Kibera Slum (Nairobi, Kenya)

My first day in Kenya, I met with Sammy and Erick of OAC Kenya Tours. I was about an hour and a half late because I had totally forgotten about booking the experience for that day. I flew in on a red eye flight from Cairo and arrived at my Airbnb shortly after sunrise. All I wanted to do was get some sleep. I was currently running off about 5 hours of sleep in the past 2 days so my mind was loopy. I received the text from Erick on Whatsapp asking if I was still coming…I apologized for my forgetfulness and ensured him that I was on my way. I met with them at Prestige Plaza mall near downtown Nairobi and explained that I was frustrated because I left my new charger and battery for my Canon EOS R10 plugged in the wall at my Airbnb in Cairo. I had already contacted a dealer in Nairobi and Erick accompanied me to go pick them up. Long story short I ended up getting swindled when we got to the location. I went to the wrong storefront in the building and the salesman sent someone to get the battery from the correct merchant downstairs then he brought it up to us and charged me double for it (I chalk the loss up to my lack of sleep). I’ll post the right merchant’s contact info in the blog and also the swindler’s information as well (avoid him).

After procuring my items we headed to Kibera where we met back up with Sammy. They showed us their headquarters for their nonprofit organization K COOP which provides help to local orphans and underprivileged children in Kibera. Erick and Sammy are well known throughout Kibera. The children refer to Erick as “Babu” meaning grandfather. It’s beautiful to witness their interaction with the children. They are patient, compassionate and nurturing.

After leaving KCOOP headquarters we began our walking tour…It is then when I gather my bearings and I realize where I am…

Kibera is regarded as the largest slum on the African continent. The exact population is debated and unknown, but some estimates put the population at around 1.5 million people (300,000 people per sq km). I have visited slums, ghettos, townships, and favelas around the world but never have I seen an impoverished community on this grand of a scale.

Kibera is Raw…it is unfiltered, naked, it is a lump in your throat, difficult to swallow and even more difficult to describe. Polarizing contrasts of emotions that left me with more questions than answers about who I am in this world and defining my role in it.

Kibera is a poem…a James Baldwin stanza…articulate, courageous, and profound. Intelligent…able to precisely identify the metaphorical multilayered onion of social structures and injustice…

Kibera is a poem…a Langston Hughes sonnet…penned from motherland to its prodigal son…a compassionate exclamation that while the child was away…life had not been easy on her either

Kibera is a poem…a Maya Angelou inner vision…the child in her that refrained from talking…somehow understanding that verbal expressions are often misinterpreted by matters of the heart and soul are universally understood…

Kibera is a novel…a page torn from Richard Wright’s classic “Black Boy”…a masterful work, nudely displaying the truth of colonialism…scathing and eloquently written report of the conditions choking the life from the Black bodies it possesses…

Kibera is a sermon…It is a poignant Steven Biko monologue…proud…fearless…boldly asserting it’s independence…taking accountability for it’s own destiny…knowing that there will be no messianic return to save it from destitution…

Kibera is jarring…I am hyperaware of my discomfort now. There is no issue of safety…the people were welcoming…my angst is rooted in the flood of contrasting emotions that don’t mix well in my stomach…I feel grateful for what I have and that was not born in such conditions…and that it is what perplexes me…I question if I am experiencing some maladaptive version of survivors remorse…and if so does it support some racists warped argument that justifies the Transatlantic Slave Trade, American chattel slavery, etc…I know that these thoughts and feelings are not indicative of my complicity with the forced distribution of people of the African diaspora throughout North and South America and the Caribbean…I know the blame is directly attributed to European Imperialism, their greed, and ungodliness…but my spirit is nevertheless unsettled and confused. Theoretically, I (We) am an orphan. Now returning home to meet my biological parent…only to find them in the unbelievably sparse living conditions and desperate for me to assist them in any way that I can…I certainly feel obliged to do so…but not quite sure how…this meeting is an awkward embrace…our love for each other is ancestral and runs as deep as the cosmos…however our separation has created a noticeable wedge rooted in deep trauma…our experiences different but all to similar…I miss my mother-land…my mother-land misses me…her prodigal son…this is how I feel about my initial experience entering Kibera…lost and found…it’s why I Stay Trip-Pen!

1.OAC Kenya Tours

a) We are available on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294207-d25129116-Reviews-OAC_Kenya_Tours-Nairobi.html

b) We are available on Airbnb

https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/340956648

c) Website

oackenya.weeblysite.com

2. WELCOME TO: KCOOP Organization

a) Website: