The Slum

Last week I went into the slums with my roommates. They all work for an organization called St. Gabriels, which helps families. The goal is to educate children and bring them out of poverty. We went on home visits to see the families and understand where the kids come from. It was really really difficult to take in. The slums themselves were not as bad as I expected. They were somewhat clean and the houses were spread out. However, once you got inside the houses you realized the desperation. They were these teeny-tiny rooms smaller than my bedroom back home where anywhere from 9-14 people live. I really couldn’t comprehend it. The stories people told us were incredible. People with no jobs, no money for rent, facing eviction, going 3 or more days without food, illness, and the list goes on. Hearing all of this really made me realize how difficult everyday life can be. Sometimes it is easy to forget because downtown Nakuru is fairly modern, but only a few minutes away people are truly struggling.