Authors and Editor

One is from the Mbeere tribe; the other is from the Kamba tribe. In Kenya, such distinctions matter, yet Genesis and Faith are building a beautiful Christian marriage that prioritizes service to the Lord and love for their neighbor. Having met while working at a youth conference in Kibera in 2008, the two were united in marriage in April 2009 in a ceremony held in Kibera. They had their first daughter, Blessings Gikeno Njeru, in November 2009.

Genesis Njeru Ngari, Author

Genesis was born in May 1984 and grew up in the Mbeere district in the eastern part of Kenya. He was the eighth born of nine children, and he grew up under much love and care from his parents, Benjamin and Consolata. While in high school, he was a good student and served as class prefect (student leader in charge of discipline) and coordinated school evangelism. His family lacked funding to send him to a college or university, so Genesis came to Nairobi to live with his brother-in-law and search for work.

Since 2003, Genesis has held various jobs working as a tailoring instructor, assisting with mission projects at local churches, and studying Physical and Spiritual Counseling with a scholarship from his church. Facing significant financial struggles in 2005 and unable to support rent payments, Genesis slept on his clothing and sought work, standing strong against the temptation to return to his village, where the risk of falling into using and selling drugs with the local youth was ever-present.

From 2006 until the 2007 election riots, God provided him with steady work as a tailoring instructor. He later began working at a store until it closed down in mid-2009, shortly after he and Faith were wed. At present, he continues pursuing new work opportunities to provide for his young family.

Genesis spends significant time each week coaching a football (soccer) team of boys from Kibera. He and Faith also work extensively teaching youth at their church and leading youth ministry conferences.

He has found the Slum: The People of Kibera project to be life changing: it has allowed him the opportunity to encourage and serve his community in new and creative ways, helped him build new relationships, challenged the way he viewed other people less fortunate than him, and offered him the opportunity to improve his writing and computer skills. His prayer is for the Lord to continue blessing the work.

Faith Kisolo Njeru, Author

Faith was born in the hillcountry of Makueni to Peter and Josephine, the firstborn of three daughters and three sons. Due to family differences when she was early in school, she lived several years with her grandmother. Later, her mother was the primary breadwinner for her family until she became ill and required surgery on her spine, forcing Faith to care for her siblings on a daily basis. The family's financial struggles continued, she was in and out of school but managed to graduate high school, which was a tremendous accomplishment.

With her father unable to provide steady income and her mother's ongoing health complications, Faith came to Nairobi to seek work as a house servant and, ultimately, a salonist in Kibera. She has sent much of her earnings home to assist her family with their needs.

Her dream is to become a journalist and use her writing abilities to their fullest extent. She is enjoying her new life as a mother to her new daughter and running her new salon in Kibera.

Greg Lanier, Editor

Greg, 28, lives with his wife, Kate, in Charlotte, North Carolina (USA). He met Genesis while serving on a short-term mission trip to Nairobi. He currently works in business and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he developed a passion for the "two-thirds" world in part due to his summer projects as a Morehead Scholar.

Kate is an Optometrist and enjoys caring for patients both at home and in the mission field. Along with Faith, she is excited about her new life being a mother to their first child, Caroline, and she looks forward to the opportunity to meet Genesis and Faith in person during a future trip to Kibera. Greg and Kate are active members of Uptown Church (PCA) in Charlotte.

Greg provided editorial oversight and direction for the project, assisting Genesis and Faith with interviewing techniques, conducting research, preparing the book for print, and launching the website. He [not-so-]secretly hopes Genesis will be able to go to seminary and become a pastor of a church in Kenya one day.

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