Dan visits Kariobangi slum

One of Kenya’s biggest challenges is that it is one of the most unequal countries in the world. That’s what they said in our training. I don’t think I really knew what that meant, except that Kenya can simultaneously be the number 1 tourist destination for expensive safaris, and home to some of the world’s biggest slums…

Earlier this week I left the lush surroundings of Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital, where Special Education Professionals rent a small office. Gertrude’s is a state-of-the-art centre of excellence, as big and as high quality as any in the UK. It’s on Muthaiga Road, surrounded by embassies in the posh part of town.

As part of my induction I was taken for a visit to the projects which SEP supports in Kariobangi, a slum area to the north east of the city. SEP focuses on raising awareness and providing support to parents of children with disabilities, particularly in areas of poverty, as well as up-skilling professionals who work with children with disabilities. The projects do amazing work breaking down stigma and improving understanding about disability (a disabled child has traditionally been "cursed" in Kenya, and is likely to be locked up and/or ignored).

What do you imagine when you hear the word “slum”? I think I expected something like scenes from ‘The Constant Gardener’, and I wasn’t far wrong (Constant Gardener was filmed in Kibera slum, the biggest in Nairobi – also where Lenny Henry and co recently spent time for Comic Relief). Kariobangi is vast. As far as the eye can see is dusty “roads”, metal shacks, endless stalls along the roads selling fruit, corn, shoes, clothes – anything and everything. Crazy motorbike taxis nearly mow you down wherever you are. It’s filthy – rubbish everywhere, stinking streams of water and sewage. You soon realize that every tiny shack can contain many families. Children wave at the white man and shout “How are you?” without really knowing what it means. I wish I had photos, but I wasn’t allowed to take my camera, bag, watch or anything else valuable. I wouldn’t have kept it for long.

First up we threaded our way through the “streets” to a small hall/room/shack used as a chapel and also used for SEP’s Early Intervention project. Here we met a local social worker and several SEP Intern Members – these are newly qualified occupational therapists, physiotherapists and counselors. Together with the more experienced SEP members, they form a unique multi-disciplinary approach. Mothers brought in their babies, toddlers and children and sat with them on mats on the floor. The professionals then sat with them to assess the children, starting with a prayer, songs and story-time. They showed the parents techniques for constructive play, increasing their child’s mobility, providing stimulation. The children had a range of conditions – cerebral palsy, speech and language problems, developmental delay, autism. I was given a warm welcome and the parents laughed as I practiced my appalling Swahili on them.

Next, to “Light and Hope”, in another part of the slum, where funding from the Israeli Embassy has paid for a small plot of land and the construction of the nearest thing to a building I’ve seen. I’m shown round what is, under the circumstances, an impressive facility with two small classrooms, a therapy room, and play area. They provide education, therapy and crucially, food. I’m quickly surrounded and jumped on by about 30 primary-aged children. They’re gorgeous, smelly and fun, and I’m soon covered in porridge, drool and dust as I play with them. It seems a mzungu with a beard and a big smile goes down well…

I head back to the office feeling pretty motivated to help SEP, and have a good conversation about how seeing projects like that make me wish I was a therapist/doctor/teacher so I could make more of a direct “difference”. But they remind me that developing strategy, structure and policies means building capacity and enabling the organization to reach more children, in more effective ways. Let’s hope I can help…

On a separate note, an interesting week in the news in East Africa this week:
* The birth of South Sudan – a huge event with big regional implications.
* The drought and famine increasingly affecting the whole region – a very complex situation about weather, conflict, instability, refugees, politics and economics.
* Times are a changing – as four East African leaders near retirement (including Kenya’s President Kibaki, stepping down for next year’s general election).