Kenya: Day 9

Pray for:
- pastoral mentor
- opportunities for God to show up

What happened:
- woke up at 7:10 to travel into Kibera
- Kigan met me at Nairobi Kibera Academy and walked me into the heart of Kibera
- met some of Jah Army; have 6 in this post-high school class; had them share their stories; taught loglines; homework: write 5 loglines
- took the mutatu back to prestige
- did my devos
- went home
- went out to lunch with Ken; went to Westlands mall; had mutton masala
- went to Kibera to teach afternoon class
- continuing to learn Swahili
- went home

Today, I went into the heart of Kibera.

The ground I walked on was covered in garbage trampled by thousands of people. As I climbed the steep slope and crested the hill on to a pair of train tracks, I saw a whole nother world.

I saw the rest of Kibera.

If you've seen Slumdog Millionaire, you'll have an idea of what Kibera looks like.

Kigan, one of the Jah Army, led me to their home, to their HQ. In the midst of the garbage, of the forgotten, of the refuse, there was this group of friends who group up together, who are trying to make it together, who are trying to give back to the community together. Jah Army.

They are artists. Singers, rappers, musicians, illustrators, painters, filmmakers, and photographers.

They use their skill and talent to make statements.

"Burn the rapist"
"Rape is wrong"
etc.

What kind of place is this where signs need to be made to remind people that rape is not a good thing. How does something like that even happen?

Do they embrace their status as disenfranchised? Do they buy into the fact that they are forgotten by the rest of society? Do they accept their lack of dignity as truth?

Whatever the rational responses are, I know that the kingdom of darkness is there. The enemy created the situation and the enemy continues to oppress God's people, keeping them in bondage.

No amount of NGO work is going to "fix" Kibera or even poverty. Not to say that they shouldn't try. But there is tremendous arrogance in any individual or any organization who says that they know how to solve poverty.