rmonkey

Shoo! my week at GROOTS is done and i moved to stay with Lucy, the director of SIDAREC. She is an amazing woman. Was a journalist for 5 years but decided she wanted to give her life to seeking justice in the settlements. I'm quite excited about spending the next few weeks hanging out here with SIDAREC. Today we visited the community center in Pumwani, one of the settlements. Saw the community library, which they're working to catalogue, and the nursery school (kids age 1 till they're old enough to attend primary school). I'm in a constant state of being impressed by the people i'm meeting. Some of my favorite sentiments:
--How insistent Lucy, and the women at GROOTS, are that being poor is merely a state. They truly understand, in a way that so many folks in the States don't, that people living in the settlements are full of potential/capacity/ability (just as much as any of us) to contribute to kenyan society if only the space is created for them to do so; if only their voices are lifted up instead of being silenced.
--everybody's determination and resilience, commitment to the process, and recognition that if you're just looking for results you're missing the point and only creating short term change.
--the way SIDAREC insists on doing the best it can, insisting that people in the settlements deserve no less than other folks. The library, recording studio, wireless tower, afternoon cartoon time for the kids, trainings, bringing in experts to teach business skills etc...all exemplify taking a preferential option for the poor, the way it should be done. and by the way, SIDAREC only employs people who live in the settlements (although many who were once employed or still are have since moved out and found jobs or are studying somewhere).

i feel like i'm a loafer on vacation compared to the work they're doing.

it was also humorous to be introduced to everyone here as 'the monkey girl'. back when i first started emailing SIDAREC last year, i remember the name that came up on my email was Rmonkey (an old middle school nickname) because that was the name i'd originally set up my email account under and then couldn't figure out how to change. So they got a good laugh, wondering why my last name is monkey. What can i say, my reputation preceeds me.

and i went to my first church in kenya yesterday--a mega church, Nairobi Baptist Church. it was huge. holy moley. lol, i go kenya and i end up at a mega church.