Internally Displace People (IDPs)

I arrived safely in Nairobi on Friday evening. I’m spending the weekend at the Silver Springs Hotel just resting up. This is the same place that Geri and I stayed in when I was hospitalized. It’s a bit outside of downtown in what seems like a fairly quiet neighborhood. The time difference is 10 hours so it’s a bit of a challenge to get adjusted. I was good about staying awake through the most of the day, but my afternoon nap turned into a 3 hour snooze.

Wachira, who was the mechanic in Bungoma, is now living in Nairobi. He came to visit me last night. If you remember from my previous postings, we picked up Wachira and his family and had them come and stay at the farm where it would be safe. He is Kikuyu and his neighbor, a Luo, had been killed in some protests. Wachira feared for the safety of his wife and two young children.

Wachira worked for Total gas station and they transferred him to a station in Nairobi. Although he is not technically an Internally Displaced Person since he is living in a home and not a camp, it is clear that he is still upset by what has transpired. He had been in Bungoma for 7 years and enjoyed it. He’d even bought the small plot of land where he lived. All that is now gone.

Although it has been traumatic for him, there has been some good news. His wife gave birth to a son 3 weeks ago. Both his wife and the baby are healthy. I think that this is great news when compared to some of the stories that I read in the newspaper, The Daily Nation. For those still living in camps, giving birth to a child could be quite a burden. The conditions the IDPs are living in is quite deplorable. This is the rainy season and so some of the camps are flooded. Add to that, the fact that sewage and sanitation is poor and you have a very bad mix. I guess that I would equate it to the conditions for people that were in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.

Wachira is quite resilient. Even though I could see sadness in his eyes as he talked about life here, he is determined to make it work for his family. The cost of living, which is increasing throughout the country, is much higher in Nairobi. It’s a city of several million versus a town of about 20,000 or 30,000. He spoke of the need to make it work for his family. I’m sure that he will do well, but there are certainly challenges.

I guess that this shows part of why I love the people here in Kenya. Despite the adversities that they face, they seem to take the challenges head on and fight their way through them. And, more importantly, they maintain a wonderful spirit about them rather than letting it overwhelm them. I’m not naïve enough to think that sometimes the strain is too much, but it is a fighting spirit that inspires me to fight as well.