Today I was taken by Pastor Edward of the Kibera Transformation and Development Program into the Kibera Slum. The slum is home to over one million people living in poverty. They live off on average $1 per day. They live in one room homes made of mud with tin roofs. For electricity they tie into the nearest power line for water they travel to rain water collection bins distributed throughout the slum. We were able to visit the home of the receptionist and handyman if KTDP. He expressed his joy at having us visit with him, his love of the people he ministers to, and his desire to see us again. With the modest wage he earns, he supports his wife and two brothers. The joy he has and his love of the lord and desire to bring more people to Christ was inspiring. I know in my own life when I have minor set backs, problems at work, or with my car, or I am just having a bad day I can wallow in my self pity and yet this man has so little and still gives so much.
At KTDP they have opened a preschool and trade school for women. We spent about an hour with the children. We sang songs to them and they sang songs to us. We acted out the story of Daniel and the Lions Den to them and they gave us a tour of their school. These children have nothing. They live in one room buildings with many other people, they play in heaps of trash, they could walk miles to school and yet they are full of joy and love. I have everything I need and my son gets everything he wants and I don’t think either of us exhibits the joy these children showed us today. The school was crowded and yet they have recently lost fifty percent of their student body when they had to increase the school fee from $5 to $10 dollars per month. The trade school teaches women to sew, embroider, and how to style hair. They to have seen a drop in attendance due to increased fees. The women learn to sew using paper bags because they can not afford enough fabric to practice on.
I hope after today I will think twice before complaining about the thirty minutes it takes me to drive to work when these people walk up to ten miles to their jobs only to earn $1 per day. I hope that I will be able to teach my son to appreciate what he has after visiting with those that have nothing. Most of all I hope that I can find the joy in my life of advantage that these people have in their lives with so little.
- Eric Weeden, Research and Grants Coordinator for the Baylor School of Social Work. This is his first trip to Africa, part of the 13-person mission team.
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