And so we meet again

After two days of traveling we have finally made it to the other side of the world. Other than some sleep deprivation and small motion sickness we all arrived safely a few minutes before midnight on Monday. As soon as we stepped off the plane I knew I was back in Kenya. The smell is something that cannot be repeated anywhere else. It is something you cannot capture...or ever really want to reproduce. We jammed our luggage into our van and headed to the Kibera slums. Last time I was here Jamey eased me into the lifestyle of Kenya…not this time. We are staying in the middle of the slums. If you’ve ever seen Slumdog Millionaire you might have a small idea of the type of area we are staying in. Luckily it was the middle of the night and no one could see anything.

After a restful night in a real bed we woke up much more rested and ready for adventure. Jamey and his friends, George and Shadrack, took us on a walking tour of Kibera. Even though I saw Kibera that last time I was here, I was only exposed for a small time and mostly by car. This was an up-close and personal view of the slums. It was unbelievable. The smell is overwhelming….changing from rotting fish, to rotting trash, to the worst bathroom smell you could ever imagine. It consumes you and cannot be escaped. But, even though the conditions seem unlivable, millions of people (many of which are children) live in Kibera. I never once felt scared or worried about my safety. Children coming home from school would shout “Hi, how are you?” as we walked by..wanting to be acknowledged by a mazungu (white person).

We ate a traditional lunch of Ugali, beef stew, and greens and then headed to an Acrobatic show by Kibera Fruitful youth. This organization is working within Kibera to help children, specifically orphans, to be empowered to live productive lives. Their show was amazing. They did many tricks and had amazing talents. Their show took place in their school which doubles as a school during the day and holds three classes together each day. They were learning addition and their numbers. They had two chalkboards and a number poster on the wall…definitely not the decorated classrooms like we have.

I think the youth of Kenya has really taken an interest in reinvigorating Kenya. It is great to see so many young people wanting to create a great nation within Kenya. They are working hard to bring about peace within the tribes and work together to make Kenya thrive.

Tomorrow we will be spending the day at the market and then downtown. We will be heading to Narok soon and then into the Maasai Mara.