Well, I thought my connection to Sri Lanka was over last week when I arrived back in Nairobi. After a few days of rest over the weekend, I started back to my routine here in Nairobi. Over the weekend, a group of folks connected with MTW arrived to see the work that was going on in some of the slum areas here in Nairobi. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I joined the teams as they visited these slums. While in each slum I did some home visits, talked to folks, did exams, and gave them medical attention.
Yesterday, we ventured into the Kibera slums. It is the largest in Nairobi. Approximately 1 million folks live in this 4 square mile area of Nairobi. We had a torrential rain Tuesday night which made the visit to Kibera even more challenging.
To get into the slum, we first had to wade through ankle high mud. After surviving that we had to cross a handmade stick bridge. The rushing water was pretty impressive. The bridge sagged as we crossed. We almost had someone end up in the river of rainwater mixed with sewage. Having escaped that barrier, we then had the "opportunity" to climb up into the slum.
When we finally made it to the church, the pastor there explained that we were in the worst part of the slum named Silanga. He said it was a Swahili slang for Sri Lanka. I couldn't believe it. My mind couldn't help but make comparisons between what I experienced in Sri Lanka and what I would be doing over the next four years in assisting this pastor and his church.
To be honest, the sights and smells of Silanga were far worse than what I experienced in Sri Lanka. The open sewage, the poverty, and the ever present faces of AIDS were more overpowering than the refugee camp. As I made my home visits and saw the slowly developing signs of AIDS, I realized that I was in a disaster zone. But this was like a tsunami in slow motion. The effects are the same. Families are broken. There are orphans left to deal with the physical and emotional scars. Life will never be the same again. So many lives are forever changed. There is little hope to recover what is lost. And the list goes on.
I have been in Kibera several times before. But yesterday effected me like never before. I realized that my work with the Disaster Relief team was not over. It was only beginning...
Thanks for another tremendous post, which I've linked to it on my blog. Kibera was where I was working on my short-term trip last year, and where I'll be returning in August for another short-term trip.
Most of our work was at the New Life Restoration Centre, a church at the fringes of the slum. But I'll never forget the day we went and did home visits in the slum. We had broken up into small groups, each group led by one or two members from New Life. I was just heartbroken at the conditions in the slum. We had visited one or two homes and when we entered the third, our guide, who was also named John, turned to us and just beamed.
"This is my house," he said, proudly. He was so proud to have us as guests in his home.
Posted by: John Carney | January 27, 2005 at 10:36 AM
I know that this is off topic...But thank you for your blog and helping us see what it is like out of our small corner of the world.
Posted by: Rachel | January 27, 2005 at 05:51 PM
It was great to work alongside you in Kenya. My life is forever changed by what I experienced in Kibera.
The work you do there is invaluable. My continued prayers are with you and your family as you serve.
Tyson and I look forward to our return!
Posted by: Barbara | February 02, 2005 at 01:27 PM