Slum: The People of Kibera | Updates

Mt. Kenya Cyber

Greg Lanier — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:00:00 -0400

It has been a looooong time since I have been able to post. I have been busy with seminary and Genesis has been busy getting a new business started in Kyangombe slum (per the prior videos). Thanks to some initial financing, he and Faith were able to purchase equipment and computers to start a cyber cafe, which they are calling Mt. Kenya. They have also consolidated Blessed Hands Beauty Salon to the same location to cut down on transportation and rent. After several months of preparations, the cyber opened for business a few weeks ago.

As it turns out, the cost to get DSL service is quite high, so internet connectivity has been a problem. However, we are hoping for a little more funding to come through to get everything fully up and running. Photos are below.

Computer desks

Laptop unit

Front window

Third video

Greg Lanier — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:00:00 -0500

I've completed the third video in the series from my trip to Kenya to visit Genesis and Faith. This one provides an introduction to Kibera itself. View the full size version here.

First videos after trip

Greg Lanier — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 12:00:00 -0500

I've returned from my 10 days in Nairobi with Genesis and Faith. It was a wonderful time to spend with them in their new home outside of Kibera, though we also spent 6 days in Kibera as well. I am still working through the several hours of video and nearly 400 photos. We've posted one video that summarizes a business plan for a cyber cafe, and a second video (below) provides a glimpse into life with the Njerus. View the full size version here.

Upcoming trip to Kenya

Greg Lanier — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500

This update is long overdue, but not from lack of activity. Genesis, Faith, and I have been busy making preparations for a trip I am taking to visit them later this week. I'm looking forward to spending time with them and meeting some of the individuals in the book face-to-face. More later.

Heart still in Kibera though our home is no longer

Genesis Njeru — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 12:00:00 -0500

Just over a year after the release of Slum, Faith and I are very excited to announce that we have, by God's grace, moved to a new home outside of Kibera. I am able to get to Kibera every day. We are very thankful for this dream come true. Yesterday we had our service in the room that we left in Kibera, we just finished the letter of Paul to the Romans. We will move in to the book of Job in the old testament. We have not been able to hold our concert yet but we still pray that God will enable us to do it before we cross over to the year 2011.

Dealing with insecurity

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:00:00 -0400

In Kibera there has been insecurity here and there, many of the young people are getting into this behavior every day and this makes the slum even more dangerous. It's not advisable at the moment to walk during the late hours, and late hours means even from 8 pm. The small paths of Kibera remain dangerous even during the day. We have seen a lot of people complaining that their special belongings have been snatched, most of the victims being women. Just next to the bridge that connects Laini Saba and Lindi, people have been complaining that most of the youth hanging up there have been stealing their hand bags and their belongings. While I have a couple of friends who I know used to be involved in that behavior, this thing bothered me. Last month I took the step and started talking to them one by one, the main idea was to bring them together. I gave them an idea and asked them that we could come together and form a small group. We started meeting immediately, and everyone accepted the idea. As we are talking now, they are running a group by the name "Kibera Uprising." They have already set the activities that they are doing, including garbage collection, going around the houses distributing polythene papers and later collect them with garbage. They get 20 shillings from every house they give the paper. They have already registered with the government and they have gotten their certificate. Most of the people are coming to learn how they are making it. I decided to let them lead the whole thing they have elected their chairman and they have activities running. They call me Senior Advisor. This is a great relief in the society. The youth who had been known as "reaping where they did not plant" are now helping the community to preserve environment. The chairman called me today and told me that they should be getting a printing machine very soon. I am so happy for this great change, and I am looking upon God for more change. He has given me a lot so I should give out. May the Lord bless this group.

Long overdue update

Greg Lanier — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:00:00 -0400

It's been a while since we have posted an update, but that is not because we have not been busy. Just some highlights from the past month or so:

Genesis and Faith are teaching the youth group how to use a computer. I had begun doing Word and Excel lessons with Genesis and Faith a few months ago, so it's great to see them teach others
Blessings is growing and doing well
Genesis and Faith were able to go to see a wildlife park in Nairobi
The electricity has been off and on but the Blessed Hands Beauty Salon is still doing well (see photo below)
Genesis and Faith are looking to start offering small microloans to people in Kibera using some of the proceeds from the salon

A great picture

Greg Lanier — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0400

Genesis visited the youth at the Diguna camp multiple times during the week (see prior posts), and he was able to have this picture taken.

It is one of my favorite pictures from Genesis (who is the handsome fellow standing on the far right) because it shows him with the youth group, who have been a central focus of our project since we published the book. He is able to have a transformative impact in their lives because he knows them and cares for them.

Beautiful day

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0400

Yesterday was the most beautiful day in the history of my youth children, we have never had such a great moment in our group. We left Kibera at 2:30 pm and we all boarded a full Matatu. They youth could not imagine and could not wait getting to Diguna camping site. Apart from the 15 who are campers now, we also traveled along with Faith and Blessings, Mark (the boy in the book) and another girl who joined the group recently. The we left the 15 youth in the camp and my family went back to Kibera. I will be going there during the day, just to check on how it is going. I have also received a phone call from Eva who confirmed that they are doing great. I love that. We have 4 youth who joined the group recently; we have been stable with 14 students who are in high school, and the money from the book has been helping pay their school fees and textbooks. God is doing great things, and I can see us going somewhere. I love this work and I love these youth, and I have confidence that God is going to help us get there.

Diguna Youth Ministry

Genesis Njeru — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0400

Our youth have been provided an opportunity to attend a youth camp later this month sponsored by a Christian ministry in Germany. I met these people and they have agreed to help sponsor our youth to attend. We are very excited!

Voting

Genesis Njeru — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0400

Its is clear that we will have a new constitution. The Yes leads, so far they have 5 million voted against NO which have 2 million. A big difference. We are being measured by the world for our maturity in exercising democracy. The process was well done; high technology was used and the results were transmitted electronically. Everybody is talking about peace, we found out that it did not help us to fight in 2007. And we are ready to continue building our our country.

Constitution referendum

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0400

Kenyan voters will hit the polls on Wednesday to vote on a new constitution. The draft was approved earlier this year and is supported by President Kibaki and PM Odinga (but opposed by former president Moi). Already violence struck related to protests against the constitution, with the Uhuru Park Bombing on June 13th. We are praying that tribal conflict does not accompany the vote.

Chang'aa tragedy

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:00:00 -0400

It's another tragedy for the people of Kibera, just near my house. More than 13 people have been confirmed dead after taking "Chang'aa" (illegal alcohol). Just to tell a little bit of the story about this alcohol, this is one of the alcohol that has been illegal for long time, and most of the people take this alcohol because its cheap. When preparing the Chang'aa one needs alot of Chemical to make it ready in a few minutes (Methanol chemical). People selling chang'aa get a lot of money, and due to the competition one will try to mix a lot of chemicals that will make him/her prepare as much as possible.

Men and children brewing chang'aa

Recently the Members of parliament passed a bill making chang'aa legal. The bill is not yet signed by the president to become law. But this has given the dealers more power, and they are taking this advantage to even come up with new ways of making chang'aa to be more "nice" (that what they think). Immediately after this bill was proposed we have seen about 20 people dying especially in Nairobi. Today the cloud is on our side, as this morning we have woken up with this news. Until now bodies of people are lying on the cloud after taking chang'aa. I have already seen 11 bodies and people says that more bodies are in the houses, as there are people missing. The news reporter are already here including BBC and other big stations. The police are also on the ground trying to collect the bodies. I have spoken to Wangui, whose husband is one of the men laying here. She said that Peter Kariuki left home yesterday evening (while she has been taking chang'aa), he left his wife and Kids yesterday. "Nimezoea kumuona akilewa, na alipotuacha jana nilidhani atarudi, lakini sasa ndiye huyu analala hapa" ("I am used to see him drinking and when he left us yesteday we hope that he would come back, but now he is lying here dead"). Its sad and everyone is shocked, now we wait to see whether this will mean anything to the people taking chang'aa and other alcohol.

Youth conference: 33 students

Genesis Njeru — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 05:00:00 -0400

As mentioned in our last update, we had our first conference (of two) on Saturday the 10th. Thirty-three youth attended (Shadrac, a good friend of mine helped me in registration). We talked about the how the youth have a big role to play in the ministry and the society. Without young people taking responsibility, the activities cannot be effective. A lot of ministries are going down and down each and everyday, because the youth are not committed to their duties. For example in the church, we find out Wazee (old people) cleaning the church, organizing events, even leading the church projects. While its also important for them to lead and plan, there is a big need for the youth to be part of these planning. We discussed that many youth are very busy trying to shape their lives on their own, and most of the time we are afraid that the time is running out, and if we do not take precaution, we might end up loosing the direction and even affecting our future. We (youth) think that by our own understanding and power, we can avoid the mistakes that were made by our forefathers, and then we find our self trying anything that comes on the way thinking that this will change our living standard. We have forgotten that its God who has got power to change lives. To shape, and To give a Future. We found out that we only run to God when things stop working on our side, when we find ourselves in a fix -- then that is the time we start to run to God. But God does not want us to seek him only when we are in problems, but even when we are happy, when our things are working. The more things become better the more our relationship should continue to be good with God.

Update on the youth

Genesis Njeru — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 03:00:00 -0400

Our Sunday was great; we took the youth group to the Arboretum Garden near the state house. To some of the youth it was real tour, as they enjoyed so much watching some African animals such as monkey and deer. We talked about Drugs and discussed some ways we would start helping those friends of ours that are already on drugs. We will have another conference on July 10, just for starters before we organize the big one that we will call interdenominational. "Vijana pamoja Tujenge Uhusiano na Mungu" (Youth Together Let us build relationship with God). That will be the theme or the title of our Conference. We are praying that it might be bit bigger than the previous conference that have held before. We will know and plan about it when we meet for the first one that will be on the coming Saturday -- we call it appetizer to the coming one. Its only by God's power that our youth can change, not through politician or anything else but God.

Uhuru Park blast

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:00:00 -0400

Police have promised to reward someone who will give information to help them know the perpetrators of the Uhuru park Bomb blast. There are people in the hospital still and by yesterday 6 people had been confirmed dead. Link to an article about the blast.

Bomb blast

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:00:00 -0400

5 people died yesterday in a Bomb blast in Nairobi. Many other are still in the hospital. According to the witnesses, there was a big blast at Uhuru park where more than 500,000 people had gathered together for the nation prayers, the report also indicate that there were political leaders who had attended the meeting, from the NO team. The Christian leaders have been in the front line to oppose the new proposed constitution, and whenever they have crusades the political leaders who are on NO side have been taking that advantage to preach their campaign. It is also reported that the blast was heard two time and the second one was worse; at the same time, police found a man dead in a Pajero Land Cruiser, but it is not clear whether this murder was connected to the attack. So far the police are investigating the situation and the perpetrators have not been detected. I have been there this morning and I talked to one of the woman, who told me that her child was injured from a stampede when he felt down while people were trying to escape. The whole week I and Faith had planned to attend the Crusade, but yesterday morning my friend called me and said that the meeting that I and him had scheduled would not happen until the afternoon. So Faith and I decided to cancel attending the crusade.

Flooding and Aflatoxin

Genesis Njeru — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:00:00 -0400

In most part of the country we are now counting losses after a very big harvest. The country have been experiencing heavy rain, as I have mentioned, but now things have changed. Due to the cold, a lot of Maize has been contaminated with the chemical by the name Aflatoxins. The goverment is now planning to buy those bad Maize from the farmers, because according to the experts they say that this is a very bad poison that can kill easily, already one person has been confirmed dead after eating the maize. The question is can the government do something to prevent this kind of loss? It happened before in 2004. The same thing with Flooding, though the country need rain, what is the government doing to prevent people dying from the flood. It's funny, after a big flooding, the country will be running short of water.

Constitution

Genesis Njeru — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:00:00 -0400

We will be voting YES or NO to the new constitution on 4th August, there are campaign going on. The politician are going around the country trying to convince the people to follow them. According to me, there is a very big change in the country, people don't have faith in the politician anymore. I was following the Minister of Finance Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta as he was presenting the Budget for 2010-2011 in the parliament. More than 900 Billion KSH was allocated to different institution. Nothing has been done that show that the life of a normal Kenyan would be good or at least improve. US Vice President Joe Biden has been here and he accused the leaders of Corruption, though he promised that US is ready to support our government, and fund the process of the new constitution. He warned that the whole world is watching to see how the leaders are doing the reforms. Politician Genesis haha.

Update on the salon

Genesis Njeru — Sat, 15 May 2010 08:00:00 -0400

We have had problems again with the power and people say that the rain could be the reason; there are possibilities that the power will be restored sometime next week, but today the power was still off, and it has been cut off most of the days recently. The beauty salon is doing well. Most of the customers come on Friday, Saturday and parts of Sunday afternoon. We have watched our expenses and rent closely. Several of the young ladies are still working with Faith to learn the skill, and that is helping keep our business busy. I have just completed a Bible club with small children, and we had 30 children attend. This program will run every Saturday. So sweet to stand before the small children and tell them good news of Jesus Christ.

Upcountry

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:00:00 -0400

Faith, Blessings, and I traveled to the Upcountry to spend some time after my trip. We have heard fun together three of us. On Saturday we will have some time with some of the youth from our Village, and we would like to use this opportunity to tell good news to the youth around our village. My home villiage in Mbeere District is well known to be leading with the drugs that we call miraa, and we believe that God will touch many of the young people to come to him and serve him only.

Genesis returns from Germany

Greg Lanier — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:00:00 -0400

Genesis returned from Frankfurt, Germany. His trip went great. He spent a lot of time with the host family and speaking to various churches and groups about Kibera -- even sold some books! We've posted some more pictures on the Facebook page.

Regarding his return flight, Genesis wrote:

My flight back was very nice. We were late in Egypt and the Egypt Air organized for the accommodation in the hotel. I think I enjoyed this, actually. They overbooked the flight so we had to wait for almost 10 hours, but all went well, and I arrived in Nairobi at 3am. Faith and some youth came for me at 6am.

Genesis, world traveler!

Greg Lanier — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0400

I received some photos from Genesis' trip to Frankfurt and posted them on the Slum Facebook page. He's having a great time with the family hosting him.

Review of Slum

Greg Lanier — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:00:00 -0400

A Ph.D student named Brian Ekdale (Univ of Wisconsin-Madison) is studying mass communication in Kibera and had a chance to meet Genesis and Faith, as well as read the book. He posted a very thoughtful review of the book on his blog, and had these general comments:

I congratulate you guys on what I think is a really cool project: first, that Genesis and Faith are the primary storytellers of the book and second, instead of trying to produce a "this is Kibera" book, it is really a "this is snapshot of the lives of some Kibera residents" book.
Some of the other stuff I've come across tries the daunting task of capturing all of Kibera, which in the end creates a picture that feels detached from what life is like on the ground. Besides the biographies, in the book and on the blog Genesis provides a lot of useful pieces of information that residents know, but "experts" struggle to understand and communicate (big questions such as how many different paths bring someone to settling in Kibera and small ones like how does the pirated electricity business really work).
Based on my experience here, I recognized a lot of themes that came up in the individual stories (struggles with alcohol, children being abused by step parents, etc.), but I learned a lot as well (how easily a woman can end up in prostitution, the devastating effects of family in-fighting).
Whether it's 300,000 or 1 million in Kibera, it's such a dynamic and complex place with so many different people and experiences, it's really an impossible task to summarize.

Thanks Brian!

Nairobi to Frankfurt

Greg Lanier — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:00:00 -0400

Genesis was given the amazing opportunity to travel to Germany today; a family that been on mission trips to Kibera is hosting him for a few weeks. It was his first time flying and his first time traveling outside of Kenya, so he was quite excited. I've included some parts of an email with his response to flying below: What you said about the plane and the airport [note: about how airports are crowded and sometimes intimidating] was true. First I travelled with the Egypt Air, which was not as nice compared to the second, which was Lufthansa -- they say it is one of the best in Europe. I enjoyed taking off more than landing. I left Nairobi wat 5 am and I could not see anything, but on the way the sun came in and I started seing the nice sky. I was sitting on the window so that was realy nice. The plane was not full. So we landed at Cairo. It was weired to land the plane for almost 45 minutes, and i felt like huuu haaaa! I waited in Cairo for 6 hours. I liked this Lufthansa plane. It was Huge. I wondered how is this going to happen? The taking off was very nice, the craft had a lot of sounds, the seats were very confortable, everybody sat with the headphones and a little screen at front, and the chairs looked smart, and compared to the Egypt Air the seats looked like the first class, haha. We landed at Frankfurt at 8:25am; the landing was also long, and I could see cities and nice buildings and I realized that I was out of Africa.

It's appropriate that Genesis visit Frankfurt, as Germany is #2 on the sales list for Slum (after the US) -- 21 books sold to-date. Our total is only 4 shy of 300.

Slum upgrading process, and a bird story

Genesis Njeru — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:00:00 -0400

When the Goverment first mentioned this KENSUP project, we had a lot of hope and expectation that this project would bring a lot of fruit. It has turned to be opposite since the first people migrated, nothing has been done, and the space where they left it occupied again. It is not like the government put it.

UN-HABITAT photo of the relocation in Sept, 2009

I talked to Philip, who lives in Soweto East, and he told me that the whole thing is a story that people are dreaming. He has lived in Soweto for the last 6 years, and when the project started, some of his neighbors were taken out of their houses and were left waiting for the government lorries that were transporting people to the new houses. The first day, when the prime minister came to officially open the activity, everything went well. People were promised that the activity would continue over the next days, and Philip and some of his neighbors waited. But according to him, some youth came and destroyed their houses, saying that the goverment did not want to see anyone in that area. Many of them lost their property, and now Philip is living in another house outside Soweto -- but people are back in the and the space where he used to live is occupied. I think the situation resembles the story of the bird we call "ngune." You can find this bird near rivers and ponds, and you will notice that this bird is very tired. Not because of working in the garden or in the office. No no, it goes to the water, gets a frog, and bring it back to the shore. Since it does not want to consume the frog while it is wet, it will leave it to dry on the ground, and then it will go again to get another frog in the water. Before the ngune comes back back, the first frog will jump back into the water. This stupid bird will do this almost a whole day until it is tired. I think if they are not careful, the government and the KENSUP might do the same thing with this slum upgrading process.

Power situation

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:00:00 -0400

There is a big meeting between the KPLC (Kenya power and lighting company) and the Kibera powers owners, and we hope that by evening the electricity will be restored. People have been upset by the situation, and many business have been running down, our salon included. Security lights that has been put recently have not worked for almost 1 and 1/2 weeks. We are assured that the situation will be well from today evening.

Kibera Power company

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:00:00 -0400

We have had no power the whole of this week. There has been a problem with the people from the Kenya Power company and the Kibera residents. Kenya Power is complaining that they are spending a lot of money to repair the transformers that are blowing out every time, due to illegal connection of electricity. You know things have changed a lot in Kibera, as many people are connecting the electricity for themselves. When there is problem on the line, you will notice some people on top the post trying to reconnect the power. Even now when I am writing this I have just seen some of boys I recognize on top of the post; one may notice that as they have the KPLC (Kenya Power and Lighting Company) uniforms, even though they do not work for them. Many people say that when the electrification project of the World Bank was on, KPLC hired Kibera youth to help in digging the holes and setting the posts. During this time many youth escaped with these uniforms and the gear that they use to climb the posts, and they also observed some of the work from the KPLC staff. So now they are using that advantage to try to connect the power, which is bringing more problems with the power. The project is too slow, and there are posts standing in many parts of Kibera that have never been connected, so many parts have not gotten electricity. Those who are in those areas where the power is already working, they try to sell the power to other parts. It is not Kenya power staff who do that, but the people in the slum. They are well known as KIBERA POWER. But only the KENYA POWER has right to connect the electricity. But it is not that the Kenya power staff do not know about it. They definitely know, so let me try to show you how it goes.

Let us take an example of somone who receives Ksh300 per month for illegal electricity. Some folks I have talked to claim to have more than 300 customers.
300 customers paying Ksh300 results in Ksh90,000 in revenue per month.
A Kenya power field officer is probably receiving Ksh10,000 per month salary, so when he comes to the illegal power brokers, he will ask them for Ksh10,000 to allow them to continue. Let's say there are 10 such brokers. That is Ksh100,000 to the KPLC officer.
So the broker giving the illegal power will have Ksh80,000 and deduct another 10,000 for maintenance, leaving him 70,000 per month as his profit.
Then the Kenya Power field officer will give 30,000 to his boss and other field officer working along with him to keep the scheme going, and he is left with Ksh70,000 clean money.

That is the business down in the Slum of Kibera, so no one will care whether the power is disturbed or not.

More rain

Genesis Njeru — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0500

In Kenya all is well, everything is in order. The country has received a lot of rain since January, which has been so nice. The country experienced a lot of drought, and i feel that it has recovered from that too. People did not expect that the rain that started in January would continue up to now, but that is how things are. It is very nice, including the village. We have heard news that there is rain everywhere, which has made some of the goods prices to come down, starting with milk and maize. We are hoping that the food will continue to reduce in price.

International women day

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0500

Today was an International Women's Day, and I was asked to give a brief speech in the celebration in Kibera. In my speech about girl children and women's rights, I started with prayers and thanked God for the day. My people were happy that in the midst of other people's speeches we honored our God. I felt that it was good to introduce God and testify of what God had done. Somebody has just told me that I was in the 4pm television news. I am looking forward to watch the 7pm News! My youth were performing, and six of them received stipends. We will buy learning materials with the money for their studies, as the ones who performed are in school. They have agreed. Missionary friends from Finland came today to our salon, and they bought two books.

Schools

Genesis Njeru — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0500

I have got good news. Already 13 of the students have been accepted to the School. This has redirected our training in the salon, of course, but its amazing to see how God answers prayers. While working with many of them in the salon, I discovered that many of the youth were very eager to join the School, so I prayed that God would make a way. One of the students who helped us so much in the Salon has also join the School, but three are still not sure of their school situation. This has given me more joy. I know that we will have less help in the salon, but it will be easy for us. The Salon lessons will not stop, though, since most of them are in day school. We will come back to the Drawing board and see how we can reprogram what we are doing. All the youth will join me to go to a big Bible study organized by the Presbyterian church in Nairobi west on Sunday. The work of God is plenty and we only need to commit ourselves.

Thankfulness

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0500

I look at the where we are now and where we started and get all the reason to thank God. The readers of the book...I discovered again that God gave us these people, they are very important to us, they have supported us much in making most of our dreams come true. Without the noble readers of the book, we could not have achieved what we have achieved. I was talking to the youth yesterday as I was checking the textbooks that we bought, and I told them, remember someone bought the book, someone who does not even know you, but he/she is participating a lot in shaping your life, including mine and my family. What are learning from our Readers? They have shown Love even to the people that they don't know. Some of them bought the book just to read, but it supported many people, including me. Thanks to all who bought our books, you are so special to us and the people of Kibera. Everything is going on well, and the month of March will give us the real picture of the salon business. Though we have learned a lot during the days we have worked here so far. Tonight I will lead the youth in the book of Esther: how Esther risked her life on behalf of her people. I also thought the Kibera needs people who will be ready to sacrifice to save the community.

A Long and Busy Weekend

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Though I was really exhausted I enjoyed seing what God did in the lives of many youths. It all started with the worship songs, I was playing the keyboard and it was fun as the youth celebrated. I invited Mike who was our guest speaker to talk about Drugs and Relationships. Then me and Faith came in to talk about the plan of God in our lives. Faith answered question that arose, and it was a challenge as the youth asked many questions. We discovered that the youth need and are ready to learn. This is the way we can save our community. I introduced to them that next time we meet we will talk about Conflicts, especially in Kibera, where the conflict is a normal thing. Conflicts between parents, people, the church, the community. There were 40 youths at the conference. On Sunday I was invited to go and talk to a different group of children that started recently, led by a very good friend of mine named Shadrac. He has a special gift for working with kids.

Reader reviews posted

Greg Lanier — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0500

We have just added a new Reader comments page to the website containing feedback and comments from readers of Slum. We are appreciative of all the thoughtful responses of readers who have been challenged and impacted greatly through learning about life in Kibera. Here is an example from a reader in New Jersey:

We are grateful for the book. It is very helpful to get a clearer picture of the lives of the folks who live in Kibera. It's one thing to understand that their lives are difficult, but a whole different matter to actually be allowed to see inside their houses and jobs and lives.

Click here to read more...

Saturday

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:00:00 -0500

Please keep on praying for the conference. We have got a big job on Saturday. Up to yesterday evening 54 youth confirmed that they will be attending. It just started to rain yesterday, almost every part of the country is receiving the rain, including my village in Siakago. This mean that the rain might come early this year.

Upcoming conference

Genesis Njeru — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Faith and I are holding another conference with the young people, where we will teach on Drugs, Relationships, and Our Abilities. We have gathered together the youth and talked about strategies on how this will go. We have given out some invitation cards (see the photo) and tracts to people on the street, and next week we will continue. I have been given the church hall by the Church and that will be nice. I am looking forward to see how this goes.

Our youth will host and they will be ushering. We will have question time, and we are expecting many tough queries from the youth. As for me and my household, we will serve God and his people.

Beauty Salon photos

Genesis Njeru — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500

The salon is going very well, and we already have the 3 youth who joined us today. We are yet to plan their lessons, but it will be okay as we will teach them as we get the customers. We borrowed a camera and posted pictures of Blessed Hands Beauty Salon. I am sure that these will give all the readers the clear picture of the business.

More than good

Genesis Njeru — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500

It was a historical day as we opened our Beauty salon. Can you imagine we got three customers yesterday, which is okay for the beginning. Our blow drier was very busy, as Faith treated our first customers. I was holding Blessings as we did not get someone to help Faith. All went well, and I was happy as many clients thanked us for the good service. We gave them gospel tracts that have got calenders at the back. From tomorrow we are having four youth join us to start their lessons. Our dreams are coming true. We will soon see the youth developing from this. Opposite other businesses in Kibera, our salon will be the first one to give hope to the youth. Praise God. Faith has suggested another name that I think she really likes so much: Blessed Hands Beauty Salon. Also, we participated in the Peace in Kibera walk and cross country run on Saturday, organized by CARE Kenya and other organizations. Unfortunately many people started to fight as they said that there was a lot of corruption, and that they needed money. We sensed the situation and left the place. I later heard about the chaos. Imagine war in the day of Peace campaign; well, this all the result of corruption.

Business ready to open, 8am on Feb 8

Genesis Njeru — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:00:00 -0500

On February 3rd, we identified the youth that will start in the salon; the shelves have dried from the paint and the mirror is installed. We finished obtaining the seats, treatments, towels, shaving machine, cosmetics, and braids. Our Bishop dedicated the salon business to the Lord today after the Sunday service. The electricity is back again, the salon will kick off officially tomorrow at 8am. Faith and I are thinking of calling it "Greater Grace." We have cleaned and put all the equipments ready for the work tomorrow.

Public digital map of Kibera

Greg Lanier — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0500

In November we posted a link to a project, led by an American team of mapping experts, in which group of 12 men and women living in Kibera were equipped with GPS devices and traveled around Kibera plotting landmarks, pathways, and so forth in order to develop the first publicly-accessible, digital map of the slum. Partners of Map Kibera included Jubal Harpster of WhereCampAfrica, the Social Development Network (Sodnet), Pamoja Trust, Hands on Kenya, Carolina for Kibera and others. The "final" result has been released and provides a lot of insight into the layout, terrain, and structures of Kibera. According to their press release, "The resulting information will be freely available to residents, NGOs, private companies, and others interested in working with and for Kibera." Click on the map below to visit the working copy of the map, hosted by OpenStreetMap.

Preparing to launch the business

Greg Lanier — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0500

As we describe on the book purchase page, and as Genesis wrote in chapter 9 of the book, one primary way that he and Faith will be using the profits from the sale of the book is in establishing a business in Kibera. Over the past several months, we have been discussing this goal, and Genesis and Faith have decided to start a salon and barber shop. As they wrote in the book: We want to start a business: a salon and barber shop. Faith is a qualified salonist, and I can shave men's hair. We thought that by setting up this business, it will help us even more. Apart from making money, we would like to help a certain group of girls and boys who cannot afford to join the high school. Once our salon and barber shop is set and ready, we would use some of the money we make from it to give these girls and boys an opportunity to come to our shop and learn these skills, without paying. This will be a gift to them; we know we cannot help everyone, but at least a number of youth will benefit from this. Praise God for providing so many people who have been interested in purchasing the book: after only three months, Genesis and Faith have begun setting up the business. Below are a few updates from Genesis about this project.

1/20 - "Faith and I have also been able to get a Room that could be suitable for the Salon. It is very near our house and Church. It only need some slightly repair."
1/25 - "I introduced the youth to the salon idea. It is time for us to start purchasing some equipment."
1/27 - "We are on the way of arranging how the Salon business will go."
1/28 - "We have started to reinforce the room for the salon today, we will tell you how it goes and we are all excited to see how God will work this out, the youth start showing interest in it. Please keep on praying as we prepare to kick off."
1/30 - "Today at 4 we are doing the renovation of the Salon room. We will repaint, do the Wiring, Strengthen the door, and clean it. So the meeting will be in the salon hall as we all help in preparing it for the Job, some of the boys have been interested in learning about the Barber Job. I am looking forward to see how this project will go. It a Slum: People of Kibera project, and this is another achievement that is almost happening."

Quotes from Megaslumming

Greg Lanier — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0500

As mentioned previously, I wanted to share a few brief excerpts from the recently released book, Megaslumming, by Adam Parsons.

[pg.2] As this book shows, the fate of slum-dwellers worldwide underlines the myths and misconceptions of contemporary development theory. Its basic message can be simply put: that government decisions to follow purely market-based policies in the hope of creating a �development utopia' have conclusively failed.
[pg.8] The raw details of poverty rarely make the headlines, chronic hunger is hardly a topic for polite conversation, and incurable disease amongst hapless destitution is seldom a popular story to tell � and yet, after several years as a wayfaring writer in developing countries, the subject of global poverty struck me as more important and inescapable than any other.
[pg.9] Even though I was only one step removed from being a slum tourist myself, and although I had no pretensions about understanding what it really means to live in poverty, it was my contention that affluent society in the West has hardly any knowledge of the poor at all.
[pg.14] In 2006, a year before I visited Kenya, urban sociologists were marking a "watershed in human history" � the first time the urban population of the earth would outnumber the rural.29 Over two years later, that ominous moment is already well passed; today the developing world absorbs an average of five million new urban residents a month, and is responsible for 95 percent of world urban growth.30 Where most of these new city-dwellers end up, with the vast majority of them migrating from villages in the countryside, is in the muddy byways and ghetto neighbourhoods of peri-urban (and often illegal) squatter settlements like those in Mumbai, Karachi, Dakar and Caracas or, at the most extreme end, like those in Maputo, Luanda, Kinshasa, Cochabamba and Nairobi.
[pg.15] As agricultural productivity improves, the surplus rural population moves to the cities to find work. Instead of being a focus for growth and prosperity, the cities have become a dumping ground for a surplus population working in unskilled, unprotected and low-wage informal service industries and trade. The slums of the developing world swell.
[pg.28] They say Kibera is the largest informal settlement in sub-Saharan Africa, with more than a million people squashed into an area the size of Manhattan's Central Park. Whatever its population size or macabre status � and nobody really knows either � it is among the most iniquitous, distressing and heart-rending places on planet Earth; no infrastructure, no roads, no sewers, no toilets (or rather one for every thousand people or so, all of which must be paid for), no running water, no maps, no rubbish collections, no jobs (at least three quarters of all inhabitants are unemployed).
[pg.38-39] With the sound of rain spattering on the corrugated tin roof, the feeling of chill from the dank outside, the claustrophobia of sitting in the middle of a drizzling megaslum, and with the feint bare light bulb that kept threatening to tinker out, the feeling of squalor made me mull over an opprobrious thought; that if I had to subsist in these conditions day by day, I wasn't sure if I could find a purpose in continued living.
[pg.57] With remarkable insight he added; "We just feel like nobody likes us. That is what is disturbing street boys like us. That's why more street boys are very dangerous."
[pg.91] It was past midday, the sky was dismally overcast, and literally hundreds of Kiberans were ambling along the tracks on the long walk into the city � "to look for work" as Djemba explained. Laina Saba was the highest district in Kibera, projecting a repulsive horizon of rusted tin roofs to the north, and the most beautiful greenery of Kenyatta golf course to the south. The distinction could not have been more symbolically poignant; an unceasing line of impoverished slummers on the train tracks, too poor to afford a ticket, walking dolefully along one of the most crowded land masses on the planet, and then a fence dividing a vast expanse of exquisite fairways that were being patronised, on this particular Friday, by not even a single soul.

An electronic version of the book can be downloaded from their website (PDF).

New book on Kibera: Megaslumming

Greg Lanier — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:00:00 -0500

The folks at Carolina for Kibera recently pointed me to the website for a new book that has just come out about Kibera. Megaslumming - A Journey Through sub-Saharan Africa's Largest Shantytown is written by Adam Parsons, editor of Share the World's Resources, a think-tank in the UK. The book, officially launched at a public event in Nairobi on January 20th, aims to " unravel how a 'megaslum' such as Kibera came to exist, what economic forces shape the reality of life for slum-dwellers in Africa, and what it really means to live in extreme poverty."

I was able to read the online copy of the book, and I was greatly moved by Parsons' account of his time spent with a small band of 17-yr old Kibera streetkids, led by a young man named Djemba, who showed him the ropes and taught him about life in the slum. The book, though written from a Westerner's perspective (its biggest weakness), offers great insight into Kibera from both a research and a personal story perspective. In many ways, it is quite similar to our book, though with an obviously stronger activist / awareness / political slant. I applaud the author for doing his very best -- and he does it well, indeed -- to drive home in lurid detail the juxtaposition of the extremely bad conditions in Kibera and the glimmer of hope of its people to get up each morning and live another day. The book is a valiant attempt at waking up his audience of "rich people [who] do not mingle, meet or even know about the existence of the poor (other than in an abstract way)." In addition to describing his daily adventures (visiting slum schools, talking to slum chiefs, collecting metal scraps for money, etc.) with his new entourage of Kiberan friends, Parsons provides a fairly in-depth analysis of the economic, political, and social forces that have crushed Kenya in general, and Kibera most of all. I found the data presented in Megaslumming to be largely consistent with that which we included in Slum, and I was pleased with Parsons' thorough analysis. I would recommend the book (along with ours) for readers who want to peel back the statistical veneer of Kibera and see what it is really like. As I did in the introduction to our book, Parsons declares that learning about Kibera is incredibly relevant in today's world: the complex forces of urbanization, population shifts, failed politics, economic "neo-imperialism," and conflict over resources that have shaped the development of the Kibera slum are causing a worldwide explosion of slums in urban centers -- a trend which will shape the future in a way in which we do not yet fully understand. In a separate post, I will provide a few excerpts from Megaslumming that I found particularly compelling.

Kibera is an Egypt to many

Genesis Njeru — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:00:00 -0500

About life in Kibera. Many people work out day and night to try to figure out how they can get out of here. Like me and others, we have no option since this is the only way we can afford living, the rent, the food (despite its quality). At the same times many people who get money from the business in Kibera, especially the landlords, would not imagine moving from here. That is the reason to why many times the developments in Kibera are a challenge, for many landlords feel that if there are developments, then they will lose their income. When one does migrate out of Kibera, this person is termed as someone who has "come from Egypt," in the biblical sense. Kibera is an Egypt to many. Many do not chose to live here but they find themselves in here. It is not a permanents home for anyone here. For example my hometown is Siakago Mbeere, and that where I can call my home. We come to the city to seek for the Job. Many times it does not work out, but we have to accept it.

Student exam scores

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:00:00 -0500

We have received the results from the youth's examinations. The performance was so nice to many of them. The same many of them have received the calling letters to join the high school. None of them have done it yet, but I am meeting with them almost everyday to know the situation with their school. We will wait and see how it goes for many of them. I also introduced them to the salon business we are going to start, which may allow us to accommodate some of those who will not have a chance to join the high school.

Graph of student scores on Kenyan Primary Exams

Joshua and Rahab

Genesis Njeru — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0500

In Joshua, chapter 2, when Joshua sent the spies, they were accommodated by a prostitute named Rahab. Thereafter God used that woman (see here and here). God can use anyone despite his background. He can use us also, even with our little education, and even though people does not recognize us due to our living standard. God does not look at that; he can use us all to accomplish his work. Hallelujah.

Zinduka Africa Program

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:00:00 -0500

Tomorrow is a big day with our youth, as many of the youth have decided to know their HIV/AIDS status. I will get the privilege of hosting the Zinduka Africa program here in our church hall in Kibera, where they will camp for the day. We will be doing counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS. Many of my youth will be there, and they registered with us that they would like to know their status, as they will also be the host. Tomorrow will be a very busy day. Our Mission Outreach Church Bishop gave me the go-ahead. All the Glory be to the most high, it's not me but by his strength I am able to serve his people.

Back in Nairobi

Genesis Njeru — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0500

I have been with youth group this evening again, and I have reviewed their performance on the exams. We have begun looking into ways we can work with parents on school fees. We are having a Bible study tomorrow. My youth will host the Bible study, and we have invited a couple of other youths. It will be from 2pm to 6pm. I am praying on what to teach.

Welcome Caroline Grace Lanier

Greg Lanier — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:00:00 -0500

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, my wife gave birth to Caroline Grace Lanier, weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz. and measuring 20 in. long. We are very thankful to the Lord for a successful delivery and a healthy baby. Kate is doing well and is enjoying the transition to motherhood. The dedication page of Slum: The People of Kibera includes the following statement: And for our children who will be born soon: May you one day play as friends in the streets of Kibera. Now Genesis and I are fathers to two little girls, and we are excited that what we included in the book may one day become a reality.

More updates from the upcountry

Greg Lanier — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:00:00 -0500

Genesis, Faith, and Blessings will continue to stay in Siakago, in the upcountry, for a few more days before returning to Nairobi. Siakago is a mostly rural area in the Mbeere District; most families work on farms to raise crops for their own livelihood. As mentioned in the book, Genesis' family, along with everyone else in eastern Kenya, underwent a multi-year famine where an oppressive drought ruined crop production and pushed scores of people into starvation. This year's rain season has been quite a blessing, and, as Genesis has mentioned before, the vegetation is quite good right now, which is quite a relief for his family. Prior to leaving Nairobi, Genesis had an opportunity to visit several families that are featured in the book, and he plans to continue this when he returns. He mentioned that the response from several people in Kibera regarding the book has been very positive: "They have told me that they know that we [Faith and Genesis] understand them and are one of them." The youth group will reconvene on January 15th. All the students have received their national examination scores, which determine whether they are eligible to go to secondary school (high school), but Genesis has not yet heard about any of their scores.

Matatu strike

Greg Lanier — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:00:00 -0500

Genesis and Faith were looking to return to Nairobi from the upcountry, but the Nairobi matatu strike (public minivan transportation -- sort of like communal cabs) impacted travel. Commuters trying to get to work in Nairobi were photographed literally spilling out of the few commuter trains. Amazing stuff. Fortunately, a few hours ago the mata tu drivers' lobby called off the strike after two days once the government intervened.

Upcountry

Genesis Njeru — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 13:00:00 -0500

Faith, Blessings, and I are in the upcountry to visit with family. When i stand outside here in the upcountry, the enviroment is very quiet, there is green everywhere, there is a lot of food in the garden. It is easier for me to take care of my family now as there is food. There is a lot of fruit, which is something that I have been praying to God for, He is mighty. God is great. He is great and majesty. We are helping in a chidren centre in near my village by the name Jenga Chidren Centre in Siakago. We love the kids. There are people living with HIV in our village area, and some of them died and we buried them. This is very sad. Many people have joined drugs and they don't want to listen to advice.

Merry Christmas

Greg Lanier — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500

The heavy rain has abated, and according to Genesis, things are somewhat back to normal. The Red Cross and Police are still at work managing the cleanup effort on the streets. Additionally, Genesis and Faith have had the opportunity, amid all the somewhat chaotic events of the week, to visit some of the families whose stories are in the book and spend time with them in celebrating Christmas.

As they say: when it rains...

Greg Lanier — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:00:00 -0500

...it pours. It has been a rough week for Kibera.

I heard from Genesis that the rain is coming down harder than he's ever seen. He has spent most of the day and night bailing water out of their "cube," in an attempt to keep wife and daughter dry. One of the youth in their group is sleeping under his bedding, rather than on top, for his bedding is already soaked through. According to a news report he heard, at least 8 people in the city have died from the flooding, and many homes have been destroyed. "No one was expecting this, there has been darkness everywhere."

Orange and red can't be good

News on Kibera train accident

Greg Lanier — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Below are a few news articles relating to the unfortunate and sad train incident in Kibera yesterday.

Kibera: Rescue Mission Underway (12/22/09 - Kenya Broadcasting Corp.)
Train Wreck Kills Four in Kibera (YouTube) (12/21/09 - NTVKenya)
Train derails in Kibera, Killing 2 (12/21/09 - Kenya Broadcasting Corp.)
Four confirmed dead in Kibera train accident (12/21/09 - The Standard)

This YouTube video by HotSunFilms provides a good sense of how the train runs through Kibera and the danger that people and store vendors face daily when the trains pass by so close to their stores and homes.

Prayer for Kiberans

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:00:00 -0500

I was not able to go back there, for the police are on the ground and they are not letting anyone back there -- only if you want to take pictures or you work for the Railway company. I have called my youth team, and we are all marching to one of my friend's house; she is not from our youth group, but she and her brother escaped death narrowly when the train overturned near their house. The train is still there, and we are hoping that more people will join us as we pray for the people and the families who have been affected. As we pray for the people who are working to save people, that God will give them strength. Not many people will think of holding such prayers, so me and Faith thought that it will be good if we do so. Some of the youth are already here, ready for prayer. My friend's house is next to where the train is lying. We thank God they escaped and did not die.

The sad day for Kibera

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Last week I wrote about the train that overturned in the Mashimoni area of Kibera. Today I have witnessed what I can call one of the most shocking events in my life. I was on my way to visit Jimmy, Jane and Paul, and other people featured in the book to identify how to help them. When I suddenly heard the Bang and the cry, there was a lot of screaming coming from everywhere. I didn't notice what was happening, so I decided to run toward the area. I was accompanied by two boys from my youth group. We discovered that it was a train that had overturned. It rolled and caught a lot of people. There were people walking and others selling different things and others in their houses. This accident has claimed the life of our dear people. We did not go there at once, since the train was still moving, but we waited for some time until we moved closer. We started helping the people who were trapped in the heavy train. There have been a lot of people crying inside the houses, but there is no way help them. We saved 23 people by 1pm alive, but with serious injuries. I testified 6 people dead, and now before I left to come and write this, we have tried to push another two men still trapped. On the other side there is also another head of a woman. Many people are crying that their loved ones are still trapped in the train. Police, doctors, and the residents are there, but they can do nothing to save; some people have been calling from inside their houses. The news confirmed that 2 people died, but that was before lunch time. More bodies are still trapped and some of them can be seen. I have called my youth to come in the evening and have prayer time to pray for these family who lost their dear ones. Now I will go back and see where I can help, and I will write again in the evening.

Youth performance at health conference

Genesis Njeru — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500

I am just back in the house from a long day. I was invited by the Afya Two in conjunction with the Matatu Owners Association -- they have been going throughout the country creating awareness and testing people for HIV -- to take my youth group to go and perform while they keep on testing and counseling people. We have been there since morning, and my youth have enjoyed the whole work. I am very happy that they have started seeing the fruits of the group. That is healthy for such a group.

Life is hard on an empty stomach

Greg Lanier — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Genesis, Faith (and Baby Blessings), and I are extremely thankful for the support that many people have poured out in buying the book or in general being interested in learning more about Kibera. We have sold nearly 200 books and have placed our fourth order for more books to keep in stock through Christmas. A hearty thanks goes to a handful of close friends and family who have been particularly gracious in sharing about Slum. Genesis and I have begun having more detailed discussions about the business that Faith and Genesis would like to start in Kibera in 2010. Baby Njeru is doing well and continues to grow, which is fantastic news. I am still hoping that Genesis will run into someone with a camera so they can take her picture. The following excerpt from Genesis reminds me why we are doing this project: "No one will be happy when her/his children are chased away from school and when they get home they find nothing to put in the mouth. So sad. I know what it means to go out without food. Brother, you cannot do anything when your stomach is empty; the stomach can even cause you to make a stupid decision in order for you to get food. Thank God for this project, it has brought us to the recognition on what the real Problem means. And I am sure that we can and we will have an opportunity to help a certain percentage. I am sure it is going to happen."

What one will do for kerosene

Genesis Njeru — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Today has been very interesting day. If you remember what happened in the news when the truck carrying the petroleum overturned and killed many people when they tried to earn from the charity, which I wrote about in the book. Today I have testified to a similar incident. The Train carrying many liters of Diesel and Kerosene has overturned here in Kibera, and people have been very busy trying to get the free fuel. I have been watching from a distance. The police and the journalists came and many people have blamed the food prices. I talked to one of the guys and he said that he is not afraid of losing his life; he told me that he took 3 gallons of kerosene to his house that he will use for couple of months. "I am not going to let you know my name, you might tell the police about me and they will come to my house and get my Kerosene that I have worked hard to get, that belong to me and my children," he said. I learnt that the guy was ready to exchange the Kerosene for money for him to feed his children. They may not do it because they want to do it, but the circumstances force them to. This is miracle according to many of them. It would cost you Ksh65 to buy one liter of Kerosene. So someone who has no Job and may be not paid the house rent, this is a big relief to him. But how can we stop people from risking their lives looking for food, this remain to be a Dream. These are our people and I personally I love them, and I have hope that one day things will be okay for them. Unlike the prior incident, there was no fire, but the train is still there and the police are there to protect anyone from getting near the train.

"Parents do not talk to their children"

Greg Lanier — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:00:00 -0500

This morning I was fortunate to be able to speak with Genesis via phone again for the first time since their baby was born. He provided a thorough update on all their current happenings, which I have outlined below. Baby Blessings: Faith and the baby are doing quite well now, though they still must provide very gentle and deliberate care (keeping her wrapped, etc.) until she gets bigger. As Genesis says, Blessings appears to have inherited his character, as she has a healthy appetite! Youth group: The "Explorer Group," as Genesis calls it, continues to meet and is doing great. These youth are in the 14-15 yr old range, and they are very passionate to learn about life, especially about relationships with each other, their parents, their community, the church, and God. Genesis is extremely pleased with how the youth have taken ownership of the group and want to help it grow and have an impact in the community, from serving other people to teaching other youth about good behavioral patterns. Next week, Genesis is taking them on a retreat outside Kibera to a park near the city. Genesis and Faith recognize that these youth need positive adult influences; they desire to do great things, but when the parents of children in Kibera do not feed them, talk to them, or instruct them about life, how are they to succeed? [Commentary: I am personally so excited about how God is equipping the Njerus to do this on their own initiative. How rare is that? Moreover -- they just had their first child! Yet Faith is eager to jump back into serving the community and bringing Blessings along with her. What a great model for parenting they are showing: we exist to serve, not to idolize our children's comfort and safety.] Other updates: Genesis has been building relationships with people who run various projects and ministries in Kibera. We also continue to discuss how to launch a business in Kibera within the next few months.

Mother and daughter home

Genesis Njeru — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:00:00 -0500

Faith and blessings are here. Faith is very strong and she looks more than happy. She said, "Hey thank God it's easy for me to take care of my daughter when she is out, May God be glorified." You cannot imagine how nice the books we received look. Imagine this has been received with gratitude by the people around me. Everyone needs to read the book, and I am praying that God will direct me on who to give the book to. One of the first people will be the parents of Faith.

Political processes and update on Little Njeru

Greg Lanier — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:00:00 -0500

I was speaking with Genesis and he mentioned that Kenya is engaged in a pretty interesting endeavor: revising the national constitution through soliciting public feedback. The "Harmonized Draft Constitution" was released on November 17th and allows roughly one month for public comment and debate. Kenya has struggled with defining itself and its constitution since it gained its independence in 1963. Per Genesis (who adamantly claimed he desires no career in politics!), "If we do not respect the curent constitution that we have, there is no need of a new one." In other news, the Soweto East upgrading process that culminated in the relocation of many families in September (mentioned previously) has, according to Genesis, somewhat stalled out. "After some people left Soweto, there has been no development, nothing has been built yet. People are concentrating on politics towards 2012." Faith and Blessings remain in the clinic as the doctors continue to monitor the baby's growth and health, but present signs are still positive. We've nearly sold through the first shipment of books and have ordered a second. Thanks to everyone for their support of this project!

Thanks and updates

Genesis Njeru — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0500

Faith will come back home on Tuesday if things goes like they are. It is great to hear that we will have a special doctor assigned to monitor our baby. Well I will be sure about this on Tuesday morning. We went to the service with the young people in our new group. Honestly this is one of the groups that I think will change the lives of couple youths in the slum. They are responding in a very nice way. I am looking forward to see God glorifying himself through this group. I thank God that we can now concentrate on the project now, and our resolution this December is glorify God in serving and helping his people, thank God we have this chance.

Things going okay

Genesis Njeru — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0500

It was early for the baby; the doctors said that she was tired, she looked tired when she came. We have got a nurse who is taking care of them both. The doctors have also confirmed that Faith and the baby will be okay; she is feeding and they say that her appetite is also good. They say that she must be monitored closely by the doctors. I have been there early in the morning to take food to Faith and I saw my daughter too.

Welcome Blessings Gikeno Njeru

Greg Lanier — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0500

On the morning we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., the Njeru family had their own reason to be thankful. Faith and Genesis went to the hospital earlier today (their time) and brought their new little girl into the world. Her name is Blessings Gikeno Njeru (Gikeno in Swahili means "joy"). The mother and father are doing well. From Genesis: Her Name is Blessings Gikeno. Its also raining and I have to take food for her now. They say she looks like me but I am not sure about it yet. I am excited and I am still waiting to see what next and see what the doctors says. We give God all the glory, hey Glory to God for these steps. Talk to you soon, I will be awake maybe during the half of this night. I am excited.

Maps, books sold, and giving thanks

Greg Lanier — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0500

After a week and a half since the "official" launch, we have sold about 75% of the first order of books. A heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who has given the book a shot, and we truly do praise God for his faithfulness in this entire project so far. I heard from Genesis today that he has had recent contact with several of the people featured in the book, including Paul and Jane, Frederick, Mark, Jimmy, Christine, and Sylvia; his hope is to serve many of them in some way leading up to Christmas. Genesis and Faith are also expecting their daughter to be born any day now (they have already taken one trip to the hospital, but it was a false alarm). In other news, I exchanged emails with the leader of a very interesting project that is underway this month in Kibera: the Map Kibera project. The initiative, led by two Americans, consists of training Kiberans from across the slum to use GPS devices in order to develop an open-source, digital map of the slum.

How one ends up in Kibera

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

We have stayed close to Faith's mum Josephine and her husband, Peter, about the fire. From Friday they have changed a lot; we discovered that they feel it a lot when they are alone. Up to now they have no words about it. They want to organize how the children will come to Kibera and live here as they have been living outside since Friday. The report is not clear about the cause of the fire, but we will keep on learning more about the incident. We will have to organize on how these chidren will travel to Nairobi, but this will only happen after the exams that are in progress and will end in the beginning of December. We have identified another Neighbor who will take care of the children before they can come to Nairobi. We are taking care of the parents, we do not advise them to go home right now.

"Do you want the good news or bad news first?"

Greg Lanier — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Kate and I had the wonderful privilege of talking to both Genesis and Faith this morning by phone. Faith and Kate had never heard each other's voices, so they were excited to talk and compare notes on their belly sizes (which is what pregnant women like to do, of course). It was great to learn from Genesis that the youth group they have started for students who just finished primary school (and would be heading to high school next year, if their families can afford it) is going well. They had their first meeting on Wednesday, which was attended by 16 boys and girls. We are excited to see where it leads. Unfortunately, we learned on the call that Faith's mother, who moved to Kibera to be with her for when the baby comes, just learned that her home in the upcountry completely burned to the ground earlier in the day. They are still awaiting details, but fortunately none of Faith's siblings or father were home when the fire started.

Long night of rain

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

It is now 3:30 in the morning and it is raining heavily. I have been awake due to the rain, there is a lot of water getting in to my house and I have been very busy trying to redirect it. I have the basin that I am using to get the water out of my house. There is no electricity here and the house is very cold, so I have to figure out how I will make the house warm for Faith. But this struggle reminds me that the country needs rain and I am not complaining. Here there is water again here I have to get it out. It is a big task still but in all this God is glorified through the gift of rain. Its amazing how the other day we talked about the climate, and it had not rained for 3 days, but hey immediately we launched the book there was this heavy rain. We think that this was a sign how God is going to bless this work.

Books arrived and ready to be sold

Greg Lanier — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500

At long last, the first shipment of books arrived, and they look great. The shopping cart is live. I was thrilled when the Fedex deliveryman finally knocked, as I had been staring at the door pretty much all day waiting for the books to arrive (after checking the online Fedex package tracker about 14 times per day since last Saturday night). This morning, notably, Genesis, Faith, and I were all able to talk via phone for the first time (since 2005 for Genesis and me; I had never heard Faith's voice before). What a delightful way to launch the book. We had emailed previously about trying to talk by phone so we could pray together for this project, so perhaps the fact that the Fedex guy was a few hours later than his normal delivery time was purposed to give the three of us a chance to talk; an appropriate way to start, I think. Next time, we will try to get Kate on the phone, too, so everyone can hear each other's voice. We marveled at how God works in unexpected ways, even across oceans.

Youth completing their education

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0500

On Saturday God enabled us to help a group of young people who finished their Exams in primary level. Being the young people is not an easy task, most of the time they want to explore trying as many things as they can without knowing that the world is full of stupid things that could destroy their lives. These are the people who finished their primary level, and since they will be free from now up to March when the results will be announced, they may engage themselves in drugs or groups that could lead them in a wrong ways. I want to take this chance to be too close to them, help them stay busy, and avoid any behavior that could undermine their lives. We thank God for that. They are from the School close to where we live.

We are on the Google

Greg Lanier — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

After much work on search engine optimization (which I know next to nothing about), the project is finally indexed by Google. Of course, you have to type in exactly the title of the book for it to show up, or include Genesis / Faith / something else in there to narrow it down. Perhaps in time more queries about Kibera will point to the site. And we are still waiting for Yahoo and Bing to catch up...

$20 a month to slum families

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500

The government of Kenya announced that it would give at least Ksh 1500 every month to the families living in the slums; this is equivalent to USD $20 per month. I think this money may be too little compared to the food prices, and it is not clear whether this project will succeed. Many projects have been conducted and when the politics and corruption gets in these projects, then this becomes the end of it. We will follow keenly what will happen.

Slums are the theme on CNN

Greg Lanier — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Not sure if this is related to the fact that Oprah was on TV last night speaking on the aforementioned book club selection, but CNN is running a story on what Jimmy Carter called the "worst slum in America" -- Charlotte Street in the Bronx. In other news, though I have not yet seen much posted recently about the KENSUP project (mentioned in the book), we do know that in September the first group of Kiberan residents was moved to temporary housing so that demolition and reconstruction could proceed in the Soweto East village. I hesitate for this to sound completely cynical, but it took UN-HABITAT / KENSUP nine years (since the initiation of the program in 2000) to launch the program, develop a "decanting site," and relocate the first 1,500 residents -- or, 0.3% of the population in Kibera, if you use a low estimate of 500,000 people. Thus, one wonders whether the "officials" are really accurate in saying that it will only take two to five more years for the remaining 99.7% of the population. Where would you house the remaining 498,500 to 998,500 people? That's roughly 20-25% of the metropolitan population...

Everything is good

Genesis Njeru — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

Everything is good; the work of the Devil is to destroy, but you know what, he could not make it happen. Faith is fine, very okay, and so am I.

Strange occurences

Greg Lanier — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

So the same day that I ended up in the ER from a peculiar incidence of loss of feeling in my entire right side, garbled speech, inability to talk, etc., Genesis and Faith both also ended up in the hospital with malaria and typhoid, respectively.

We don't know why...

Genesis Njeru — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0500

On Friday evening, I prepared our supper as normal, and I was feeling a bit weak. We went to bed, at 9 and this time we are used to praying together. At around 11pm I felt something strange - I was sweating in the whole body but my temperature was not high. I was weak in all parts of my body and I could not even raise my hand, all my body was feeling tired and painful. At 2am Faith woke me up and told me that she needed some porridge. I have been preparing this for her as the doctor said that its good for her in her condition. I woke up hoping to serve my wife with the porridge. Immediately I fell on the ground and I started vomiting, I felt a lot of pain as I vomited. Faith woke up and she tried to lift me up. I could not raise my hands, I was uttering to her, 'Baby don't worry. God is coming and he will get this out of us, it was the plan of the devil.' Faith was worried that she was losing her husband. I told her, 'Hey I am not going to die, I have not completed the work of God and there was a lot to be done in our community and in the ministry.' At around 4am Faith called me and she told me to get her more clothes for her, as she was feeling too cold. When i woke up, I noticed her shaking, her body had changed immediately, I covered her with more clothes but still she was shaking. She complained about the headache, and her whole body was shivering. We kept on praying and we noticed that this was the attack from the devil. Thank God we slept, and on Saturday morning we called Faith's mum to come and help us. We got to the hospital and the doctor confirmed that I had a strange malaria, but he also wondered how it had attacked me that soon. He gave me the first malaria vaccination and Artifan medicines for malaria. During this time Faith was still lying helpless, and me and my friend took her to the same hospital. Again the doctors were shocked to hear the news, and they tested her and said that she had typhoid and she needed a quick round of medication and four vaccinations. She left the hospital at 7pm, and she has been taking her medicines too. She was told to go back today, and as I am writing this she is in the dispensary. She is recovering and there are no bad signs, as for me I am taking my last Artifan now and I have no bad sign.

First shipment ordered

Greg Lanier — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0500

We finished the edits to the manuscript (after a bizarre day of a trip to the ER and a baby shower), so I finalized the cover and typeset, sent it to the printer, and ordered the first set of books. If all goes well, we will be live in about a week or so once the books arrive.

Nairobi street teens on CNN

Greg Lanier — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

More coverage by CNN related to the Oprah book club selection: a brief story on homeless teens who live in Nairobi. Read more...

Advertisement cards

Greg Lanier — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Based on a suggestion from Kate, I came up with a few advertisement cards that we can hand out to people. Better than just writing the web address on a sticky note, I suppose.

Green everywhere

Genesis Njeru — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

To me the most beautiful thing that our heavenly Father has given to me is a chance to serve his people as well as serving in his kingdom. I know that one may not take this as a gift. A lot of time we as human being think that by serving God we are giving him a gift; by to me, I think that it is God, who is giving me a gift to serve in his kingdom. The country is recovering from a long term drought and there is green every where, especially my upcountry the crops are coming up very well and if things goes like this then no doubt we will have recovered and again all the Glory to God for doing this.

Oprah's book club: Africa, in fact

Greg Lanier — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500

Today I successfully purchased an ISBN for the first edition, and that puts us on the bookworld map and protects the rights to the book. I also learned today that Oprah's new Book Club selection happens to be a collection of five stories about African children written by Uwem Akpan, a Nigerian Jesuit priest. Fairly timely, and it is exciting to see the plight of African children getting attention from such a cultural opinion leader. I may have to check it out. What still amazes me about this project is how monumental a task it was for Genesis and Faith to document the life they are currently living in. I am excited that Rev. Akpan gets to go on an Oprah TV show; it still pains me that Genesis, by contrast, wakes up in Kibera each day. Perhaps one day...

Second test print & PayPal

Greg Lanier — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Having made some significant tweaks to the cover and revised the copyright and intro pages a bit, I had ordered a second test copy. The results looked great this time, so I think we are getting close. One final major proofread through the manuscript and the initial distribution will be set to launch. After much thought, I decided to forego setting up our own home-built ecommerce section of the site for selling the book; it is not my expertise, and I wanted something more secure that would give potential customers (if there are any!) some comfort. So, I went with PayPal's merchant solution, which costs a bit more, but you get what you pay for. I hope it will be very straightforward to use for visitors to the site, and it is a solid platform, from what I know.

Rain at last

Genesis Njeru — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400

We are thankful for the rain, every time our house leak we tell God thanks since the country need Rain. At night we have also struggled to fix some holes in the sheets and redirecting the water not to touch some of our electronics and seats, but this situation is not bad comparing to what the country has undergone for the last 1 year.

Website is live

Greg Lanier — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:00:00 -0400

After multiple back-to-back late nights, I was able to make fairly quick work of getting the basic elements of the site designed and scripted. I am excited about the outcome.

Website under development

Greg Lanier — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0400

I began working on the layout (XHTML, style sheets, etc.) of the website, with the idea of anchoring the design around photography. In a way, this will hopefully be a nice blend of artistic form with serious content. Next step is finding a web host and transferring everything into PHP, etc. I promised Genesis that I would teach him a bit about Word and Excel when I come next year.

First test print

Greg Lanier — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0400

Today I received the first test print of the full book. Not knowing what to expect, I was pleased in general with the results, especially with the inside of the book -- very crisp printing, and the extensive work done on setting the pages correctly paid off. The cover looks good but needs some tweaking. Overall, I think this POD approach will work well for an initial run.