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This summer I visited Kenya, Africa.
In Kenya, in addition to experiencing the great outdoors, I visited villages in the remote areas and slums in the largest city, where I interacted with children. In this article, I would like to share some excerpts from that trip.
Encounter with Kenya
What got me interested in Africa was my participation in the " Amazing Africa Event in Kamiyama " held in Kamiyama last year by Naoki Ueda, who works under the name Earth Guide . At this event, Chiaki Hayakawa, who has lived in Kenya for 28 years, came and talked about the area.
Speaking of Africa, in addition to the story of the Maasai people who live by herding cattle, this book also talks about the lives of the people of Kibera slum, the largest slum in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Chiaki Hayakawa runs Magoso School, a refuge for orphans, street children, and poor children in Kibera slum.
The stories and images of the children who study, grow up and live there left a deep impression on me. For example, the children listening to the story of the Great East Japan Earthquake and singing songs of prayer. Some of them were in tears.
I remember thinking how incredible it was that people could be so moved to tears when listening to the stories of complete strangers, even though they themselves were in difficult circumstances.
When I shared my thoughts about this with the group, Hayakawa told me, "In Kibera slum in Kenya, death is closer than in Japan. Someone you're with today, a child you play with, could be dead tomorrow. So I can imagine the sadness that must be felt."
With that one sentence, I felt like I understood why I had been attracted to the people and children of Kenya that I had heard about. It is precisely because death and loss are so close to our daily lives that we value life. This made a huge impact on me.
And I thought that if I had the chance, I would like to meet them in person.
On to Africa!
A year after that meeting, Ueda invited me to join him on a " Visit a Durma Village - An Ultra-Intense Trip to Africa " tour. I hesitated until the last minute about whether to apply because it was a long two-week trip, but I still wanted to go, so I decided to participate.
Kenya is located in East Africa, and its capital is Nairobi, which is inland. This time, we first visited Lake Naivasha National Park, then Oloiden, a village in Malindi facing the Indian Ocean, and finally Kibera slum, the largest slum in Nairobi.
We arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the capital, Nairobi, where we met up with the Japanese members who were traveling with us.
Enjoying a safari in Naivasha
From the airport, we head to Lake Naivasha National Park in Naivasha, where wildlife abounds.
The daytime temperature is around 20-25℃, and at night it is around 10℃, but there is little humidity and it is dry. During the day it is hot unless you wear short sleeves, but at night it is so cold that you need to put on a down jacket.
A village visible on the roadside on the way to the park.
Similar buildings continue further in.
It was common to see villagers selling fruit and other home-grown goods on the road.
When I arrived in Kenya, I noticed that there was a lot of garbage that does not decompose, such as plastic, on the side of the road. Apparently, this is because they do not use anything that does not decompose in their daily lives, so they throw away their garbage in this way.
There are people walking on the road even though there are no buildings visible nearby.
Since car use is not a common culture, walking is the norm.
Arrive at the National Park Safari.
I see a giraffe in the distance
The protected area is home to many animals, including zebras, warthogs, and impalas, living in a wild environment. A vast area is fenced off as a protected area, but it is still not enough to recreate the natural range of wildlife.
You can bring your own bicycle and ride it through areas designated as protected areas.
In addition to this, we experienced four other safari tours: a walking safari, a boat safari, and a car safari.
Sunrise over Lake Naivasha in the park.
In the morning, fishermen were fishing on the lake with nets.
Fish caught by local anglers.
Apparently if this fish is deep fried and hung it can be stored and eaten for two or three weeks.
Food does not spoil easily in Kenya's dry climate.
To Malindi, a trading town on the Indian Ocean
After enjoying a typical African safari, we headed inland to Malindi, a city that prospered through trade with the Indian Ocean.
The seaside town of Malindi.
This region is warmer than the inland regions, and produces a lot of fruit, even for Africa, so it has been bustling with trade. Since many people visit on vacation from Europe, they greet foreigners with "Ciao!"
Sunrise over the Indian Ocean, Kenya's coast.
Malindi market.
The warm climate of the coastal areas meant that fruits such as bananas and watermelons were even more plentiful than in Naivasha, which is at a higher altitude.
A 12-year-old boy spends the morning fishing on the beach of the Indian Ocean.
They plan to sell the fish they catch to raise money for living expenses and to buy textbooks.
He is apparently the youngest among his fellow anglers.
Experience life in Dagamla village
From Malindi to Dagamla village in the interior. We danced the dance that was performed for us as a welcome, facing each other. It is characterized by vigorously shaking our shoulders back and forth.
There are no man-made structures around except for the village houses.
A traditional house made of wood and earth.
When clay soil hardens it becomes as hard as stone.
In some ethnic groups, when they reach adulthood, they build their own homes and become independent.
There is no electricity in the village.
The buildings are made of strings made from dried wood and grass, and the walls are covered with earth or straw.
Both are traditional construction methods in the village.
The soil is clayey and when it hardens it becomes as hard as cement.
On this day, we made beds for ourselves to sleep in.
The work involves weaving strings made from tree bark onto a square wooden bed frame.
The string-tie bed was very comfortable.
Refugees whose villages were washed away by floods nearby have been brought there and are now camping.
We also interacted with the children who had gathered at the school.
The school originally had around 70 students, but with the addition of nearly 160 refugee children, the number has more than doubled.
Because of this, there is a shortage of classroom space and younger students have to study in open-air classrooms.
On the day of my visit, schools in Kenya were on summer vacation.
However, there were many children and teachers at the school.
To welcome the guests coming from outside, they gathered together and gave us a special look at the class.
In Kenya, the government does not build schools.
Each community builds a facility, and government officials inspect it. If it is deemed capable of functioning as a school, teachers are dispatched. There are few jobs in the villages that can earn foreign currency, so it is difficult to raise the money to build facilities.
The main purpose of the trip: to Magoso School
Finally, we will return to the capital, Nairobi, to meet the children at Magoso School in Kibera slum, the largest in Kenya, which was the inspiration for this trip.
Kibera slum is located southwest of Nairobi and is the largest slum in Africa.
The number of residents is said to account for more than half of Nairobi's population.
Many of the residents make a living by selling rubble and waste materials.
As the number of residents continues to grow, two-storey buildings have become popular in recent times.
The slums seem to stretch to the horizon, with barracks stretching as far as the eye can see.
The railway line runs next to the slum.
Because slum residents are technically living on government land without permission, it is common for them to be forcibly demolished to make way for urban development.
The wide open street is said to be the result of forced demolition to make way for development.
It was my last day and the first book sale I saw in Kenya.
There are bookstores in department stores, but because the culture is one in which things are passed down by word of mouth and song, it seems there are no old books.
The trash scattered on the ground is the same as in other parts of Kenya.
The impression was that the smell came mainly from sewage flowing into the slums.
In the slums, we asked police officers to escort us.
Although he was dressed formally, he was cheerful and friendly.
It appears that some of the police officers come from slums, and it was common to see them exchanging greetings with acquaintances.
Finally, we arrived at Magoso School.
The impression I got was that there were sections separated by walls in the maze-like slum, and that if you went through a gate in one corner of the wall you suddenly found yourself in an opening.
After the tour of the facility, the children who had been playing here and there gathered together and performed a welcome song and dance.
Sumo was shown as a show from Japan.
One after another, children stepped forward and the event went on longer than scheduled, creating a lot of excitement.
Magoso School is a refuge for orphans, former street children, children who were forced to work, and children who have been abused. Not only children, but also young people and adults gather there. It is a place where people in difficult situations can live together, and there are about 30 people (Magoso families) living there like a family at any one time.
School lunch. On this day, we had ugali (a common staple food in Kenya made from cooked corn flour) and soup.
In addition, the school provides classes for 500 students from kindergarten to grade 8, and also serves as a vocational training center (dressmaking and carpentry) and workshop for the poor in the slums. It also distributes breakfast and lunch every day and operates a scholarship program for high school students.
A room where products are made using traditional African fabrics, kikoy and kanga.
After the welcome party and meal, Hayakawa, the tour participants, and the people from Magoso School had time to discuss the theme of "Creating a better future" from their own perspectives.
From Magoso School, teachers, dressmakers, librarians, nursery teachers and other staff, as well as alumni and high school students participated. They talked about the problems they face, saying that it is important for children to be able to receive a sufficient education by being freed from three issues: education, poor security, and instability in life (food and sanitary conditions, illness due to malnutrition, etc.), and that it is important for them to have a chance to have goals and achieve their dreams.
Listening to what they said, it seemed that the Japanese members were reluctant to voice their opinions, perhaps because Japan seemed like a very stable country.
The children at school were very vocal and showed no signs of being reserved when we asked them to participate in group presentations and performances.
Other tour participants commented that seeing them like this, they often felt that Japanese people, not just children, lack initiative and energy.
Kenyans are struggling to survive today and tomorrow, but it is difficult for them to have dreams in this environment.
In contrast, in Japan, although the country is stable enough that today and tomorrow's lives are not an issue, people still have trouble identifying their goals.
Although the forms were different, what struck me was that they all had one thing in common: a lack of goal setting.
After this trip
I decided to take this trip because I was attracted by the Kenyan people.
When I actually went there and saw it, I could sense that even in the midst of hardships, people still value traditions and live in harmony with nature.
If you are interested, please check out the pages introduced in the events and articles.
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