Our first full day in Kenya. We started with a visit to Huruma, a small slum, where we were a big hit with the scores of cheerful kids. They followed us up and down the muddy alleys shouting "Mzungu, how are you?" I've always been impressed by pictures of missionaries surrounded by crowds of African kids. Turns out, those pictures are not that difficult to procure. Any white person walking around the slums is likely to attract all kinds of childish attention. As long as you have a camera handy, it's a perfect, easy photo op.
There was an awesome secondary school in the slum build out of shipping containers. The house dad showed us around, pointing out the pretty advanced science lab and computer lab filled with laptops. New Dawn Secondary School has about 200 high school students, mostly from Huruma and other nearby slums. Due to both questionable politics and heavy Western support, the fees at this private school are much less than public school fees. The school was a good example of donor money helping to educate and empower Kenyans. The only way to make a lasting impact here is to help them help themselves.
From the slum, we went to a shopping mall. What a juxtaposition! The mall, located just minutes from Huruma, was so fancy I felt out place. Sitting in the food court, surrounded by wealthy people from all over the world felt like I could have been on Rodeo Drive. It even had the palm trees!
It was a good day, busy enough to stave off jet lag and a glimpse of where we're headed on this trip. We breezed in and out of the slum before we could really absorb the poverty and the tragedy. This was a warm up. I'm sure the darkness will come. I will feel overwhelmed by the senselessness and feel powerless in the face of suffering, but today I got to just fall in love with a crowd of running, laughing children who wanted to shake my hand.
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