I’m fortunate enough to have my fiancé, Louis Rezac, working with me for the summer at Hakijamii. We stepped off the Emirates flight into Nairobi almost a week ago. The airport was large- much bigger than anything I had seen in West Africa. The driver from Hakijamii graciously received us at the airport, and we drove through the massive traffic jams to get to the city center YMCA. At first glance the city doesn’t look much different from an American city- paved roads, large buildings, shopping centers, every kind of restaurant you could imagine. The YMCA was similar to other hostels I had stayed in. With American commodities and infrastructure came American prices- immediately it became clear that living here would not be cheap.

We began looking for apartments to rent right away. We wanted something modest but secure. Because of Nairobi’s notoriety, we knew we needed gates and a guard. After speaking with several different real estate agents and viewing various apartments, we realized that there was no “modest” living if one wanted to be secure. The apartments we viewed were large, luxurious, with lavish gardens and pools. Most we could not begin to afford. After several days of constant searching, we finally found one that, with an additional roommate, would come out to about what we pay in Massachusetts.

Nairobi city center

A five-minute walk from our safe haven is the Kibera slum. Also a five-minute walk from our place are two supermarkets and a mall. Modest accommodation as we have in the U.S. seems to not really exist here. As we walk to our relaxing, comfortable home from work or the market, most of the other people are walking to their 5-foot square home, made of mud, with no electricity, scarce water, and virtually no sanitation. Cholera and HIV/AIDS are just two of the prominent diseases in Kibera. I have witnessed inequality within the same city before, having been to Johannesburg, South Africa- but never at this level and within such a short distance. Walking through the city it is clear that Kenya has money, somewhere. Everywhere are people in business suits, driving cars and eating in fancy restaurants. But this money is not reaching millions of people, who lack access to the most basic of human services.

Typical Kibera living situation, photo taken by Hakijamii

It is even clearer to me now the need for human rights organizations such as Hakijamii. For here, the problem is not so much the lack of “development” or “aid,” but rather where the money goes and the disparity between the rich and the poor. Kenya has a high Gini Coefficient of 42.5, a statistic the CIA uses to measure income inequality. Despite relatively advanced agricultural and industrial sectors, Kenya is still among the poorest countries in world, with per-capita income averaging $360, ranking 148^th among 177 countries in the United Nations Development Programme’s human development index (more). With such advanced infrastructure but such low per-capita income, it is clear that most of the population lives in poverty. According to UN-HABITAT, the slum to urban population in Kenya is 71%. Rural to urban migration is increasing, and if nothing is changed within government and civil society, the slum situation will continue to get worse.

It’s difficult to describe all the feelings I’m experiencing a week before I depart for Nairobi, Kenya. It’s different from what I felt going into the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa- then I was full of apprehension, fear, and naivety. Anxiety is inevitable before embarking on a journey to the developing world- and Kenya is no exception- but this time I know what I will be doing, what my purpose is. My biggest fear is Nairobi, for I have never lived in a big city, and certainly not one as notorious as this (a common nickname for the city is “Nairobbery”). But here, I have the opportunity to do more than in a rural village in Mali, to work with organizations doing advocacy work in one of the most unequal nations in the world.

Through The Advocacy Project, I am partnered with Hakijamii, or the Social and Economic Rights Centre as it roughly translates from Swahili (the most widely used language in Kenya). Hakijamii works to strengthen and build capacity of community-based, or grassroots, organizations that are advocating for economic, social and cultural rights. Right now, Hakijamii supports over 120 organizations throughout Kenya and even other countries. It provides assistance through awareness raising, training, support for new community movements, advocacy and litigation support, and much more. Many of its achievements have been related to campaigning against forced evictions, a serious problem in Kenya. For decades, Kenyans have been forced out of their informal settlements to make way for government development projects. Faced with homelessness and loss of livelihood, they live in substandard conditions with little or no access to food, shelter, clean water, education, and healthcare. Nairobi is home to one of the largest slums in the world, Kibera, where between 600,000 and 1.2 million people live in an area smaller than Central Park in New York City, according to the Economist.

Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya

Though I haven’t had much contact with Hakijamii staff personally yet, Odindo Opiata, Hakijamii’s director, and I have laid out a rough job description for my time there, which involves profiling the members of the Hakijamii’s partner organizations through picture and videos and compiling a database for the website. I am thrilled to do this, as it will allow me to work in the field where these grassroots groups operate. I will be collaborating with the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network (NPSN) and the Kisumu Social Rights Association (KISORA), coalitions formed as a result of Hakijamii’s work that bring together the smaller organizations. NPSN and KISORA focus on rights to food, education, and healthcare in addition to housing. Hakijamii and its partners operate in the same vein as Amnesty International and Cordaid, two international partners.

The work of Hakijamii and its partners is moving and inspiring. They face tremendous obstacles as they fight for justice and continue to make change where others have given up. I’m excited, honored, and ready to be introduced to a new world of human rights advocacy work.