It's been a very strange day. This morning when I arrived at MSDP the entire staff gathered for the Monday morning prayer session. We sang, prayers were said and we study a passage from the bible. It was a very nice and inspiring way to start the week. Two hours later we first starting hearing about the fire occuring in one of the slums MSDP serves. As the reports started coming in it was very clear it was going to be very bad. The staff was very concerned for the safety of the beneficaries living in Lunga Lunga. Once the fire was contained the entire staff (myself included) road two matatus(small buses) and walked through two other slums (Kayaba and Reuben) to get to Lunga Lunga. From where we stood we could see the area of the fire, a surprisingly small area. It was incredible to think that well over 100 people had perished and 100 plus were headed to the hospital. The red cross and fire fighters were still pulling bodies from the ruble. The hospitals are filled to capacity and I wonder what expertise they have dealing with so many burn victims.
The residents of the slums are working so hard to survive and this tragedy will have long reaching impact. In talking with one of my roommates, this slum will most likely be bulldozed and thousands will be displaced. Believe it or not, the residents pay rent for the tin shacks they live in. There is no running water and so the residence must pay 3 shillings to use the restroom (a whole in the ground) and 5 shillings to shower. Some residence have electricity but many do not. If Lunga Lunga is bulldozed then all those residence will have find somewhere else to live driving up the prices in the other slums.
I have been so impressed with the services provided by MSDP. In addition to assistance with food and rent, they have a multiple job training programs and help women set up small kiosk business. The women are all part of savings and loan groups that have been set up by the center. Every Friday over 100 women come to the center and in addition to educational programs, they meet in their subgroups of savings and loan groups. Each women contributes 20 shillings and then they give it to the person who needs it that week. The women who recieves the loan then has a set time to pay back the money as well as interest. This process has allowed these women to grow their business. Last Friday a representative from Incorporated bank came to deliver the women their savings bank cards. As a result of this program, all of the women were able to open saving accounts! In Kenya there is a process called MPESA which allows people to do banking via their cellphones. Everyone has a cell phone. They are very cheap and accessible. A women can go to an MPESA kiosk and give them the money they want to deposit. The women then recieves a code to input in her phone and she can then send the money to her bank account via the phone. Since there are no ATM's or banks close, this is an amazing tool that makes utilizing a bank account possible. As I sat and listened on Friday, I couldnt stop thinking about the work of a professor at Washington University. Michael Sheridan has been doing work for years on the benefits of saving accounts and how they can help move people out of poverty.
This tragedy is a good reminder of how fast life can change, to live every day, and how thankful I am for all that I have been given.
I hope you all are well!
Much love!
E
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