Kawangware

Kawangware

Kawangware

Wiclif suggested we take a matatu, the public “buses,” to Kawangware. The privately owned matatus are decorated to the liking of their owners. Decals of Chris Brown, President Obama, Ludacris and LL Cool J flood Nairobi. After passing an accident scene, we arrived at Kawangware, one of the largest growing slums in Sub-Saharan Africa with a population of at least 200,000. Looking at pictures of slums on the internet, or even watching Slumdog Millionaire did not prepare me. I was in shock. We hopped out of the matatu and walked about 10 minutes towards Wiclif’s house. Although the smell of sewage was pervasive and I had to watch my step as goats and small streams full of trash crisscrossed our path, I could not help but smile. When young kids saw me they screamed “Muzungu! Muzungu!” and ran inside to fetch their parents. By the end of our walk, I had about 9 kids following me shouting, “How are you? How are you?” Wiclif said that “muzungus,” or white people, are seen in Kawangware maybe once a month. I believe him. While Wiclif prepared a small lunch at his home, kids lined up to catch a peek inside.

A Little Boy Watching from Outside

After lunch, Wiclif brought me to his workshop where he and three other boys make custom recycled shopping bags. Wiclif learned how to make the bags while in a rehabilitation centre for street kids in Kawangware. Although originally from Mathare (another Nairobi slum), he was sent to the Light and Power Centre in Kawangware and has since made the slum his home. Although the bag-making business is going slowly as there is fierce competition and a small market, he is able to employ other boys who would otherwise be on the street. Although Wiclif has become somewhat of an entrepreneur, he himself admits that proper training about marketing and business management would be invaluable.

Wiclif's "Boys" in their Workshop (and home to two)

Wiclif and I then walked to his friend Zede’s house. We sat with him to discuss the logistics of working with street kids. It started to pour and the rain against the aluminum roof startled me. Wiclif and Zede did not react. It was so loud and so powerful that I felt as though I were at some sort of alternative techno concert. I couldn’t hear a word they were saying and yet they understood each other perfectly. When the rain let up a little bit, we went to buy some sodas. Little did I know that navigating through Kawangware after rainfall is a daunting task.

Kawangware Post-Rain - A View from Zede's Home

After drinking our Sprite, we said our goodbyes and Wiclif accompanied me to my hotel. Wiclif calls it “serene.”