Are you ready to RISK it all?

A few weeks ago we went with one of the aspiring Jesuit brothers to a small house in the Kibera Slum. Kibera is the largest slum in all of Eastern Africa and some feel it is the biggest in all of Africa. There are over a million people living in this slum. When you see the slum from a distance is just seems like a sea of "tool shed" like homes packed as tightly as possible next to each other.

We learned while we were there, that there is considered nicer parts of the slum than others, more dangerous, and that is is still expanding. We were in an area seemingly ok but drove through some very poor/dangerous areas on the way out. We took two different buses to get to the other side of the slum as oppose to walking through the less safe areas. We arrived at a small home in an area called "Camp Jesus".

The story of the slum deal with a camp that the British started when they were first colonizing the area. They made these small brick homes and called the area "Camp Jesus". Refugees from other countries in Africa and people from other parts of Kenya all migrated here to start this community. The troops eventually left, the barracks then became homes, and people began building more and more around this area.

We went to Kibera with our friend Stephen Ruto. He is not a Salesian aspirant but a Jesuit one who is doing a year of service at Bosco Boys. He is leaving us soon to go do two years of studies/service in Tanzania. After his two years there, his plan is to then study law at Loyola Marymount University in Chicago. Before he left he wanted to invite us over to his fellow Jesuit's home. They were very welcoming, treated us to a delicious lunch, and then we played the board game RISK.

The director of this small Jesuit community is an American priest by the name of Father Terry, hailing from Indiana. We all had a fun time hanging out then afterwards Father gave us a ride back to Bosco Boys. It was fun to meet some new friends, meet another American, have a nice meal, be exposed to the slum for the first time, and RISKing it all.

Katie and I were the grey team. We did pretty well, we controlled most of Eastern Asia but then got destroyed. We were second out of 6 to lose. It was fun though.

Fr. Terry (the muzungu) and Stephen Ruto (smiling)

RISKing it all



We would like to post more pictures from the slum that we walked in. We would like to show everyone (who reads this) the actual poverty and difference of life between here and in the states. The drastic difference is something words can't describe. It is difficult to get pictures in these types of places though. First off you feel even more out of place when you walk with a camera through these communities. You already stick out because you're a muzungu but when you hold a camera you are definitely a tourist. When you walk, as if you know where you're going, people seem to leave you alone a bit more and have more of a respect than coming in a taking pictures. Secondly, when you hold out a camera you put yourself even more as a target to get attacked for your camera. Since this was an unfamiliar place for us, we didn't take pictures. The community was full of people in the shops, in the streets, and in their homes. It may be a dangerous place at times but is a special place.