On Saturday, with the help of a translator, I interviewed three potential participants for Digital Storytelling. The participants we have so far are between the ages of 17 and 23, so we are trying to find a few younger people. When John, Joseph, and Patrick walked into the office I thought I was looking at two 8 year olds and a 10 year old. But they turned out to be 12, 15, and 16 respectively. None of them speak English, and only one is literate, so Morris, an Undugu volunteer, helped me talk with them.

The Undugu model tries to put younger people into schools; for this reason I’ve had little interaction with people under the age of 17 through Undugu and DSP, except with babies and toddlers. John, Joseph, and Patrick belong to a Street Association called “Young Brothers.” There are 12 members between the ages of 12 and 16. None of them go to school, and to raise money they collect plastic and scrap metal, a very common activity among the young people I’ve met.

Here is Joseph, the eldest of the bunch at 16 (sorry, not a great photo)

Here is Patrick, the eldest of the bunch at 16 (sorry, not a great photo)

We started talking about some of the problems the Young Brothers face and I was a little surprised when the first thing they mentioned was “getting food.” Hunger is a concern for most vulnerable children and youth in the slums where eating three full meals a day is often considered a luxury. However, I had never heard hunger mentioned as the first major issue a group has to deal with, which indicated to me that hunger is a much bigger problem for this group. The second problem they mentioned was housing. All 12 had been sharing a room together, but they were not able to afford the rent and where kicked out. Where do they sleep? Wherever they can.

John, although the youngest, was the most vocal and the other two would occasionally chime in with their own remarks. Many in their group do not have shoes, which makes walking through the slums and rummaging through the garbage dangerous considering there is broken glass everywhere. While sorting through the trash they are often pierced by used hypodermic needles. They are worried about germs, but don’t know what to do about it.

John (12) and Joseph (15)

John (12) and Joseph (15)

Despite these hazards, they fill big bags full of resalable plastic and scrap metal. The problem is once their bags are full, older boys will come along, beat them up, and take their bags. Joseph, who is very small for his age, talked about being forced into the bag he uses to collect scraps and then being beaten with glass bottles. Collecting and selling plastic and metal is the only option available to them to make money legally, which is why they continue to do so despite the risks that come along with it.

Two kids sorting through a dump site in Kibera.

Two kids sorting through a dump site in Kibera.

You might be wondering where the police are, and why they are not stopping these boys from being beaten. Actually, when the police find them and the boys happen to have a bit of money because they have just sold a big bag of recyclables, the police “assume” the money was attained through illegal means, beat the kids, and take their money. The police beat the kids and take their money.

One final problem. Drinking water. They can’t afford it. So, they pick up whatever half-empty bottles they find lying around and drink from them. They don’t know where the water comes from; they don’t know if the water is safe to drink. But they are thirsty and they need water, so they drink it.

John, Joseph, and Patrick were shy. They didn’t make eye contact while telling me their stories. But when I asked to take their picture, they started making goofy faces for the camera. When I left them alone for a while, from the other end of the room I watched them joking around and laughing. They are no different than young people you would meet at a US middle school or high school…except they are perpetually hungry and in constant danger in their environment or from the people they should be able to trust, other members of their community and the police.

It has been a busy couple of weeks getting the Digital Storytelling Project (DSP) back up and running. The relaunching event was a success with 30 attendees, both former DSP students and prospective students from several Street Associations. The prospective students had been selected by their respective Street Associations as representatives for their groups. After last years participants gave accounts of their personal experiences with the project, we had a brainstorming activity allowing both old and new students to think about how drug abuse, police harassment, environmental degradation, and other issues affect their lives. People were a bit surprised to find that even though they come from different parts of town and live in separated communities, they are dealing with the same issues on a daily basis.

Members of various Street Associations discuss the major issues and obstacles affecting their lives.

Members of various Street Associations discuss the major issues and obstacles affecting their lives.

We had the difficult task of selected seven students to participate in DSP this year from the 20 or so prospective students who attended the event. Although almost all the attendees will be included in one way or another, due to lack of funding we can only train a limited number. In the end, with the help of Martin and Joseph as well as input from various Undugu employees, we decided on three female and four male students.

I find that I sometimes forget the true purpose of this project due to the number challenges we encounter. I am constantly thinking about the questions that still have to be answered. Is there currently enough funding? (no) Will this project survive after Barbara and I leave? (I hope so) Why did we arrive to this meeting on time when we knew full-well that the others would be more than an hour late? (who knows….) and so on. However, all those concerns were lifted, at least temporarily, this past week when we went to visit the chosen students again in their communities. This time we brought cameras along with us and gave each student the task of taking the pictures necessary to tell their stories and introduce their future blog followers to their daily lives. They were simply thrilled to be using this equipment.

It was a joy to see these 18-22 year olds act almost like little kids with new Christmas presents. They were so eager to learn how to use the equipment. At one point a student was trying to take a picture of her family, however she could not fit them all into the frame. So, I showed her that by rotating the camera she could fit them all into a vertical shot. She was so excited by this! Soon, Barbara and I found ourselves being pulled along to various parts of the slum to take photos of where they lived, where they worked, where they hung out, their friends, their families…We not only had the three students from that area with us, but various members of their Street Associations tagged along as well. It was great to see that the knowledge we had shared with the three was quickly being passed along to the others as well.

One of DSP's new students practices using a camera.

One of DSP's new students practices using a camera.

The only real difficulty we experienced was trying to stay out of the pictures ourselves. They all wanted to include both me and Barbara in their photos. We found ourselves repeatedly explaining that the point was to show their daily lives in their photos, and that we are not part of their daily lives. Even so, there are several pictures of us next to goats, holding cups of porridge, standing in corners, holding peoples babies…

I think both Barbara and I were completely re-energized by this experience. And DSP is off to a good new start. Several of last years participants have posted new material to their blogs and on Saturday the new students had their first more formal lesson on picture taking and blog writing. Their “homework assignment” for next week is to write out their first blog by hand. It is a really exciting time for the Digital Storytelling Project and I cannot help but share in the students’ joy. They are so eager to change the negative stereotypes which in many ways alienate them from the rest of society, and to bring awareness to the many injustices they as well as their communities face.

Unfortunately, I am a bit of a distraction when students are taking photos.

Unfortunately, I am a bit of a distraction when students are taking photos.

I’ve been in Nairobi for two weeks now, and a post is long overdue. I’ve had some difficulty bringing myself to write my first post but not for lack of material; I have experienced and learnt so much since I arrived. However, I think I have been feeling some sort of detachment from reality. Let me try to explain. My first day here I went to visit Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world, with Barbara, the other Advocacy Project Peace Fellow who had already been here for a week before I arrived. It was a good visit; but afterward, when Barbara asked me if I had been shocked by what I had seen, I thought about it and was surprised to find that I wasn’t shocked. In fact Kibera was very much what I expected. I did not feel overwhelmed by the incredible poverty and deprivation I had witnessed.

Throughout the slums you see small children playing or just sitting in the mud.

Throughout the slums you see small children playing or just sitting in the mud.

Over the next week I visited several other areas of Nairobi, upon reflecting on these visits I found that I felt no real emotions in response. I felt a numbness or separation from the horrific poverty and living conditions I was witnessing daily. I found myself greatly disturbed by my lack of emotion, which felt to me like lack of empathy. I had many conversations with friends who tried to help me understand my reaction. But I wasn’t satisfied. It wasn’t until I started describing in greater detail some of the things I had seen to a friend back home that I realized that I was actually very much affected by everything I had seen and all the stories I had been told. Typing out the stories over a g-chat, almost in tears in Undugu’s office, I happily realized that I am still human! I simply didn’t known how to process everything I was taking in. This resulted in a sort of paralysis, which really was not allowing me to do my work effectively. I am supposed to be “telling the story” and not just reflecting on the story endlessly.

So, I suppose this gets to be my outlet. And it is time to start telling the story of the marginalized youth in Nairobi. But before I get ahead of myself, I will explain what exactly it is I am supposed to be doing here this summer. For the next two months I will be in Nairobi working with the Undugu Society of Kenya (USK). USK’s mission is to rehabilitate street children and empower communities. In the past few years they have added advocacy to their various programs, hoping to give a voice to the vulnerable and marginalized children and youth in Kenya.

Members of a Street Association gathered to learn about the Digital Storytelling Project.

Members of a Street Association gathered to learn about the Digital Storytelling Project.

Last year Kristina Rosinsky, another Advocacy Project Peace Fellow, started the Digital Storytelling Project, which allowed 12 young people belonging to Undugu’s informal schools and Street Associations to self-advocate using photography and blogs to tell their stories. Together they identified police harassment, glue-sniffing/drugs, and the environment as three of the biggest issues of concern in their lives. Unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, once Kristina left the project was put on hold.

This summer I will be working with Barbara Dziedzic, another AP Fellow, as well as two of the young men who participated in the project last year, Martin and Joseph. Together we will be relaunching and retooling the program so that it may be sustained, hopefully for years to come. When I asked Martin and Joseph why they wanted to continue working on this project they explained the great need to change the negative stereotypes that young people face in Nairobi. Young people living in the slums throughout Nairobi are most often perceived to be violent criminals, perhaps this stereotype has grown even stronger as a result of the post-electoral violence last year. Martin also expressed the need to talk about the issues that they face everyday to try to change their circumstances. Their blogs can be accessed here: Martin Ndung’u and Joseph Gachira. And so that is what I will be trying to do this summer, or winter in Kenya: trying to help a new group of young people find their voices in the hopes of changing and bettering their lives.

Joseph (left) and Martin (right) help plan the relaunching event over breakfast.

Joseph (left) and Martin (right) help plan the relaunching event over breakfast.

I will be using this blog to document my time in Nairobi and to share what I learn through the Undugu Society of Kenya (USK) and by working with street children in Nairobi. Throughout the summer I will be posting about my experience, including interviews, photos, and videos. However, I will not be departing for Kenya until June 23^rd. Perhaps that is why the fact that I will be spending three months in Nairobi has not completely sunk in. While most AP fellows will be leaving in the next few days or weeks for the summer, I cannot leave for another month as my classes are not yet over.  For this reason it feels a bit strange to be writing my first blog post already.

This doesn’t mean that my fellowship and the street children of Nairobi have not been on my mind. I chose to apply for this fellowship program because of the blogs written by the previous two Advocacy Fellows who worked with the USK . Their stories had a great impact on me and I have been reflecting on all the problems they encountered during their fellowships, wondering how they may be addressed. I hope to do as good a job as they did in communicating my experiences with whoever might be willing to read/listen.

In preparation for this summer I have been using Kenya as a case study in one of my classes. For my term paper I have been studying the presidential system in Kenya and making suggestions as to how it may be improved. In the past few weeks I have begun to feel a bit overwhelmed in trying to find solutions to such a complex problem. I feel much the same way about the street children in Nairobi. I truly hope my efforts in advocating for their rights will have some impact. Above all, I hope to help them advocate for themselves so that their own voices might be heard.

In the coming weeks before I depart I will post more information about The Advocacy Project and the Undugu Society of Kenya and what I will be doing over the summer.