We decided to walk through Jamhuri Estates which is the equivalent of a subdivision. We had to ask for help to navigate our way to the fairgrounds and two ladies volunteered to help show us the way. Another woman joined us later along our way but when we arrived at the Show, she tried telling us that since she "helped" get us to the Show we had to pay the 200 KSH admission fee. This kind of thing happens to us a lot where people are eager to help but then expect payment just because we're white and are assumed to be wealthy.
When we got there, we found one of our fellow MSID students who works with an orphanage in Kibera Slum. She helped organize a trip for about 50 of the kids to come to the Show so we all volunteered to help bring the kids around for the day. They told all of the kids to grab the hand of the nearest mzungu (white person). I ended up walking with a little boy named Michael who was about 4 years old. He was pretty small so he walked very slowly. I ended up carrying him on my shoulders for the majority of the afternoon. The Show was very very crowded and there were a lot of school groups. Many of the schools give the students the day off in order to attend the Show.
We stopped at the stadium and watched some of the dramatic performances for awhile. None of us white students understood the plots of any of them, but the kids all seemed to really like them. We ended up buying all 50 of the kids ice cream which turned into a pretty funny ordeal. White people passing out free ice cream definitely attracted the attention of just about everyone around us.
After watching the performances, we took the kids to see all of the different animals. We saw sheep, goats, cows, pigs, chickens, and even camels. The kids seemed to really enjoy it. It started to rain so we walked all of the kids back to Kibera. One of the girls in the program had made friends with one of the girls from the orphanage. They found out that they were the same shoe size and the girl from the orphanage had been walking around all day at the Show in a pair of high heels. She told us that the heels were here only pair of shoes besides her school shoes. The student with the same shoe size traded shoes with her for the walk home. It was interesting to see the student reflect on this experience as she put into life the saying to "walk a mile in another person's shoes." In this case, she walked several miles in a pair of high heels that belonged to an orphan girl from Kibera. The student vowed to return to Kibera during her time in Nairobi to bring this particular girl a new pair of shoes.
Spending time with these kids was a really good experience. Granted Michael who I spent the afternoon with gave me his cold, I really enjoyed spending time with them. During my initial visit to the orphanage, I played soccer with several of the boys and since the Show I have come back to visit with the boys one other time. For many of these kids, the only opportunity they have to leave the orphanage is through the activities organized by my fellow MSID student. It's been great to see other U.S. students get involved in volunteering with the orphanage.
Several people have told me that they would like to make a donation to something in Kenya. About 80 kids reside in the orphanage, several of which are HIV positive. Most beds are shared by 2-3 children. Over 200 kids attend primary school classes in the orphanage. The orphanage works to pay the school fees for the older kids to attend secondary school. The orphanage is also currently sponsoring one girl to attend university. The goal is for each child in the orphanage to graduate from the university. This place gives these children a chance that they normally would never have.
I would really appreciate if anyone could support the work of this great place.
Tunza Children Centre Kibera
c/o Diminah Khasiala
P.O. Box 7164-00200
Nairobi, Kenya
tunzachildrenscentre@yahoo.com
c/o Diminah Khasiala
P.O. Box 7164-00200
Nairobi, Kenya
tunzachildrenscentre@yahoo.com
2 comments:
keep writing cuz i'm reading! love the stories. what's the strangest thing you've eaten? what's the bathrooms like when you go out on trips?
I went to Carnivore which is a game restaurant and ate ostrich and crocodile. The ostrich was really good but the crocodile tasted fishy and had a lot of small bones.
The bathrooms vary in different places. They are usually a porcelin hole in the ground where you have to squat. It definitely requires some balance and coordination
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