a lot of poverty in the USA but it is segregated into certain areas of cities or towns and therefore easier to ignore or deny.  Here poverty is inescapable.  (Maybe if it were this way in the US, we would have done more to help our brothers and sisters.) 

Today, we visited Kibera, the third largest informal settlement, (or slum) in the world and my own world was shaken.  We visited a school in the settlement.  Since I am not finding the words to describe the few hours I spent with those children, here is my journal entry for today:

I will not forget you.

I will not forget your little head peeking in at the children eating.

Or your tummy, extended in hunger,

You grasping her hand in hope of a meal.

I will not forget you.

Little eyes looking at me among the dust, waste, and darkness of your school.

Hope among hopelessness, smiles and laughter among desperation.

I will not forget you.

Jesus is in you, working though you.

I can see Him clearly through you; this is where He would choose to be.

Your hands are His.

You humble and honor me.

I will not forget you.

Voice so soft, words so slow.

Father dead, hope dwindles.

Sweet, smart, cherished child- God loves you!

I will not forget you and I will not forget your words.

The informal settlement, as I said before is the third largest in the world.  The government has no programs, schools, or charities helping the 1.3-1.6 million people who live there.  These people make an average of less than one dollar a day and some, no more than five cents a day.  Every election the government promises help, taxes the people heavily, and does nothing.  The churches, mosques, and NGOs help where they can, building schools and health centers but the life, as you can maybe imagine is very hard.  A dollar will get you a loaf a bread, not too much more. 

Today, as I saw a piece of life in the settlement I was, and am, mad.  How are we allowing people to live this way?  Are we not all children of God?  God’s children are not meant to go hungry?  More than anything- WHAT CAN I DO??? Why am I suppose to see this?  Why can I not DO anything?  In this case I conclude I CAN do something.  I will tell you what I saw as honestly as I can.  I will post pictures of what I see both good and bad.  Perhaps, together, we will at least open our eyes to the plight of people in Kenya and hopefully also much closer to home in the US. 

 

“…But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny.  His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent.  The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible.  They are marginalized by our social and cultural world.  They are oppressed, exploited, proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity.  Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.”

                                                        Gustavo Gutierrez, The Power of the Poor in History

Thank you (asante sana) for reading, I promise the next post will not be of the pipeline explosion, or the informal settlements, but of something lighthearted and fun.  Perhaps we will blog of our time in Mombassa! 

Pipeline Explosion in Nairobi

Monday, September 12th, 2011
A pipeline explosion in the Kenyan capitol kills over 100 and hospitalizes more than 100 more.

Why?
A pipeline from the Kenyan coast to Nairobi, that goes through an informal settlement (Sinai), formed a leak or burst. Many flocked toward the gas, hoping to get enough to sell. A garbage fire and/or cigarette butt lit the river of gas.

Why?
Poverty/desperation led some to flock toward gas, instead of away from it. "While the burning garbage may have lit this fire, poverty seemed to be real fuse." (-Jeffrey Gettleman, NY Times)

Why?
Pipeline put in place so we can live off gas. Malfunction caused by ???

Why?
No trash pick-up (lack of infrastructure) leads to garbage fires, leads to explosion.

Why?
Why can't I do anything?

Why?
Why am I here?
Why am I called to watch?!?
I don't want to see.
I don't want to see what is happening to my brothers and sisters.

Why?
Why did I break down crying?
Why was this so hard for me?
Why did this affect me so much?

Why?
Why is this not the top story on every news website?
Why do so many of our poorest community members need to die so that we can see them?

Why?
Why is there so much disparity in Nairobi?
Why is there so much disparity in the world?
Why do so many people live off less than a dollar a day, while others live in luxury?

Why?
Why is it so easy to be distracted away from the poor?
Why is it so easy to turn our back on our family?

Why?
Why am I here to watch?
Why can't I be here to do?
Why do I have to see this?
Why do I have to feel this?

Why?
Why do we pick the cheaper option instead of the moral one?
Why don't we let ourselves see the world?
Why do we ignore the things that make us feel weak?
Why do we ignore the things that make us feel vulnerable?
Why do we ignore the things that make us feel afraid?

Why?
Why am I afraid to let the world see me cry?



Matthew 25: 35-45 -

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
     "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
     "The king will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers [and sisters] of mine, you did for me.'
     "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
     "They will also answer, 'Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
     "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."

                                                                                                                               

WHY?
 

We are okay.

In case you read about the pipeline fire in Nairobi today, just wanted to let you know that we are okay. The informal settlement where the fire took place was on the other side of the city from where we are staying.

Karibu Nairobi!!!

We have finally made it. After another hiccup, a mix-up with United and Swiss Air, and about 36 hours in airports and airplanes, we finally made it. Really not much more to report right now, except that Phyllis is a great cook; we started Kiswahili lessons today; and we are headed out to a homestay for the weekend.

Just so glad to be in Kenya!

David Finally Writes a Blog!

As you can probably tell, all of our Blog posts thus far have been written by Amy. I think it is finally time that I write one. We are not in Nairobi. We are not in Dar es Salaam. We are in Jersey. Hurricane Irene gave us a little surprise, and there just aren’t that many flights to Kenya, so we will be leaving Saturday. We were ready to go. We are ready to go. A week of YAV orientation got us prepared. Will a week of sitting around unravel us? We just want to see where we will be. We want to know where we are going. We want to start language school...etc. etc.

Last night I forgot all about these concerns. Last night at dinner Amy and I watched as one of my idols came in and sat down at the table next to us. Last night I got to shake hands with Dr. Cornel West. Dr. West is a professor at Princeton University. Amy and I knew this, and thought there was a slim chance we might see him on campus somewhere. We never dreamed we would be able to talk to him. It was worth an extra week just to shake hands with this great writer/orator/(and now) radio personality.

"To be a Christian is to live dangerously, honestly, freely - to step in the name of love as if you may land on nothing, yet to keep on stepping because the something that sustains you no empire can give you and no empire can take away."

—   Cornel West

"Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public"

—   Cornel West

"The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word."

—   Cornel West

And a week in.... Princeton.... not Nairobi

      We are suppose to be somewhere between Zurich and Nairobi right about now.  Flying around 550 mph to go learn a new way of life and hopefully make some kind of difference while we are doing it.  I prayed during this week of orientation at this year, God would bless David and I with His Way.  I was not pleased (and did not feel very blessed) when His Way was apparently canceling our flight Monday and rescheduling us for Saturday!  Another week at Stoney Point????  With NO ONE THERE???? Pass. 
     As Monday slide by and our plane did not magically uncancel as we all prayed it would, we got word that another YAV's father generously set us up to have a week in Princeton; staying at the seminary housing for free.   OK we reasoned, we could be a train ride away from NYC and Philly... better than just a small gas station.  Monday night we were on our way after a tearful goodbye to Rebekah and Lydia (whose plane also got canceled and rescheduled for Wednesday).
     This is how I find myself at beautiful Princeton.  I took a run around campus today and was asounded by the campus's beauty.  What a lovely hiatus from the stress of this year so far.  OK... not bad God.
    
  

deflated

      The first few days of this week, in a word, has been OVERWHELMING!  I have never felt that I could not do something, I know I need God to be able to make it through this year.  We are at orientation this week at Stoney Point, NY.  My perception of orientation was it was going to be a little training, some encouraging words and music, and then off we go ready to learn, serve, and be.  No so.  So far almost everyone has just spoken about how hard their year was as a YAV.  How nothing worked out, they talk about how lonely, depressed, and difficult the year was.  This shocked me!  What have we signed up for???
     I came back to my room tonight deflated and anxious.  I wanted to check my first YAV email before I went to bed to see if our email was sent, who David and I missed, and whose emails we mistyped. I was humbled and touched by what I found.  Family and friends had already sent us many emails, supporting us, surrounding us.  Thank you for making me remember I have all of you!  That you will support and love us even if this year is a disaster for us.
      Psalm 139 says "...even if I settle at the other side of the sea- even there Your hand will guide me."  I AM settling at the other side of the sea.  Like Ruth, I am leaving what is dear to me and that has been harder than I can sometimes bear.  BUT I have the promise that God will be there regardless of my experience.  Was this the right decision?  I don't know.  All I know is it is a leap of faith, something I have never really had to do before... and I am afraid.