Article 13 Initiative - Blog

Jambo,

It has been quite some time since I was last able to send an email home, which is due to the fact that as the end of this incredible journey approaches, there are skillions of things to wrap up, and I have had quite a rotten cold. Sometime during the middle of last week, the temperature dipped to the lowest it’s been so far (by my untrained licked-finger-in-the-air-estimations) and perhaps this, coupled with the sharing of crockery as well as the constant shaking of hands, caused me to fall sick. I was feeling pretty low for three or four days, but by the beginning of this week I was back to my cheerful self. It also doesn’t hurt that there is a warmer breeze blowing these days…

Of the many pots on the fire, we are hard at work cooking up a new and improved SHOFCO newsletter, which we aim to have printed by Saturday in time for the joint party between the computer and journalism class (ours) and the capacity building and sustainability class (Cara’s). It will be filled with wonderful stories, articles, poems, interviews, and photos that have been created by the group over the past several weeks. Following this, Wojciech and I will be compiling the strongest photos with perhaps some pieces of writing into a book that we are self-publishing through lulu.com in order to raise money for the continued production of SHOFCO’s newsletter, “Spotlight on Kibera.”

In keeping with the overriding theme of sustainability, SHOFCO and FMM have come up with a more solid plan to continue the production of the newsletter as well as to continue workshops even after our departure. I am thrilled with the development of six sub-departments within SHOFCO’s Information and Communications section, which include Writing, Editing, Photography, Layout and Computer Design, Typing, and Public Speaking. Each of these teams has a number of leaders who are quite strong in their respective fields. From the independent work I have been observing over the past two days, I know that SHOFCO will be in good hands.

I am coming to grasp just how difficult our impending goodbyes are going to be. We have come to know each other very well and I feel as though I have a home in Kenya and at SHOFCO now. I will miss the sweet surrogate family I have found, morning hugs, playing Scrabble, folk tales and stories, matatu rides, laugher, fresh milk, crazy hats, discussions about God, reggae, morning chai, quiet jokes, conversations half in English and half in Kiswahili, and the general buzz and camaraderie that bubbles out of the SHOFCO office every day.

The group has taken to teaching me bits and pieces of Kiswahili and as a result I ended up buying a pocket guide to the language to help me along. I wonder if it is in any way portentous that in the “Friends” section that includes a little dialogue, one line reads “And this is Hannah”?? In any case, I have begun to learn the basics, and have excited Noah and Joel by saying “moja kikombe, mbili vicombe, sindiyo?” (one cup, two cups, right?) and “chai ni moto” (the tea is hot), and pleased Marto endlessly by understanding and answering his “kwa nini?” (why?). Who says 20 is too late to learn a language?

Nairobi has been privy to not one, but nine earth tremors in the last four days. The whole country is on alert, and various districts are being periodically warned to clear out in case of a big quake. The Rift Valley fault line is apparently shifting, and many of the structures in the city and country – in fact most – are not designed to withstand the earth shaking! I had never felt an earthquake before, and it has been a funny wavy sensation, much like being on a boat that’s rocking gently. Yesterday’s tremor caused (we think it was the cause) a big accident on Ngong Road; a head-on collision between a matatu and a pick-up truck that blocked the two-lane road for miles. This morning, a section of Kibera was evacuated between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. for fear of the houses collapsing. I hope that all the hype settles soon!

A rather progressive legislation has been passed in the recent set of by-laws released in Nairobi, which prohibits everyone from using plastic bags. Except for the Nakumatt (grocery store) bags, which are apparently biodegradable, you can be arrested for carrying plastic on the street. Wojciech and I have joked that, our safety and security being absolutely fine, imagine having to explain that we didn’t return to Canada because we were imprisoned for the possession of plastic bags! This same set of by-laws also prevents matatu conductors from yelling, which is practically their trademark. It is interesting to see what is enforced and what social ills are left otherwise unchecked.

On Friday evening, Wojciech and I will be spending the night at Kennedy’s house, in order to smash to smithereens whatever bit of stereotype he thinks we may have left in us about Kibera. I’m looking forward to the evening, as we rarely get a chance to talk all together and when we do, it tends to be logistics. Kennedy will be coming to the United States in the fall (and Canada as well if his second visa application is successful), and it is a nice chance for him and Wojciech to strengthen their bond, as they didn’t click the same way that Kennedy and I did at the beginning of the trip. I can see that SHOFCO and FMM have a long journey ahead together, and even though we are about to go, in a sense we are really only about to start. FMM’s August issue will feature a number of SHOFCO’s articles, and internet-willing, hopefully so will many of our future publications.

From the reverse, I think I have been successful in breaking down some of the stereotypes that exist about Canada. I have confirmed that Canada is not a state belonging to America, and that we do have poverty, teen pregnancy, and indeed, even dust! No matter how much we learn in school, there is a certain education through experience and interactions that just cannot be beaten. I’m very fortunate to have been offered this particular experience, which has allowed me to understand things in a very different way; however, I don’t believe it’s necessary to leave the country to make these kinds of discoveries. There is a lot that goes on right under our noses, but there is often a sore lack of wonder and revelry in simple things like good company, that causes us to turn away from the beautiful truths all around us. As I discover the dignity in simplicity, the immense strength in hope, and the great potency of community, I hope that I am able to take my experiences forward to share and to kindle joy in the people around me.

Amani,

Hannah