Yesterday the team toured the campus at NEGST in the morning and planned for our first day of computer classes which begin on Wednesday. After lunch at NEGST, we traveled to the Nairobi Chapel office to prepare for our visit to the Kibera slums. We were provided overviews of these programs by Pastor Faith of Nairobi Chapel and Susan Mbuga.
HARC is geared toward children in the Kibera slum. It is a Saturday program that feeds children who usually in the week barely get enough to eat let alone a nutritious diet. This ministry sponsors some of the children through school as well as have bible class on Saturdays and outreach to the families of the children. Most of the caregivers of these children are HIV positive and they provide support and care for them too. When HARC leaders visit with them, they usually bring care packages that would include flour, some cooking oil, milk, bread so there is a token of love left behind. Pastor Faith from Nairobi Chapel provides leadership to this team.
Susan leads a ministry called PARC which serves children and families living in the slums that often are dealing with health issues related to AIDS. She told how she works with a team of 4-5 women that live in Kibera and help identify those in need. After her overview to prepare us for the experience, we went across the street to Ichumi, to purchase groceries for 6 families that we went to visit. We then took a matatu to Kibera where we met the rest of our team and tour guides.
We left our cameras at home so that the residents would not feel exploited as many tours come here and often they feel marginalized by the tourists taking pictures and gratifying their own self interests. So we quietly made our way through the maze of rooms and buildings which are made of mud walls and tin roofs. The narrow alleys between buildings often include open sewers containing garbage, discarded food scraps, and pungent odors. This guided trip was challenging and strenuous. The smell of garbage burning mixed with odors of the open sewers left an indelible impression. Even a day later, I can still recall the stench. It is hard to imagine 6 people living in a 9 foot square room. Most homes do not have electricity, running water, or toilets. As we visited with families and prayed with them, we realized their reality is far different than ours. We were glad to be able to bring food as many go several days without a meal. It is not uncommon for a 10 year old child to be responsible for raising and supporting other siblings, parents that are ill, and helping neighbors with parenting chores.
The ironic twist to this was the happy greetings from young children that came out to greet us with choruses of "how are you" and eager to shake our hands. Having lived their whole lives in the slums they seemed to be happy and content, not realizing their conditions were substandard. Kibera seems to have it own eco-system and lifestyle. It is interesting how many of the unemployed inhabitants manage to earn money by cooking food, selling charcoal, or selling wood stolen from nearby forests.
Later that evening, the team de-briefed the experience and talked about how this trip has opened their eyes to poverty and has challenged them to get involved serving the less fortunate when they return home. Praying with those we met earlier in the day, took on a new meaning. When praying for others that have real desperate needs, whether, jobs, healing, food, or education, it really tugged at your heart strings when you see the need. It is almost overwhelming when you consider how these million people living in what we would consider inhumane conditions struggle each day to survive. On more that one occasion, I was overcome with sadness and shame as I consider how blessed I am and those living in Kibera struggle with the basic necessities of life.
One of the reason we took this tour was to help our team to be sensitive to the students we will be teaching as some of the NEGST graduates will start ministries in these type of conditions to help improve their medical, spiritual, social, and economic poverty. Having been to Kibera on 3 different trips, it is always a humbling, yet poignant experience. It makes me more determined to return home and more more of an effort to help those who are less fortunate.
Our team member spotlight is on Colleen Armstrong. She works in program management for Universal Music Group (PMO Director). Colleen spends her time at work, managing a group of projects-teaching, coaching, mentoring, and developing processes. She is one of our team co-leaders and is in charge of curriculum development and training. She is married to Greg and they are very fond of their two shelties. She grew up in Wisconsin and in her spare time enjoys reading, kayaking, exercise, and walking the dogs. Colleen will miss the first session of her current Women's Bible Study in Acts which begins tonight.
Colleen remarked that one of her observations in the difference in African and American cultures. Here in Africa, people are more community focused with an emphasis on meeting the most immediate needs as part of their support structure. If your neighbor needs food or rent money, it is not uncommon to share what you have, even if it means you may not have enough when your rent is due. She went on to say how teaching and learning is different. In the United States, as an instructor you are expected to be an expert and are challenged often. Here, the students seemed to be more tolerant of less than perfection, even being able to relate to you better when you are not afraid to expose a weakness or vulnerability. The team is delighted to have Colleen with us and her wacky sense of humor keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously.
No comments:
Post a Comment