One at a time

I thought that instead of trying to sum up my entire Kenya trip, I would post just one or two pictures at a time and tell you a little bit about them. I will say it was an awesome time and it is hard to not get all wrapped up in the excitement of what God is doing in the lives of people in Mathare. The valley is transforming as the lives of people are turned completely around. Their vision is to transform the valley into a Mountain of God by transforming one life at a time.


Mathare is one of the older slums in Africa. The slum covers about 2 kilometers of land and houses somewhere around 500,000 residents. This particular slum has been avoided for years because it has been known for its high violent crime rates, alcoholism, and drug use. People were afraid to enter. It was not even safe to walk in broad daylight as thieves would steal clothes, shoes, money, and jewelry directly off a person's body.


The average "house" is 10 feet square and houses an average of 10 people per home. The shack is divided in half usually by a bed sheet hung from the ceiling. The back half of the house then becomes the bedroom and the front a sitting room/kitchen/dining area. The walls and roof are constructed from rusty corrugated tin that has been discarded. As the area can generally hold only one bed, maybe two, many family members are forced to sleep on the floor.
The Nairobi River runs through the center of the slum carrying with it garbage and waste. The people use this water for laundry, some cooking, and brewing an illegal alcoholic drink called 'changaa'. There are very few toilets available to the residents, and those that are available require payment. Since people can barely afford to eat, let alone pay for toilet usage, this adds human waste to the list of pollutants in the river. Children are so fearful of leaving the houses at night that they often just urinate on the dirt floor of their home.

Children are often found wandering the streets because the local schools are overcrowded or families cannot afford the school fees required. Many children become addicted to sniffing glue as a means of escape. Thus the cycle of poverty, corruption, crime, and addiction is perpetuated.

As glum as this picture may sound, it is surprising to find laughter in the streets. The resilience of this population is astounding! Many of these people have been given opportunities to leave this area for a better life. Shockingly, many choose to stay. So the question becomes how to change the mentality of the people who choose to live in Mathare.

Rather than encouraging them to leave the community, the challenge has become to encourage them to transform the Mathare valley into a more desirable community. Generations have learned patterns of crime and poverty and breaking the cycle is difficult at best. The best chance is education. Educate the next generation to take pride in their village, to take ownership and think beyond the immediate circumstances. It is also important to provide opportunities for the current generation in business, community transformation, and hygiene. Then to hope that in ten years the trends will begin to turn the tide of this area from a crime-ridden slum to a Mountain of God.