KVDA & The Slum
Friday, June 22, 2007

My first real day in Nairobi. And what a day it was. I was met this morning by David (KVDA's accountant). He showed me the dinning room in the YMCA where I got breakfast. Food was ok. I think I managed not to get sick sick so far. Then he took me to the city center by Matatu which are their public transportation. 14 passenger vans. And they were more like all terrain vehicles in their driving habits. We drove in the ditches and WELL over the curb in an attempt to pass a few other crazy matatus all on their way into the city center of Nairobi. From there we walked several blocks to KVDA's office. Lots of people on the street and David walks pretty fast it took some concentration not to get separated from him.

The KVDA office is in a quieter part of town though and it's quite a nice building. They are on the third floor along with a travel agency and an internet cafe. Its such a tiny office but they work it out. There I met Godrick Machofi who is the Medium and Long Term Volunteer Program Director. He told me some background information on KVDA, Kenya, Nairobi and the rest. At first he said I'd be leaving tomorrow, but we weren't able to contact the airport so I still don't have my luggage. They don't seem to find a problem with wearing the same clothes 3 days in a row - hah. Hey they're the ones that have to put up with the stench. Anyway I filled out some paperwork, found out that I need 2 extra passport photos and filled out a form describing my expectations of my trip.

Then I went to my first internet cafe. Sent Mom and Dad an email and had my first exchange with a Kenyan outside KVDA. When I went to pay it was 16 Kenyan shillings. I had not gone to the bank yet so I tried to pay in US currency. When traveling in Europe, most vendors were more than happy to accept US dollars so I expected the same to be true here. She laughed and said they don't accept that. She told me to go exchange money a few blocks away at the nearest bank. I was amazed at her trusting nature. Then again it was only 16 ksh which is about a quarter.

By the time I found a bank and came back it was lunch time. A few other volunteers were in the office and were about to go eat so I went with them. We found a pizza place down the street. Not your typical American Pizza exactly by pretty tasty. One of them was from the US (also named Katie). She has been working at a primary school and seemed to like it. Not overly enthusiastic though. The other girl was from Hong-Kong. They both said it was much better to have other volunteers at the project so I'm glad there will be two others in Karago.

When we returned to the KVDA office Machofi gave me more information on the slum in Nairobi, called Kibera. It is the home of 1 million Kenyans (and a third of Nairobi's population). Soon after, another KVDA member, Felix, took me to see it in person. It was horrific. Garbage was everywhere. Trenches on each side of the walkway for sewage. Piles of charcoal in the street that meals had been cooked on. Children playing in sickly colored water in the ditches. Women fishing through sewage for scrap metal. Tiny shacks all lined up as far as the eye could see. From above, all you can see is rusted tin scrap metal roofs. Can you imagine your house being made of rusted crap metal, twigs, and plastic bags? Coming home to that everyday, calling it home?

The kids were so friendly. "How are you? How are you?" All of this was adjacent to a high class golf course where the richest people in Nairobi go for some luxury sport. The only thing separating the slum from the course is a cinder block wall so the people in the slum don't wander over onto the golf course looking for water. It was disgusting and heart breaking. I have now seen one of the two largest slums in Africa, the other being in South Africa. I've seen people who live on less than a dollar a day. Its amazing really. If Americans were put into that kind of situation I think we would all die within a week. They must have an amazing love of life.

On the way back we took a crowded Matatu. I got to see a Kenyan Music video en route. (The matatus sometimes have small tv's set into the roof behind the driver. Similar to American rap videos but a bit more modestly dressed hah. Its funny to think of the different between the streets and transportation of Nairobi and those of NYC. They are so much more social and communal. No dirty looks if you sit within two seats of someone instead you could sit on someone's lap and it'd be no big deal. They share everything.We could learn allot.