Our Two Days in the Mathare Slum

Monday, Marg, Gabi, and Carey experienced for themselves what the rest of us could not adequately express. Mathare Slum - its children, its industry, its poverty, its spirit, its ugliness, its beauty, its smells, its colours, its hopelessness, its optimism - will haunt the hearts and minds of all who enter there.

After a slow progress through narrow, muddy, garbage-lined streets, we reached the Mathare Community Outreach compound where we were greeted by Rodgers, our main contact and Magdalene and Bishop Daniel, the founders and leaders of the Centre. After introductions, Rodgers and Magdalene accompanied us by van to Mathare Orphanage where we toured the dorms and visited the classrooms. We’ll let the photographs speak for themselves.

Our visit continued with more classroom visits at two other schools where we met more teachers and students and were entertained by the school dance group, who have placed first in county competition.

Dance Group

Drummer

Lunch

We set off early the next day with the intent of arriving by 9:30, but the traffic gods were conspiring against us. Between the police stopping us to check our driver’s documents (all in order, of course) and a fallen tree that blocked a major road, we didn’t arrive until almost 10:30. We were greeted and quickly settled into the classrooms we had chosen to teach in for the morning.

Holly and Sheree spent an hour with Form One (gr. 9) doing a Geography lesson comparing Canada and Kenya. Photos of our snow-piled driveways, street hockey, autumn in Hiawatha, and snowblowers were shared, and they had a look at our money. While we compared geographic data, the most interesting discussion arose with regard to roles in marriage. Students and teachers were shocked to learn that a woman could be older than her husband. They were interested to hear that men often take care of their children and that women and men generally share tasks and decision making. Before they left Holly and Sheree handed out the pencil cases sewn and filled by four girls from Korah Collegiate. The kids were so grateful, as were their teachers when we left with them a map of the World and a small Dollarama globe which all the classes will share.

Jeannine and Gabi taught a very large grades 7/8 group a lesson on sexuality. They talked about female and male puberty, taking care of our bodies, respect for ours and others’ bodies, and reproduction. They and the students talked about different kinds of love - family, friends, elders, and spouses. They discussed how we show love to others and what signs of real love might be. The kids related very well to St.Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13 as a guideline reading signs of love going right or wrong. Some dramatization to illustrate how to resist pressure and a few simple self defence moves finished the lesson.

Marg began her presentation to a large grades 4/5 group (40+ children) by sharing her “bucket-filling philosophy”: All of us carries a bucket through our lives. When we hear kind words and encouragement, our bucket fills up; so too does the bucket of the person who delivers the kindness. In the same way, cruelty causes us to spill our buckets, both when we are the deliverers or receivers of the unkind words; in fact, bullies often have empty buckets. So, we must ask ourselves whether today we are filling or dipping into each other’s buckets.

Next, Marg invited the kids to help add to the supports of the pen pal bridge she and Carey are building between Kenyan students and students in Sault Ste. Marie at St. Basil’s Elementary and Northern Heights Public School (over 400 kids will be crossing the bridge). Each student wrote down five things about themselves and five things they want to know about Canada and signed their work and had their picture taken so the Canadian kids can meet them. To wind it all up, Marg taught them a song: “Our Brain is So Very Important.” She was so excited by their response, she couldn’t tear herself away, and we had to send out a search party to drag her back to our meeting point.

Carey was in her own little heaven with the pre-primary (JK) kids. The class of almost forty children learned “Going on a Lion Hunt” and”Itsy Bitsy Spider” then participated in a finger puppet “Three Little Pigs” play. Despite the 35 to one plus assistant ptr, the children were quite well behaved, and Carey was impressed at what the teachers could accomplish with such limited resources.

Following our classroom activities, most of us were able to leave our rubber boots for kids in need. Rodgers made sure that the grade eight boy walking around with one bare foot and one boot received a pair.

We paid a visit to one of three SHFCO (Shining Hope for Communities)sites, having been inspired by the book Find Me Unafraid by Kennedy Odede and Jessica Posner. Their story and achievements on behalf of the people in Mathare and Kibera slums are inspiring. The Mathare site just opened in January and includes a medical clinic which is partially staffed by MSF (Médecins sans frontieres or Doctors Without Borders), a school for children of all religions who have been assessed as high risk, social workers, a Gender Department that focuses on addressing and reducing gender-based violence, a social networking program to empower youth, and food and employment programs. It’s an amazing and well-run organization.

Our day concluded with an epic adventure to downtown Nairobi where we visited the textile district. All of us purchased some fabric, but Gabi lost her mind. A very happy shopkeeper and his assistants helped to pack up metres and metres of fabric for the Compass sewing class, and perhaps a “little” for herself. We took so long that the usually unflappable Faraj came searching for us!

What a wonderful two days. Although our first impressions of Mathare dipped deeply into our buckets, the people we met there filled them to overflowing.