Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Tuesday 16 May

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Tuesday 16 May: "A lesson learnt, or two Every day in Kenya is different. Today is one of those days. Most importantly, I (re-)learn what could proba..."

Tuesday 16 May

A lesson learnt, or two

Every day in Kenya is different.  Today is one of those days.  Most importantly, I (re-)learn what could probably be my two most important lessons to date –  (a) In development work grassroots organisations know what is best for their beneficiaries, and (b) even if I have different views, there’s a good reason for the status quo and it works.   So, while I may think that I have great organisational skills, creative ideas, etc, etc,  it does not automatically make my ideas and way of working right.  What is important is an understanding of the dynamics of the community, the relationships built within it, the social and economic context.  I should know this from my community development background, but being in the middle of it, and in some ways being an outsider, leaves me facing some hard facts of development work.  The fact of it is that some delivery methods of services may seem very unusual not only to those of us who are used to the developed world’s fast pace of life, and well laid out plans, etc, but even to those of us who grew up in parts of Africa where we had better opportunities than most.   So while some delivery methods in grassroots development may seem unconventional, underneath it all there is a logic to it, and a process.  It gets there in the end and with amazing results.    

Preparing for the community forum

So here’s my story.  This morning we are holding a community forum on women’s rights.  Our target is 100 women in Kibera.  Lillian is in charge of awareness-raising of human rights and therefore in charge of today’s event.  At the staff meeting yesterday and last week we have covered all that is needed to be done for the session today.  All staff have roles and responsibilities to assist with the community forum this morning.  

The venue and other options

Needless to say, things do not exactly get off to a great start.  First, the venue we are supposed to be using has not been cleaned and registration begins in an hour.    Cleaning this venue and its surroundings is no mean task.  The space itself where the forum will be held can be dusted, swept, benches arranged, posters put up, etc in no time.  The problem is the surroundings.   There’s sewage strewn everywhere as one approaches the venue.  The venue is directly behind our office.  The only access to it is right next to our own office, and there’s a heap of rubbish that’s been ‘growing’ over the last week or so.  The open gutters around the venue are clogged with stagnant water and even more sewage.  It really is disgusting and the stench emanating from the gutters is enough to make one sick if inhaled constantly for longer than ‘necessary’.   Now Kibera is full of stench like this as one walks through but with time it becomes more of a waft than a constant.   The difference between wafts and today is that the small corridor that leads into the room to be used for the forum also has an open gutter that has collected stagnant water and sewage from the gutters outside where the drainage is clogged.  So the stench has found its way inside.   To clean the gutters will take time unless we enlist the services of some young men and pay them for it.  

At this moment I cannot see how we can hold a seminar here in its current state.  Lillian tells me that Julie booked another place the night before.   This venue is about 10 minutes away.   She convinces me that it’s a better venue than this one, it is ‘locally serviced’ and therefore clean, it is stocked with enough benches and the payment rate is the same as this place.  I think this is a good idea.  I’m excited about it and I call Julie to talk with her about this.   However, she seems adamant that we use this place behind our office as (a) it’s closer and (b) she has a good relationship with the owner of the venue.  I’m not convinced.  I go with Lillian to see this other venue so that I can make my own assessment of the situation.  When I see it there is no doubt in my mind that this is the place to use.  I call Julie for the third time this morning to get my point across in the hope of convincing her.  She’s still very adamant - she says that once the other venue is cleaned it will be good to use.  I feel really frustrated now and a little irritated with the situation.  I can be very stubborn and in my mind at this moment, with registration time fast approaching, I cannot see beyond the clogged drains and the stench.   We have funders attending this event and I also feel that we will be judged not only on our delivery of the session, but also on our preparation, organisation, surroundings etc.   Despite my inability to see beyond this, in as much as I may not agree with Julie, she is my boss and I won’t disrespect her wishes and her instructions.  So we head back to the office to sort out the original venue.  

Doing as I’m told and cleaning up

We solicit the help of some local guys who work across from us to unclog the drains and clean the gutter and surrounding areas for a small fee.  I help fetch water and dust the venue, arrange benches, and then put posters up as well as flipcharts to be used for the session.  In the meantime, women from the community are trickling in.  Despite the non-starter this morning, by 10am the surroundings have been cleaned, the room organised.  It’s almost full with women and we are ready to start and we are on time!  Over the next two hours of the session, more women stream in, until there’s not enough space inside and some participate by looking in through the windows and by standing in the doorway.  We targeted 100 women – our registration sheets show that we have at least 120 women.  

Community forum on women’s rights

The session itself is educative, interactive and very well delivered.   Lillian and Jane lead the discussions with a lot of input from the women and from the lawyers who are representing our funders and their technical partners.  Most of the session is in Kiswahili but Rispa, another paralegal, translates for me.  Some of it I can understand judging from the excitement in the room.  They talk about everything – from the rights of women in intimate relationships, to the responsibilities of family men, to inheritance rights of women should their partners pass away, etc etc.  Their questions are direct and to the point and are enough to make most men shy away.  In as much as some of the discussions cause ripples of laughter, amusement and excitement, the related questions are some of the most important ones.  Most of these women have been affected by HIV/AIDs in some way and just by living in the slum where there is a high population of people living with the virus, they are more at risk of being infected.  If I had my doubts about sessions like these, I can now see how useful this is for them.  At the very least, it’s a safe space to discuss issues that they wouldn’t otherwise discuss elsewhere; it’s a space to get answers on how to approach domestic issues, etc; a safe space to get answers on what to do and where to go should one feel that their rights have been abused, for example.  There are lawyers present here today who are from organisations that provide free representation to women like these.  There’s so much support for them, and one can only hope that the knowledge they gain here is enough to empower them.  I think sessions like these if carried out on a more regular basis could have long-lasting effects and make more of an impact.

We finish the seminar on time at 12 and afterwards each of the women is given a packet of milk.  It’s been a very good session. I’m impressed with Lillian’s approach to it and with her delivery also.  The beneficiaries seem to think so themselves as they confirm that their expectations have been met to a large extent.  

On reflection ...

At some point during the session, bearing in mind the drama of the morning, it dawns on me that the seminar is going very well, that the venue is OK, that there is no stench as I’d thought before etc etc.   After the seminar, I am told that the funders were very impressed with the content of the session, with the delivery, with the venue, with how organised we were and with the turnout.  I’m impressed.   The other staff – Lillian, Ayub and Julie – all say thank you to me for a wonderful job.  Honestly, I do not feel that the success of the forum is down to me and I tell them I cannot take the credit for it.  I think they all pulled together well, and Lillian was well prepared with her delivery.   She deserves most, if not all, of the credit for the success of the event.  I may have enabled them in terms of preparation and covering all the basics but the delivery I feel has barely anything to do with me.  My theory is that capacity building is only possible where there is some sort of foundation - it’s just a matter of getting the most out of it / people and that’s what I hope I’m doing.  I make sure to let the staff know what a great job they have done.

‘This is the way things are done here’ ... and it works

On a personal note, and for my own learning, Julie was right about the venue.  Once we had cleaned it up it was all OK and it worked.  We even managed to start on time, something we would not have achieved had we changed the venue at the last minute as we would have had to inform participants and guide them to the new venue.  My assessment of the situation was certainly off the mark and my solution to it, while acceptable, was not appropriate within the context.  I apologise to Julie for coming across rather irritable on the phone earlier.  She’s OK with it. She understands where I’m coming from and apologises for not being able to communicate better her own thoughts on the situation.  She says to me that while she thinks I may have been right in my assessment of the situation in some way, ‘this is the way things are done here’.  

For me, it’s a shift in attitude, one I did not see coming.  I come away from this experience feeling I have learnt more in one day than in the six or seven weeks I’ve been here.

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Monday 15 May

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Monday 15 May: "An unusual day Today is another first. I wake up feeling rather low. I believe it is one of the few times during my time here that I ..."

Monday 15 May

An unusual day

Today is another first.  I wake up feeling rather low.  I believe it is one of the few times during my time here that I will feel like this.  As the day progresses, everything seems challenging and all things negative jump out at me.  I feel pressured.  I feel I am seeing little results for the effort I’m putting into my work here.  Recently, I also spent time negotiating a relationship between my organisation and a local (profit-making) link.  But local politics in relationships here is rife, and this week it seems that Julie has changed her mind about developing any sort of beneficial links with this local body.  This is one of the challenges that I have to deal with – local politics and local relationships – and as frustrating as it is I can only work with what I’m given.

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Saturday 14 May 2011

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Saturday 14 May 2011: "Reflecting, reviewing and making changes This week has been busy, full of new strategies and one of reflection. Once again I’m behind ..."

Saturday 14 May 2011

Reflecting, reviewing and making changes

This week has been busy, full of new strategies and one of reflection.  Once again I’m behind on my blogs as I have had so much to do.  My host mother is also not back until the end of next week as her new job seems to be very busy.   

This week I implement a different strategy to manage work in the office as I need time to work on fundraising.  I have spent most of my first month here devising different ways of project managing the current work programme.  Staff are now in the habit of developing weekly workplans and producing weekly achievements.  I have now gone from discussing these individually to managing this during weekly staff meetings which we implemented on Monday.   

The right way forward, I hope

Thus I now have more time to work on fundraising and I spend most of the week researching on local and international funders.  I identify an opportunity to approach a funder with a micro finance (MF) proposal and I realise that I will need to develop an MF proposal to get this going.  The MF scheme has been researched into and training materials developed within the organisation – thanks to the last international volunteer.  What remains is a proposal to guide implementation.  I do a quick read through of what MF is all about and how to develop an MF proposal and find out that I will need to dedicate and set aside 3 to 5 weeks for this.  Looks like I will need to work on engaging a few funders in the meantime and begin to build some key relationships for the organisation. I know how imperative this is and in my opinion, this organisation needs a long term funder who’s committed to seeing the organisation grow and support beneficiaries on a more sustainable basis.   I plan on making contact with a few potential funders, by the end of this month, and to begin engaging with them.  It seems to me that for a small organisation like this one, building such relationships while developing applications as well as linking up with one’s own personal contacts is probably the better way forward (as opposed to submitting ‘cold’ applications).  

Although I still have the majority of my four and a half months here I’m already beginning to feel like I don’t have much time left.  This organisation has done a lot of work within the community and deserves a boost and I am determined to do as much as I can.   

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Tuesday 10 May

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Tuesday 10 May: "More on young aspirations in Kibera I bump into Ola whom I met on the tour on Sunday. She’s a Polish girl living in London and currently d..."

Tuesday 10 May

More on young aspirations in Kibera

I bump into Ola whom I met on the tour on Sunday.  She’s a Polish girl living in London and currently doing research on slum tourism here in Nairobi.  She’s with Sandy whom I mentioned in my blog of Sunday 8 May, one of the guys who runs http://explorekibera.com.  Sandy is another impressive young guy.  He’s not only involved in the tour company but is also part of a community youth group in Kibera as well as an online media group called Voice of Kibera http://voiceofkibera.org.  I am still so intrigued about slum tourism and its relation to development that I ask him so many questions.   I’m not sure how it can help communities as a whole unless it’s designed in that way.  Guys like him are also trying to make a living so it’s understandable that all the profit of a business such as this should go into their own pockets.  However, that is not entirely the case.  Similar to Frank’s Kibera Tours, Sandy tells me that their tour includes introducing tourists to at least 3 development projects – these include the community youth group that he’s a part of, Voice of Kibera and the Kigulu HIV/AIDS orphanage.  Apart from this, they have also supported these groups with a little funding from the profits made from the slum tour.  Sandy has aspirations of his own too.  He has lived in Kibera for 7 years having come from upcountry.  For him it’s a journey.   He’s happy with where he lives but it’s not the end for him.  One day when he has a family of his own, he says he will be ready to move elsewhere.  For now, he’s pursuing his career and enjoying his work with Voice of Kibera and Explore Kibera.  He’s involved in media training through his involvement with Voice of Kibera.  

We talk about the level of poverty that exists in Kibera as well as the attitude among some of receiving free handouts from well wishers.  He is of the opinion that people should not get things for free but should realise that they are also capable of making a contribution however small.  I find him to be such an inspiration, even to me.  For the second time this week, I see Kibera as one big melting pot.  It is a community of people from all walks of life, with different upbringing, different education levels, different aspirations and even different reasons for living in the slum.  This is a big learning curve for me as like most people I tend to tag all slum residents with the same (often preconceived) brush.  Sandy, and Frank from the tour on Saturday, are really inspiring.   I think he would be such an inspiration to the local staff I work with and I invite him to visit us in the future.  

From young aspirations in Kibera to old leaders in Africa

Later in the news that evening, there is more on Libya – a few days ago Qaddafi’s son and grandchildren were killed in NATO air raids.  It’s a real shame and in as much as I think he’s another heartless dictator I still feel sorry for him – as far as justice goes does he really deserve to lose his family, in particular his grandchildren? But then again this would not have happened had he stepped down.  Also in Uganda, there is more on Museveni  using security forces to quell demonstrators and to clamp down on the opposition.  Nowhere cool in Africa (!)

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Sunday 8 May

Living in Nairobi, working in Kibera: Sunday 8 May: "Slum tourism On Friday, I find out about slum tourism in the most random way. Eyrun and I bump into a German guy carrying out resear..."

Sunday 8 May

Slum tourism

On Friday, I find out about slum tourism in the most random way.  Eyrun and I bump into a German guy carrying out research in slum tourism.  Now I thought I was familiar with all terminologies and different types of development work.  But slum tourism is one I’ve never heard of, and I am very surprised and intrigued by the concept.  Initially I find it hilarious as I think it must be some random activity carried out by locals when they want to make a bit of money.  But then, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me.  Had I not been working in Kibera slums, I doubt I would ever have thought of going there even briefly.  Were I a tourist in Kenya or anywhere else in the world I wouldn’t think about visiting a slum, at least not on my own.  But given that it’s very different from what most people in developed countries in particular have seen, there is a certain attraction.  With publicity given to slums such as Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day filming in Kibera, it certainly raises the curiosity of the viewer and therefore generates interest in seeing a place like this.  And what better and safer way to do it than through tour guides.  So, after a short conversation with Dom, and with our interests piqued, we agree to give short interviews for his documentary / research in exchange for a free tour of Kibera which he promises to invite us on soon.    

Touring Kibera – the walk

The tour is today.  We meet Dom and a party of 10 or so other people at Java, Adam’s Arcade at 2pm.  Finally at about 2.30pm, with our tour guide ahead, and a couple of his local Kiberan mates for security, we set off for Kibera slums.  Now I work in Kibera but our office is situated on the edges of the slum and it is not particularly safe to make lone trips into the heart of Kibera.  I have walked in and around some parts of it but accompanied by local staff.  Kibera is huge and I doubt that in the time I’m here I’ll get the chance to cover all of the 2.5 square kilometres it covers.  So the chance to see more of it is very intriguing.  The tour turns out to be by far one of the most interesting things I’ve done here in Nairobi to date.  It’s been raining a lot in the last few days and we are taken through what seems to be the muddiest, slummiest routes.  We walk through a combination of market places and mud houses in Kibera.  After what seems like a long walk through ‘Karanja’ and ‘42’ villages in Kibera we find ourselves along the railway lines which run through Kibera.  

Touring Kibera – high-rise flats in Kibera

On the other side of the railway lines are government built high-rise flats for re-housing residents of Kibera.  We are told that the rent per month for a flat here is Ksh3000 (approx £21).  Now, here’s the interesting part.  Kiberan residents who were re-housed here chose to move back to the slums for one of, or a combination of, two key reasons – (a) that they could not afford the monthly rent and did not think they could generate that income;  (b) some of them felt that they would lose out on handouts given and free services offered by NGOs to residents of Kibera.  A significant number chose to rent these flats out to outsiders, ie non-Kibera residents.  I find this piece of information both incredible and logical at the same time. 

Touring Kibera – ‘recycling’ human waste

Next, we are taken to a bio savers center which is very unusual but is creative and logical.  These are established public toilets, bathrooms and a kitchen all in the one place.  They are built as round houses with toilets and bathrooms on the ground floor, and a space for holding parties and functions on the first floor.  The loos are what I call ‘sophisticated’ pit latrines (ie they are tiled and are designed with raised platforms on both sides of the ‘pit’ to avoid, you know ..., splashing).  All the waste from the latrines and the bathroom are collected underground.  Energy is then generated from the waste underground and then ‘recycled’ as gas and channelled into gas cylinders for cooking in a kitchen located right in the middle of the loos and bathrooms.  I think it’s a brilliant idea and this is what recycling is all about (if you can call the usage of human waste that).  But, the stench is almost unbearable and I’m actually not sure whether it’s from the loos alone or whether it’s also the energy channelled out from the waste into gas?  I wonder if it may not have been better to have the kitchen situated outside of the roundhouse away from the loos and bathrooms and channelled in some way?  Families who can afford to do so, pay Ksh100 (less than £1) a month for unlimited use of these services.  Now, I’m not a scientifically-minded person so I may not have described the use of bio energy accurately but if anyone wants to understand how this works, there’s more information here.  

Touring Kibera – stunning views, the good and the bad

To the east of the railways, and for the first time ever,  I notice the beauty of Kibera.  There’s a stretch of nature that is forest green and looks like it has its own life, if that makes sense.  I would never have thought that Kibera was scenic but this really is stunning.  Next, we walk along the railway lines (mind you, these railway lines are used – a train comes through twice everyday!) to a bead-making factory where beads are made from animal bones.  It is quite fascinating as we are told how animal bones transform into beads for jewellery.  Our third stop is a pre-school where children here are cared for by the female teacher who runs it.  The pre-school of 25 children is solely dependent on charity, provided by well-wishers and churches whom she approaches at the weekend.  Basically, she has to work 7 days a week to run this school.  It’s an interesting initiative and she’s an incredible woman for giving her time to do this ... but I’m not sure I agree with her approach of living on charity herself as she’s a trained teacher, but then it’s never that simple.  Our final stop is Masai Mbili, an art studio with paintings by local artists from Kibera.  They talk us through how they started the studio, with the help of a Westerner, and how they have come a long way to being self-sustainable.  Some of these artists, through their work, have been exposed to life outside of Kibera, and outside of Kenya – it’s incredible how a little support for people with a drive can go a long way.  

Touring and exploring Kibera – aspirations of young people

Part of this tour also includes a stop at the tour guide’s house in Kibera, also a mud house that he’s very proud of.  It’s more spacious than most houses I’ve seen here in Kibera and he even manages to squeeze at least 10 of us inside.  He offers us sodas which is very generous of him.  He then tells us about his tour company, how he started it, how he carried out the research into what kinds of things tourists might be interested in, etc etc.  Now, given that slum tourism is a whole new world to me I’m very impressed at the thoroughness the tour guide has attached to this.  I realise how much I had underestimated tourism industry in the slums.   Later, I check out the website http://kiberatours.com/ and it is just as impressive.  Again, I see a different side to residents of Kibera – there are those struggling to survive like some of the women I’ve met who go out daily to look for casual work and struggle to provide one meal a day for their families, and then there are those like Frank, a young guy in Kibera, who have found a niche in the slum market and are using it to their advantage.    A few days later, I meet another young tour guide with another slum tour company, Sandy  http://explorekibera.com/.  Again, I’m blown away by his drive and enthusiasm and the thorough approach to the service provided.  In both cases, I am intrigued to find out more about how they see development in relation to slum tourism.   It is heart-warming to see that both companies have some kind of development support at the heart of their service, either through promoting development initiatives like the pre-school I mentioned earlier, or exposing income-generating activities like the animal bone beadmakers to a larger clientele (between the 15 of us on the tour we must have bought at least Ksh1500 worth of jewellery, which is good money here).  

Slum tourism and development

Finally, my own views on slum tourism?  It generates profit for those who have the drive to establish and run them, and like all profit-making initiatives it’s no bad thing.  Even better in this case, most of the guys who run them live in Kibera themselves and are looking to better their lives.  In addition, unlike most profit-making organisations, it probably has more of an obvious ability to contribute greatly to development but I think in this context that would need creativity and support from a higher authority like the city council or the government.   Slum tourism researchers like Dom and Ola, whom I met on the walk, as well as NGOs based in Kibera will no doubt have a lot more creative ideas on this topic than I could possibly come up with.