Four Teachers from St. Michael’s travelled to Nairobi, Kenya on a week long visit at the beginning of June 2007. During the visit they looked at development projects and identified ways in which St. Michael’s could support work undertaken by the Sisters of Mercy in the slum district of Mukuru.

They laid the foundations for the Mukuru Project which the school intends to develop in the coming years. Mr. McGivern, Director of the Mukuru Project was joined by Mrs Haughey, Mrs Murphy and Mr Taggart. All members of the team were looking forward to the visit and hoped to be able to respond positively to the challenges of life in Mukuru. This visit is the start of a meaningful working relationship between the Sisters of Mercy in Kenya and St Michaels. Here is the story of their travels.

Three A’s

We left Lurgan to travel to Mukuru, Kenya filled with mixed emotions – anticipation at the adventure that lay ahead – we were embarking on a new experience, none of us had been to Mukuru before and we were excited about the possibility of identifying local communities where the support of our school would make a difference to the lives of local people. There was also a sense of apprehension – we did not know what lay ahead and we were unsure of what we would find and how we could respond to it. Anxiety was also part of the mix, we hoped we would not be overwhelmed by the conditions, or unable to identify ways in which our school could give practical support to the people of Mukuru.

About Kenya

It is located in East Africa, south of Ethiopia, north of Tanzania and west of Uganda. It is south of the equator in sub Saharan Africa. December, January, Febuary and March are the hottest months while June July and August are cooler It achieved independence from Britain in 1963 It is best known for the production of tea and coffee which it exports world wide and for the richness and diversity of the animal life of the Massai Mara. The journey of the wilder beast from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Massai Mara in Kenya is sometimes described as the eight wonder of the world Nairobi is the capital of Kenya; it is situated at 5,500 feet above sea level. In Ireland the highest peak is just over 2,000 feet and no one lives at that height. North of Nairobi in the Great Rift Valley, the land rises to 10,000 feet above sea level. The altitude makes the lungs work harder. Athletes who train at this level greatly improve their capacity to manage oxygen – that is why Kenyan runners dominate world long distance running

There are 42 different tribes in Kenya and tribalism is a cause of great division in Kenyan society In urban areas the growth of the slums is a major problem and in rural areas the spread of Aids is the main problem

About Mukuru

Mukuru means Valley of the Poor. It is a sprawling slum with an estimated population of 400,000 people but it could be closer to half a million. It runs for miles from the back of the Mater Hospital to Wilson Airport. It is the second biggest slum in Nairobi, the biggest is Kibera where an estimated one million people live.

It has no sanitation – toilets or rubbish collection or drainage

There is no clean water, it has to be purchased or brought in

There is no electricity so most of the people in Mukuru spend the evenings in darkness

Houses are small and made mostly of corrugated iron sheets, in many cases these come from the river nearby where factories upstream dispose of their waste by throwing it in the river. Local people endanger their lives by recovering it from the river that is highly polluted. It is also used for washing and as a toilet.

The stench from the nearby river is overwhelming and when it rains the mud turns into a river that runs throw the narrow allies

Many people who come to Nairobi looking for work end up in Mukuru, they pay to live in the slums – an average shack cost 500 Kenyan shillings per month ( £1= 130KS) some people cannot afford to live in the slums and they live close by in home made shacks of paper and other rubbish which they collect.

Those people who are in a position to leave the slum can sell off their shack if they own it and can expect to make a small profit if they have improve it

Few people leave the slums because they have nowhere else to go, several generations of a family may live together in the slum.

Unemployment and the density of population are the two main reasons why Mukuru is a sprawling slum.

The threshold for survival in Mukuru is 20KS per day – that is 18p

The people who live in Mukuru can find most of what they need to live on in the area – there are butchers, barbers, and people who sell clothes, fruit and vegetables, chickens, matches and lighters. Some make furniture while others recycle rubbish to make new things from it. Many people sell many things, though they do not appear to do much business

The churches and charities provide free food and water if needed, as well as education for the children, they support the community in Mukuru. In times of illness when local people cannot afford medical care the church will cover the cost

Mukuru is run by a Chief and there is also a town council to which people can go if there is a problem that needs to be resolved

Mukuru Promotion Centre

The Sisters of Mercy do a lot of valuable and important work in Mukuru. All their work is managed through the Mukuru Promotion Centre

There are four primary schools -

St Bakhita's (800 students)

Class sizes ranges from 41-55 The classrooms are prefabricated huts with metal roofs, which get very hot in summer

The school employs local teachers and when we were visiting three Irish teachers were completing a six months teaching term

There is a very big emphasis on the children learning English but eaching resources are very basic

There was great enthusiasm from the teachers and the children were keen to learn and to demonstrate their knowledge

The school keeps rabbits, which the children look after – a rabbit reproduces every 26 days, the rabbits are looked after by the children and they are a valuable supply of food

The school also has goats, which came from foreign supplies. When the goats reproduce, the young animal is passed on to another needy family

Goats milk is rich and nutritious for HIV patients

An orphanage is located close to the school, accommodation in it is very basic. The children are taught to be self sufficient. The kitchen of the orphanage was in a dreadful state though the school has recently secured funding for the building of a much needed replacement kitchen

The school also operates an Exit home for teenage girls who have been in the orphanage. In it they are prepared for the experience of living independently when they reach the age to leave

The school also runs skills training programmes in tailoring, dressmaking, computer skills and hairdressing

Sr Bakitha’s is a real success story with past students returning to teach in the school.

St Elizabeths (1320 students)

The school is located at the back of a slum

Classroom conditions were very similar to those in St.Bakita’s – class sizes were large, accommodation was very basic, the teachers were clearly dedicated, the children were happy and interested in learning

The journey to school involved the children crossing a nearby river that was badly polluted and stinking. When it rains the water level of the river rose and flooded the nearby road so the children could not get to school. Recently a bridge has been built so that the children can cross the river attend school whatever the weather conditions

The road close to the school which carries the main traffic in the areas was in as bad a state as could possibly be imagined – a mud track with huge craters

The stench from the nearby river filled the air

St Catherines (800 students)

Another school with very limited resources but spirited children and highly motivated teachers operating The ladies in the kitchens produced over 1,000 meals per day

Mukuru Kayabe (1300 students)

The grimmest of the four school we visited The same problems existed here as we had seen elsewhere – overcrowded classes, corrugated tin classrooms, children who needed food and water supplied on a daily basis The same strengths were evident – dedicated teachers, children happy and keen to learn

Mary Immaculate Rehabilitation Centre

Attended by 65 street boys, some of whom are being helped with substance abuse problems.

It has a Residential Home for needy and orphan boys, currently catering for 25 boys but they would like to be able to take 50

All the boys attend school where the emphasis is on skills training – they learn employability skills like art and joiners in the hope that they will find employment and be able to support themselves

Unlike the other classrooms we visited, we found the older boys here quiet and less keen to communicate or be photographed. It seemed like their spirits had been crushed on the streets

We felt that these street boys needed our help possibly more than the other projects we had visited

On the same site there is a pharmacy and a health centre with nutrition programme which supports and educated local mothers. It is staffed by a Slovakian doctor and locally trained nurses

We were most impressed by Sr Teresia who is the Director of the Centre, a woman with quiet humility who put her Christianity into operation in a real and meaningful way

Sr Barbara explained the work that went on in the centre and her inspirational efforts to care for the children, especially those suffering from Aids.

Street Art Project

Another inspirational Irish nun was making a difference to the lives of boys operating Sr. Lori at the age of 79, taught the boys arts and skills – drawing, painting, doll making and other crafts that could be sold to raise much needed funds From her own money and supported only by her elderly sister in Ireland Sr Lori gave the boys what little money she could to encourage them to come to the centre so they could learn a skill that would take them off the street We looked in the exhibition centre and bought several items in support of the project

Nyumbani – a Hospice for HIV Positive Orphans in Nairobi

While in Nairobi we had the opportunity to have a look at some other valuable and impressive work that was going on in the area. Nyumbani is a community of 99 orphan children, all of whom are suffering from Aids and have been disserted by their families

A Jesuit priest Fr Dagastino established the project in 1992. Despite his recent death at the age of 80, the work continued, guided by an Irish Nun Sr. Mary from the Loretto community. She has the daunting responsibility of maintaining and expanding the project while raising funds internationally to ensure its viability in the longer term. SVP in Ireland has been one of the many supports of the project. Mortality rates among the children are surprisingly low. The illness is controlled through a feeding programme and daily doses of ARV drugs. The children attend school in the local area. This project is an impressive success story and provides hard evidence of what a positive can do attitude can achieve, despite the odds being stacked against it.

The intention is to make the community of Nyumbani self sustaining and weaned off external support within 5 years

Kazuri Beads

In 1975, an English woman Lady Susan Wood set up a business making beads. She hired two disadvantaged women, and quickly realized that there were many more women who were in need of jobs and so Kazuri Beads was established and it became a help center for needy women, especially single mothers who had no other source of income.

In 1988 Kazuri became a factory and expanded to provide over 120 jobs for women and men. Here women are trained to produce unique and beautiful beads and jewelry.

The beads are made with clay from the Mt Kenya area thus giving them authenticity to their craft. The factory acts as a social gathering with the hum of voices continuing throughout the day. With unemployment so high, one jobholder often ends up providing for an "extended family" of 20 or more.

Kazuri, the Swahili word for 'small and beautiful' produces a wide range of hand made, hand painted ceramic jewellry.

The guiding philosophy of the company is to provide employment opportunities for disadvantaged members of Kenyan Society. Today it provides jobs for 340 workers the vast majority of whom are single mother, able to support their families because of the opportunity for work provide by Kazuri Beads.

Kazuri Beads is evidence that investment in Kenya can produce great results – a happy and successfui workforce and a business that makes a real difference to the lives of local women able to support their families.

Mrs Murphy and Mrs Haughey were most impressed by the end product – they were like children in a sweet shop – how many could they buy and which were the nicest!! Mr Mc Givern and Mr Taggart found it hard to share the excitement, but they did recognise that their female companions had made a valuable contribution to the local economy as they emerged with their purchases!