Another fantastic experience yesterday in this country called Kenya. I met Amstrong, the founder of the Amstrong Development Network. The organization runs a few development projects around Kenya, all small-scale, locally owned and mostly locally funded. He drove me to one of the projects, a small orphanage outside Nairobi. Being stuck in traffic always spurs some interesting conversation. A slight man, he moved to Nairobi from Kisii to go to high school. He lived with his brother in one of the city’s slums.
The word “slum” is usually associated with poverty and a complete break-down of social structure. But, from his perspective, it is much the opposite: the poverty allows for a higher standard of living in relative terms. While the houses are decripit, inside, you will see TV sets, polished tables, clean floors, and comfortable couches. Though small, small rooms, there’s a means of making everything from nothing. I remember this from the internally displaced persons camps in Northern Uganda: you would walk into one of these seemingly destroyed huts and inside you would find immediate peace – from the hot sun, from the dust, from the hungry children.
In any case, Armstrong gave me a better understanding of the element of culture. The interdependence of slum life means that communities are tightly knit: he tells me that, in some ways, he would live back there if necessary. He opted moving when he had to start traveling outside Kenya and needed a more accessible place. But, he does not hesitate at describing the slums as a fascinating social structure, a “cool” means of living. At the same time, he tells me of the rape and beatings he witnessed. There’s gang life, though he managed to stay out of it.
As for those trying to improve their living standards, he says it is not to get out of the slums. It is more to live a sustainable life in the slums. Many slum dwellers start little market stalls, small restaurants or barber shops, he says, since these are services that everyone needs and that are not, in one sense, exhaustable. He says that no one from outside the slum could come and start these businesses, so there is a pre-made social network of those you grew up with.
As for “improving” the slums, it comes down to “improving” basic services. It’s not about the buildings or land. He points out that developers who make an attempt at providing “better” housing fail. UN Habitat came in to Kibera and attempted to improve the quality of living there by building new housing blocks. Rich people now live in them, and those who they were originally intended for, continue in their own communities.
As for the orphanage – it looked like a great place for these young children to grow up. Outdoor space, healthy meals (meat at lunch, vegetables and ugali at dinner), drawing and photographs on the walls. Most of the 22 children (mostly girls) come from a nearby slum and are picked by how poor their living conditions are. Most were living with temporary families; some had extended family who simply could not care for more children. Others had lost their families in the post-election violence.
The children themselves were briliant. There was a little Maasai girl called Willa who wanted to be an actress; others wanted to be pilots, doctors and journalists. Their strength and resolve was clear: they were eager, curious and vibrant. After mocking my Swahili, pulling my hair and rubbing my arms, we sat and sang songs (well, they sang). One little girl started singing about the violence “all the killings” soon to be followed by a church song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Perhaps I am getting old, but I find the generation following mine – the quite young of today – to be fascinating: their dreams and hopes are what we will be building on. Ensuring that we understand their desires and their goals is key in developing a better world. From the orphans pulled from Nairobi’s worst slums to my own little sister who finds herself with a wondeful family and a beautiful home near the ocean. And, understanding the impact the violence we engender has is even more important, as it might offer some more incentive to quell it.
