Sammy A's blog: Kenya - day 2 - Mathare Slum and the amazing Maji Mazuri Youth Group

‘Karibou’- welcome

‘Asante’ - thank you

Today is one Tommy and I won’t forget in a hurry. It exceeded expectations! I said at the time that it would not be beaten.

AM - post brekkie we walked into the centre of Nairobi and took in the Sunday morning Kenyan rituals largely involving church services. There are churches everywhere. We wandered into one complex with 5 or so and sat in on one of the worships. I agree with the notion that churches, supermarkets/markets and local eateries are a good way to get an insight into a country quickly. Having been told off for taking photos (one with Peter the base guitarist in that suit jacket, how could we not?), we wandered through the park amongst the purple blooming Jacarandra trees back to the hotel, stopping at the local supermarket where the shelves were eerily empty. A nice solo morning with T.

First impressions were good and although we came across a lot of teenage street kids begging for money it was relatively low key. That being said there is a real military presence on the streets with the re-election due on Thursday coming. For those that care or show an interest in Kenyan politics, the country is potentially in a democratic watershed moment with the recent victory for incumbent Kenyatta being annulled by the Kenyan Supreme Court.

Back at the hotel we met the rest of the team including our main host Rachel from 5 Talents and followed them across the road for lunch.

Then came the highlight of the day with a trip over to the Mathare Valley slum (Kenya’s 2nd largest with 0.5m people living there) to spend time with the Maji Mazuri Youth Group. Through the support of 5 Talents and others they have afforded to buy a concrete building on the edge of the slum as well as a PC and other music equipment, the goal being to attract the young talent from the depths of the slum and improve their self esteem, confidence and skills (through performance) and ultimately giving them a positive shelter amongst the chaos which surrounds them - some of them were fashion designers or ‘fashionistas’ as they call them here. Its’s basically a means to prove to themselves that they can achieve. I love this work no end - working with the underprivileged and their outlook to life is in itself a priveledge to be part of and witness.

Alcohol addiction is rife here as well as all of the deseases that go hand in hand with no clean running water. I caught numerous kids under the age of 4 roaming and playing in the sewer regularly picking stuff up and putting it into their mouths.

I won’t do the afternoon justice but the energy and pride that oozed out of the kids was magical. I am going to load a bunch onto YouTube to do it justice. The performances were incredible. The best being the renditions performed by the kids group who were all under the age of 12. They were simply outstanding.

Tommy with the guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhSRHdLfV0s&index=1&list=PLv9ZA_FgUOwK90wUOVRfAIglzYcBnbNJb

Griffins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OuhOYEH1mM&list=PLv9ZA_FgUOwK90wUOVRfAIglzYcBnbNJb&index=3

Maji Mazuri Youth Group performances
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT-K5UOn4HM&list=PLv9ZA_FgUOwK90wUOVRfAIglzYcBnbNJb&index=4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACDKqMJHdFg&index=5&list=PLv9ZA_FgUOwK90wUOVRfAIglzYcBnbNJb

We had been warned not to venture too far away but I walked out the back door to congratulate the group and their teacher, 23 year old Griffins. It was a joy to meet all of their happy and smiley faces. I quickly grabbed Tommy as it was too good an opportunity to pass up. The girls flocked around him saying ‘Hi Tommy’ grinning and high-fiving him. One girl in partiacular ‘Faith’ - one of the soloists - took an instant liking to him (see pictures below).

With Griffins and his group we chatted and joked with me spending time getting to know him. The performances are all down to him. Coming from the west of Kenya, a town called Kisimu on Lake Victoria, he is in the process of finishing his Uni degree but the election chaos has meant the Uni has been closed but irrespective he gives up 5 hours a week to coach the group. It has paid dividends as the group has performed at the national theatre and cleaned up. Not bad for a group of kids from the slums. The story is akin to the Disney movie Queen of Katwe, set in neighbouring Kampala on the other side of Lake Victoria in Uganda. I think this story of the Mathare kids though would work even better for a movie plot.

Frankly, the fact that they win national competitions is not surprising as they are so so talented and having that platform is a fanatastic way to showcase their talent and pride. And more importantly to get their backgrounds noticed! Often I think that politicians push this stuff under the carpet and come out with lazy excuses such as ‘they chose to live that life’ which I find infinitely annoying but by being this beacon in flashing lights, it forces authorities to take notice and say how can it be that our most gifted kids have to live under these conditions.

I congratulated Griffins for his work and commended him on his noble actions. He is a talented performer himself. We swapped numbers and exchanged photos and have him now down as a friend and will stay in contact. One of the things he said resonated with me: ‘we target girls and focus on them by giving them solos and so forth so that they can grow and become leaders in their own right’.

At the end of the performances I got up and talked a little on the microphone explaining Tommy’s background. He’s an African baby after all as he was conceived here and mum/J was also born in Botswana.

Afterwards, we headed further into the slum to see where they all go to school (the Headstart Academy). The stats are staggering. Up to 45 kids in a class in a room roughly 6 by 8 meters. They desperately need to expand as they can only hold 560 kids. Kids who have a place are fed breakfast when they arrive and lunch and is often the only food they will get all day. The school represents a tiny ray of hope for the kids and is a safe enclave. It struck me that as soon as you walk out into the slum you are immediately immersed by the stench and corrugated iron.

Night time was soon upon us so we quickly got going (it gets light at 6 here and dark at 6) - and you don’want to be out in the dark in ‘Nairobbery’ and definitely not on the edge of the Mathare!

The whole day was astonishing and one neither of us will forget - and incredibly humbling too. Seeing it firsthand was eye opening. I’ve been exposed to similar stuff like this before in India and to some extent the US housing projects where I worked in the summer of 94 but this made me feel sick - it was on another level. The slum is only increasing too with refugees coming from the neighbouring borders, namely Ruanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan and other countries with civil war. Kenya is widely known as the ‘safe’ African country (hence why they use the adjective for everything) and so it naturally attracts. Even more reason why they need to have a proper fair election on Thursday and let the status quo resume.

We are learning quickly that everything is on ‘Kenyan’ time which invariably means waiting 2 hours for most things including dinner last night :)

Swahili phrases learnt today:

Karabouli sana - welcome very much

Mambo - what’s up?

Musungo - foreigner

Jambo - greeting to a musungo

Tommy and the youth group:

Uhuru Park where there was a massive rally to follow a few days later:

Peter, the base player

Super market shelves:

En route to the Mathare:

Tommy and Faith (she has more spirit than you can imagine) - her solo performance embodied this:

Griffins and group:

A room filled with joy, fun, laughter, happiness and spirit:

I love the guy's shirt in the bottom left hand corner - he reminds me of one of my best school mates in the depths of SE London, a certain Cordell Williams: