What a marked change from the tranquility of the tea farm this day would turn out to be.
Right after breakfast we again got onto the bus with our trusty driver James to head off to the Mathare slum area in anticipation of our visit to our first MCC project – a Global Family program called Menno Kids Academy.
We may have been a bit overwhelmed by the smells and the sounds along the way, but nothing would do it quite like the traffic. When I think of traffic, my mind takes me to moving vehicles. Not this morning. Instead, what we experienced en-route was a traffic snarl/jam. There was no movement anywhere. What had been a two lane road had somehow morphed into 5 lanes, and they weren’t all travelling in parallel directions. I think the message became very clear when Stephen (the owner of the tour company that operated the bus) asked us all to close our windows. This was not a safe area. And then when James asked Ron to put down his camera, the message became even clearer. How we got out of there was simply by God’s grace. The Kenyan sun sure packed a punch as we felt the temperatures inside the bus increase by the minute.
Could we survive living in an area like this? The congestion and noise reminded each one of us about how fortunate we were to have had the parents we had. Growing up in North America has protected us from having to live the way so much of the rest of the world lives. Experiencing this way of life can most definitely be eye opening.
In the end, the traffic did begin to move once more and before long we arrived at Menno Kids Academy.
Upon entering the compound gates Ron Ratzlaff introduced us to Enoch, the school’s head master. He made us feel most welcome.
It would not be long before the children would be dismissed from the class they were currently in. We did not realize how the still atmosphere could change so quickly. The next few hours could very well be described as overwhelming – and in different ways. The children attending the school come from very poor families. Looking at them was really looking poverty in the face.
But the other part of the feeling of being overwhelmed came from observing the teaching staff and the WASH promoters. The sense of commitment and intentionality by the educators was awe inspiring. One got a quick sense that there was something really special going on here. The turnover of the teachers was very low. Most had been there for a long time.
A special part of this program is their focus on WASH. Over the past year Global Family has helped Menno Kids Academy pilot a program that provides education in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene.
SODIS (solar disinfection of water by the sun’s UV rays) together with an emphasis on hand washing techniques and access to toilet facilities have done much to reduce the number of missed school days due to illness caused by water borne parasites.
As a side benefit, families now also need to spend less on medication, making more of their scarce funds available for food and school fees. Everyone wins. What a wonderful thing! And the WASH system cannot be contained. Others in the community are also interested and as a result we are witnessing the beginnings of a community in transformation.
Before we left Menno Kids we were invited to share a meal with them. This was our first foray into traditional Kenyan food – ugali (cooked cornmeal paste) and sukuma wiki (cooked greens – kale). This is truly food that helps stretch their budgets, helping them make it to the end of their month.
We left Menno Kids Academy in early to mid-afternoon and headed off for Kola in the Machakos district. Our destination was to visit the sand dams being built by Utooni Development Organization. Again we were overwhelmed by the beauty of the area. The terraces along the road made us realize the work that had gone into helping make this dry area into productive farmland.
Our arrival found a group of UDO (Utooni Development Organization) employees waiting patiently for us. They treated us to a soda which was followed by introductions as well as a bit of an explanation of what each one of them did. It was obvious that Joshua Mukusya had left a big hole in the organization after his murder, but they were also most committed to continuing on and fulfilling the goals that had been set out prior to his death. As with the teachers at Menno Kids, we were impressed with their intentionality and clarity of purpose. Their commitment will continue to move them forward.
After being served a delicious supper, we were intrigued with our first night in the countryside. Without the lights of the city, the night was dark. The quiet of the land was rustled only by the discreet laughter of those playing cards prior to heading off into a deep sleep.
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