The visit to Kibera, the largest slum in Africa, was the most powerful experience for me. It brought to life what so many of the workshops, demonstrations and speeches sought to teach us. We visited the Jet project, a community-organizing group that works especially with women and children orphaned by Aids. After walking a mile through endless slum shacks made of tin or mud, we visited the tiny mud room with a dirt floor and gaps in the walls, which was the Jet school and meeting area. We were greeted by a group of the most patient and spirit-filled children of all ages and some of the women and men of the community. This was the “Beloved Community” in action where adults have taken in orphans along with their own children. They provide to the poorest of the poor nurture, education and love sparking the flame of hope in a hopeless situation.
After the adults told us about the work of the community group (and the children waited patiently through our myriad of questions), the children blessed us with songs and dance. The most moving moment came when Mary, a 13 year old girl orphaned by Aids, dramatized and recited two poems for us- one on the devastation of Aids for her and the people of Africa, the other that might have been called, “O You Poor Orphan”. Her strong spirit and resilience shone through as she spoke and moved to the rhythm of her powerful words. Then Mary led some of the children in dance; as she called out or sang out the lines they responded with energy moving gracefully in the cramped room.
We also met Jacinta who at thirteen is also an orphan and lives with her grandmother. It was explained to me that she had passed her grade 8 tests, a remarkable accomplishment in the face of huge challenges. She would now be able to attend secondary school, but she faces another challenge. She will have to pay school fees because the project can not provide her education at the secondary level. Jacinta is one of the orphans who is supported by Watoto Wa Dunia, project connecting Americans with children orphaned by Aids. This assistance helps to sustain her, but it remains to be seen as to whether it will be enough for school.
After a prayer and words of thanks from both the Kibera people and us, we continued our long walk through the slum. Passing huge mounds of trash where children were “shopping for any usable item”. We crossed the railroad tracks that line one side of the slum and looked out over a concrete wall lined in barbed wire and broken glass. We could see a rather large golf course used by the elite and separated the homes of the rich from Kibera. Nearby a drain pipe coming from the golf course dumped clean water into a ditch that quickly became contaminated with the results of the dense population of people living in abject poverty with no sanitation and little water. As we left we passed by the last chance of hope for some enterprising men and women who built small stalls for their individual efforts in business. One that stood out as the epitome of recycling was a collection of ‘junk’- discarded cell phones, radios, razors, and other small appliances. It was clear the owner was trying to rebuild and make useable some of what people like us determine to be useless.
Kenya’s challenges are many and Kibera is one huge one. One of the obstacles that keeps holding the country back from nurturing her people is the huge odious debt that Kenya is saddled with- a debt created in great part by loans made by the British colonial government when they occupied and oppressed the Kenyan people. Our struggle for true Jubilee is not over.
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