Be The Hero - Sundays in Kibera

The next post in our series of “Be The Hero In Your Own Story” is courtesy of Jacque Ndinda who has been volunteering at our Kibera Mpira Mtaani project.

Sundays in Kibera

I am a Christian, and Sometimes I do question God and the original plan he had for us. What! To sit in a garden and eat fruits all day? Naked? Worshipping Him in the density of floweriness, succulence, greenness and forever ever freshness of a garden? How perfectly boring is that? What a suffocation in goodness. I prefer the second plan. The one that made us human beings who trip and fall; that love and hate; that have and lack; that live and die; that laugh and cry. The availability of an opposite for me brings meaning to life. It balances it. Not to have a coin today, and to have it tomorrow... where I value having or not having...because I know how each one of them tastes. These are lessons I have learned and questions I have asked myself from my latest Sunday obsession.

Over the past couple of weeks, a few of us have had an opportunity to spend tremendous time with children of Kibera. As I blogged earlier here, children from Kibera Mpira Mtaani have taught me lessons; in small and big ways...Lessons I have not been able to get in any of the ‘unstructurally’ structured education system in our country. Probably what stands as the biggest lesson for me is the beauty of the small things that we have in life; and how much appreciative we must be for having just that. What I’m I talking about? Let us go back to the beginning.

James Wamathai and Kirsty from Vision Africa approached a few of us with the passion in writing, asking us to help in sharing our knowledge with children at the Kibera Mpira Mtaani which provides room for extra tuition in the evenings and over the weekends for kids in the locale. Together with @Mumbi_, @wamathai @woozie_m @soul_fool , @Oh_lly , @ifortknox, @mahebob, and @mkamboi we have since then found our Sunday afternoon haven. I seem to have forgotten what I used to do with my Sunday afternoons because Mpira Mtaani is slowly becoming a part of me. There is something in these children that makes you want to sit down with them for hours and just talk. Sometimes I feel like they have been around longer than I have been. I have received my education; I have my degree, but sometimes I feel like they are there to patch in torn parts in me- to put together pieces in me that have been left roughed up and jumbled. With each Sunday, as I give a lesson or share an experience, one is given back to me. Thus, I learn as they learn.

Most of these kids do not even know the difference between English and Dholuo, which is the dominant language in Kibera. I remember this past Sunday asking the younger ones in the group what ‘mbuzi’ (goat) is in English and they all went ‘dhiang’ in chorus! 8-year-old kids cannot spell A to Z. Most keep mixing them up with the numericals. However, despite the questionable and levels education in Kibera and the sluggish state of learning, there is a beauty that I find there every 3 pm on Sundays.

Usually, the kids are divided into groups depending on their ages, and one or two volunteers take care of one group. We try as much as possible to make the sessions informal; trying to make them comfortable, and to have them trust us, without which nothing will eventually be achieved. Even though the original idea was to teach the kids ‘the art of writing’, the focus has with time changed and is incorporating things like guidance and counselling. This is after the realisation that these kids need more than just being able to hold a pen and write a verse. They need to be taught of self-love...to clear the ‘I come from a slum’ mentality; which I realised is something that they use as a baseline thus putting themselves down and limiting their potential. I remember one of the girls telling me “you know I come from a slum so I can’t...” I stared at her in awe. Looking at the world from such a squeezed eye really does not do much in making successful people out of them.

They need sex education too. One of the most defining moments for me in all of the visits was a day I had lost my voice and because I could not talk much, I let them tell stories. It was surprising how much they know about sex, and how crooked their knowledge is on the topic. In class 6, this girl told me of a situation where girls have to ‘give it up’ because the boys give them money ( Sasa Ukikataa kufanya hivo, na akikuchapa? (“If you refuse to do that, you will be beaten?”) Her exact words). What made it defining is because of the depths they managed to open up and through my dysphonic state at the time, I was still able to whisper a word or two to them. In the process I realised that they need questions answered . Questions like why Atieno, a former classmate, was shot while peacefully sleeping in her bed during the Post Election Violence of 2007. They need to know what to do when mum says that there aren’t any more school days because she needs to start hawking peanuts to earn the family an extra cash...or what to do when the neighbour’s husband starts feeling her growing boobs. A boy in there needs to understand that just because his father beats up his mum every day doesn’t mean that he has to grow up to be that way. Questions. Answers.

I have a lot to say about children from Kibera Mpira Mtaani. I cannot call this my experience. I have many experiences that cannot fit into one post.

P.S In case you are interested in joining the group during any of your free Sundays, we meet at 2pm and all the sessions are always through by 5pm. For more information, you can contact @Wamathai or @VisionAfrica on Twitter or Vision Africa on Facebook.

If you are inspired by Jacque’s story, are in Nairobi and would like to be a hero yourself, we are organising a visit to Kibera on the 14th May along with @Diasporadical and @AKenyanGirl . This will be an opportunity to learn from the community what the challenges are that they face on a daily basis and to find practical ways to help. One of the objectives of the day is to find mentors for children and youths in Kibera. As you can see from Jacque’s story, these youngsters can benefit greatly from having people to talk to, to help them explore their creative talents and to inspire them to go on to live brighter futures. If you would like to join us on the 14th May, please contact us by Wednesday 11th May.