A Great Big World

The vast majority of Nairobi's urban refugees live in Eastleigh, a densely populated low-income area of Nairobi. Eastleigh has been called "arguably one of the most unruly, overcrowded and unorganized estates in the world" ("Eastleigh: A fast growing city within a city". The Standard, February 11, 2007).

Aaron working on map skills with ladies from Iftin.

There is a lot that we take for granted coming from a country like Canada: take nature for instance. Erica and I grew up in communities where we could ride our bicycles, play in parks and explore streams and wooded areas near our homes. Summers always included swimming and camping and simply enjoying the beauty around us. This freedom to enjoy the outdoors is not a reality for the urban poor living in the slums of Nairobi. Sadly, much of the wide open beauty of Kenya will never been seen by the millions of urban poor. Most of the Refugee women in our classes have rarely left Eastleigh, let alone the city. For most of their children, the concrete and mud of Eastleigh is their only experience of the world we share.

This fall, we are planning a number of field trips with the ladies to help them experience more than the three zones of Eastleigh. We are having the women break into small groups that will travel together to various sites just outside of Nairobi; where they will picnic and have a chance to see another side of this great big world.