You never find what you expect to find- when you go looking. You have one idea about something but it turns out to be something else more or less spectacular than your expectation, but what if you had no expectations? I was so busy preparing for the trip home I never had time to build up any illusions; I went to the slums prepared to meet- the slums I sort of expected what physical conditions i'd find there- what type or buildings but I had no idea what to expect from the people who lived there. I assumed they would be regular Kenyans struggling to make ends meet mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers…just like the rest of us. You hear the saying almost every day no matter what part of the world you live in. "People in the slums live on less than a dollar a day" -70 ksh give or take some, the price of 2 packets of milk, or 7 cucumbers, or one pili pili hoho… in other words not much can be acquired with that sum!
I was definitely interested to learn how exactly people living in slums made it work. Some things were expected, the wood, mud or sheet metal structures patched over and over to stop a leak, block holes or cracks or keep out thieves…problems that occurred as the building aged with time. I read about how people living in slums kept their homes clean and free of dust- amazing considering the amount of dirt surrounding many of Nairobi’s slums but seeing it was a different matter. These rusticated seemingly pieced together buildings were thoughtfully and meticulously organized, and cleaned. Decorations whether newspaper cut outs or magazine pages plastered on the walls were purposely chosen, many of them had vinyl flooring, and the ones with kangas draped on the walls and ceiling to keep dust or debris from falling on their belongings had bright colored, fancy patterned fabric that matched furniture coverings or other elements in the home.
I was always amazed how my hosts welcomed me into their home I mean hospitality is very much a Kenyan norm but when people living on that less than a dollar story welcome you by offering you tea made with the packet of milk they purchased specially to welcome you, you sip it thinking wow! There goes half their budget for the day! as they sit there thanking you for paying them a visit. Everyday was so amazing, so simple even when so much was going on. People did not seem to stress about life even when they had need to there always seemed to be an understanding that things would work out eventually no matter what the problem.
Emmanuel, my mac body guide as I called him (which was funny cause he is about my size but mac body non the less as his hard life has made him walk so much taller and stronger)walked me through slums he had lived in when he was younger or slums his friends lived in. He also escorted me through some neither of us had been to before, on those days we just walked through the slums for hours stopping to rest when our feet got too sore. He was always confident encouraging me to take pics even when people around us looked at us suspiciously. We finally came up with a strategy where he would walk in front of me and I'd act like i was taking pics of him so people would become less suspicious of this random girl taking photos of their buildings...as such he is in many of my pics. Still working out how i'd like to exhibit them.
Will be putting some up soon
