A Day in Dandora

What a LONG day it turned out to be. Our drive to Dandora took us through new parts of Nairobi. The city is full of stark contrasts: sprawling growth and stagnant poverty; paved streets and roads so rough and torn that they strain the definition of "road." It reminded me of the saying, "God gives, but He does not share;" that's up to mankind. Nairobi is certainly developing left and right, but what direction it'll go and who it will leave behind makes me concerned.

We knew we had entered Dandora when the cement buildings gave way to tin huts and the streets bloated with trash and scavenging pigs. I had seen this level of poverty in Kampala, but not to this degree or size. Fr. Frank -- reminiscing of past travels down these very streets -- pointed at an unassuming building-high pile of trash, saying in bewilderment, "there used to be a road there!" In one respect, time had clearly not been kind to Dandora.

Dandora is divided into five 'phases," and speaking in broad strokes here, Dandora was envisioned as a low-income housing area of Nairobi meant to raise the standard of living for Kenyans. But from the areas we saw, corruption and mismanagement had turned a significant chunch of it into more-or-less a slum.

We arrived at the Dandora parish, and after a quick glimpse of the church, we were shuffled smack-dab into a meeting with over a dozen of the roughly seventy parish social workers.

I've never met a saint, but the social workers we met sure seemed to embody them. In their own words, they "help those those who cannot help themselves:" the weak, the old, the orphaned, and the sick -- all for no apparent reward. This one location was one of some 12 stations in Dandora. The challenges for them are many, not the least of which is being isolated from some friends for working with HIV+ individuals (people who are themselves shunned). As one worker put it, "This work is a calling. Without it, you can't do the work."

We toured the parish's school ground and classrooms, which ranged from preschool classes, a sowing room, to a computer lab. We checked out the Br. Andre Andre Dispensory, adjacent to the parish field. The parish visit was overall encouraging, with each location offering at the very least ideas for future UP connections.

Already filled with a days-worth of sites, we headed over to see a (very successful) community loan organization that practices a revolving loan scheme: basically, micro-financing. It's worth noting that Kenyans are said to be an incredibly industrious and business-minded people, and of that I have no doubt. The extreme of Kenya's entrepreneurial spirit was quite poignant in a man we saw hauling a cart full of couches, an effort that will probably earn him just a few shillings. The organization was so successful, it had expanded to offering healthcare coverage for families.

We next stopped off at a medical facility that combines medical preventative care for mothers (mostly with HIV or TB) with community health workers. We asked one nurse what keeps her oing despite all the adversity. She said that the very interaction "encourages my heart, I've always wanted to serve the poor.. I think my prayers were answered." Now that's the kind of person you want.

We finished the day with mass at a home in Dandora. The service was probably 90+ percent in Swahilli, and located in a room so small that it spilled out into the next room, the hallway, and the bottom floor! Clearly, it was a happening place! However, by this point, we were all so exhausted that sleep with probably the next thing on our to-do lists. Hwever, before we could leave, a table was place between us and the exit, and LOADED with food. It was at this point I realized that we would have to eat our way out.

For all its filth and injustice, Dandora is truly a community and is home for so many good people. I only hope that some UP students will have the opportunity to experience what we saw today.

If you've thought that some of the aforementioned things said about Dandora or Kenya in general seem to parallel situations and/or social injustices in the world, then I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks that. We should understand that we too struggle with many of the same issues and injustices, if only by varying degrees. Together we can come together to unify our sympathies, interest and missions. That my friends, is solidarity.