Captivated

On Friday, our team (Daisy, David and I, and the university students, Allen, Mweru, and Flora) visited another slum in Nairobi called Mathare. The Dignitas Project in Mathare, which tries to improve lives in Mathare by improving education helped us to meet youth groups in Mathare. We went there to learn more about life in a slum and to see if the youth groups there would be better partners than those in Kibera. People in Mathare are actually more poor than those in Kibera, however they are more resourceful. In Kibera, there is many NGO's and USAid programs, so people are looking for handouts. In Mathare, the youth groups were very innovative and trying to improve their own lives without getting much help from outsiders. One youth group even collects trash without getting paid simply to improve their surroundings. We were even more of celebrities there because not many visitors ever go there (since Kibera is so much more publicized)…which is also why I didn't take much pictures. Every child I saw broke my heart!

Overlooking Mathare. From left to right: Rose, Mweru, Flora, Daisy, David, and Allen.

After we visited Mathare, the university students took us to downtown Nairobi (which was packeddddd with people and buses). We walked to 'up-town' Nairobi, a bit nicer area, and went to "Chicken House" for lunch. We got the special for 180 shillings ($2): a piece of fried chicken, chips (fries), and a soda. It was good…and more real than our fast food I think. It was the first chicken I've had since being here (beef is cheaper than chicken), and the first soda I've had in at least a year. We then walked around, got ice cream (the soft serve was not our fake soft serve - it was like frozen whole milk). 

Daisy, David, and I then said goodbye to the others, and went to Nairobi Hospital to visit our host brothers wife who got in an accident and has been there for 3 weeks. The hospital was pretty modern…although there were some areas that were outdoors. Every hospital bed had a mosquito net over it and hospital rooms had balconies to go outside. 

For dinner we had ground lamb, veggies, and a bright green mashed potato looking dish that was made of potatoes, veggies, and pumpkin leaves. And of course, mangoes and tangerines to follow :)

On Saturday, an intern at CFK named Molly who is from Illinois, explored Kenya with Daisy and I. We took an hour long matatu ride to Ngong Town, and walked a bit to the Kenyan Wildlife Service (which was not easy to find haha). After a long walk up a red-dirt road, we reached a tiny gate, which was the entrance to the Ngong Hills - 7 hills that you can hike up. Apparently there are bandits and buffaloes in the woods so we had to pay for two armed guards to walk with us (yes they had guns). 

It was a BEAUTIFUL hike - and so good to get some fresh air and be out of the city for a bit! I felt like we should have been singing "the hills are alive…" (and if you don't get that reference, you need to go watch Sound of Music, a movie I actually have seen) as we overlooked the rolling hills and the herds of goats/cows, saw the eagles fly over, and looked out on the vast Kenyan countryside. It was such a good reminder of how big God is and how he made that for us. I was truly captivated and refreshed. 

I kind of felt like someone from the Old Testament, like David shepherding sheep, or Moses walking up Mt. Sinai to get the Ten Commandments. 

At the end of our hike, there was a group of a few guys at the top of the first hill, blasting praise music in Swahilli. Only in Kenya can you blast music in a national park, and worship God so freely and publicly :) 

On the matatu ride home (with 21 people), a little boy named Bernard was squished between Daisy and I. He was adorable, with a bright smile. His mom said they were coming from the hospital because he had cancer. He was only 12 and was an orphan. His mom was actually his teacher, who had taken him in, even though she had 4 other sons. It was so amazing to see his joy despite having cancer, and his thanks when we told him we would pray for him. He wants to grow up and be an artist, and loves drawing animals. Please pray his cancer goes away! The world needs his smile :) 

For dinner, my host dad is making his special dish: na ma choma, a lamb cooked a special way. We had it with ugali and veggies, and it was pretty good! Its interesting that lamb is one of the cheapest meats here.