When fish get water and people don’t
After two months in Kenya, I experienced an unexpected culture shock.
It was not the living conditions in the slums, or the policemen who take leisurely strolls around town holding their giant rifles, or the riots, or the tear gas from the riots, that gave me this unsettling sentiment; but the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy.
Recently, my work - the Youth Centre-Nairobi - ran a VCT and clinic outreach program in a small slum called Mitumba to provide testing and curative services to the local population.
The informal settlement houses around 4,000 residents, and there exists a jarring contrast between the settlement itself, and the fancy, Western-style housing - equipped with satellite dishes - directly adjacent. They are separated merely by a wall with barbed wires.
It is a well-known fact that almost every upper- and middle-class residential area in Nairobi has a slum nearby, but this is the first time I witnessed such proximity. An irony lies in the fact that many slums exist due to the beautiful residential area next door - these are the workers, and their families, who were hired to construct those houses; and it is more economical for them to build their own shacks next to work rather than commute on a daily basis.
Much aid has been poured into the larger, famous slums such as Kibera and Mathare, but the smaller slums such as Mitumba are still neglected. There are no water pipes or electrical wiring running through the area, nor is there proper waste or sewage treatment. The lack of access to clean drinking water has led to a cholera outbreak. It is one thing to read about cholera in "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and it is another to be told explicitly to avoid food from the area due to the possibility of contracting the disease.
On the open field where we set up our tents, one could see a giant water tank. It was a project initiated by the local MP to give the community a means of storing water. Unfortunately, the project was never completed, due allegedly to corruption, and now the walls are cracked in ruins. I am still not sure how to reconcile this image with the beautiful houses on the other side of the wall.
The next day, I attended a meeting at a place called Village Market elsewhere in town. I was not prepared for what I saw - a large-scale mall with architecture reminiscent of that found in sunny California: an open-concept verandah with food courts selling dishes at double or triple what I spend weekly on food; fashionably dressed "wazungus" walking around with sunglasses and high heels; high-end retail stores such as Mango that are found in North America; and fountains. Fountains for aesthetic purposes with free-flowing water. And two koi ponds. The entire city of Nairobi suffers from water shortage problems with water frequently and regularly cut to many parts, but this mall, catering to wealthy locals and foreigners, has water for fish.
In Mitumba, I could not eat, because of the looks the children would give me as I ate. We gave a banana to a small boy (at left is a photo of him eating the banana).
I know the world is not just, but reading about injustice and inequality on paper, and witnessing it within 24 hours, are completely different stories. I have not shaken the haunting emotional impact of experiencing Village Market right after Mitumba, and I hope I do not forget it.
I never before grasped the great fortune of having the ability to drink the water that comes out of my tap. I cannot say I really do now, either. I have only caught a glimpse of the other side, and only begun to grasp how lucky I am, how lucky we all are.
Tagged with
poverty,
wealth,
slums,
kenya,
water,
clean,
drinking,
mitumba,
culture,
shock,
hsu,
helen
| 
SASHA SEARS
ANTHONY LOTT
Comments
That was a lovely article. I nearly cried at the third last paragraph. Heart-wrenching.
This is a great experience; keep up the good work, Helen!
I am completely understand how you feel, but don't feel i could have delivered my feeling so well. very well written.
A good reminder of just how lucky we are.
And so another generation sees what I saw when I lived there three decades ago and not much has changed. Billions (that's a B) have gone into that country and who took it? One of the problems in Africa is reverse discrimination. It's not the whites who reap the rewards of aid - it is corrupt politicians and government workers, but we in the western world are afraid to demand responsible behaviour from those corrupt politicians.
Hi Helen, this is the first time I read your stories. I am originally from Brazil, but I live in Ontario right now. I just read a book by Anik See, called Saudade. She is a Canadian writer from the West Coast, and in this book she explores how the landscapes she has come across have changed her. She also mentions something very interesting: that she thinks the use of the expression "fortunate" is a great excuse for us here in North America to continue to take advantage of others in the name of our own lavish life. It's rather a disturbing concept, but it deserves some thought, especially for when you come back. Are we actually just fortunate here, or do we just continue to take advantage of less powerful economies? Just a thought. Enjoy Kenya, and don't forget to actually see that regardless of all the poverty, there's still much room for happiness (because happiness to them, just as in Brazil, is not necessarily attached to belongings). Take care, Carolina
Dragonlady,
It shouldn't be viewed as "reverse discrimination" as you are almost giving credit to other people getting discriminated. No matter who is doing the discrimination or being discriminated against, it is still discrimination, and still wrong.
Nice article. I'm glad Carolina brought up Anik See's point of the word "fortunate" being an excuse for us North Americans to carry on with our "lavish" lifestyles. I never thought of it this way. Very interesting.
As the reader of you, I could not stop questioning you--is what you did really match with what you say? Aren't you one of the spoiled North American kid lived on a "lavish" lifestyles? think about your apartment, who is paying those when you are in africa? yes there are people in the world do not even have water to drink, and you could throw $3000 canadian dollards in the water? a lot of kids at your age need to make money in summer to support family. If you think the world is injustice, look yourself.
anyhow, i hope to see a new you when you return.if you keep those poor people's imges in mind, I think you won't waste any dollards.
We aren't lucky, in Canada or the US. Our ancestors built our wealth through hard work and we continue to grow our wealth today. Maybe Africa should have done the same.
Buenos Aires last year. A 5 year old street kid in filthy clothes curled up sleeping in the front stoop of a 24 hour McDonalds. I can't that image out of my head when someone gives me a hard-done-by story. I tell them they don't know what "poor" is.
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