Halfway House

Mr. Ngenga normally runs a thriving international and local tourism business. His two large four-wheel drive 10 passenger vehicles are used to carry adventure travelers going to climb Mount Kenya or Mt. Kilimanjaro Tanzania or hike through Masai land and see Kenya's beauty and way of life. His large home, with six bedrooms, usually hosts his clients while they are in Nairobi before or after an adventure.

However, this year business is slow – the tourism industry is suffering major setbacks due to the recent violence in Kenya. Mzungus (Americans and Europeans) aren't risking the danger just for a climb, hike or an amazing experience; instead, they are canceling their reservations, making new ones in Tanzania or waiting for a safer time to visit Kenya. Ngenga's rooms should be empty.

But they are full. Four women, all struggling to start life again, all wondering what the future holds have, with their children, found shelter at Ngenga's house.

These four women and eleven children are the current occupants of Ngenga's bedrooms but they haven't been the only ones. Ngenga's house has become a halfway house and welcomed a number of women and children since the start of the election violence a little over a month ago. These women need a place to sort through the remains of their lives, a place to look to the future and try to piece their lives back together. Most of the women and children who have passed through Ngenga's house come from Kenya's largest slum – Kibera.

Kibera experienced riots, tribal clashes, looting, burning and chaos in the opening days of the violence and throughout the past month. The violence pitted neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend and most importantly tribe against tribe. The constituency of opposition leader, Raila Odinga, enraged by the claims of a "stolen election," poured their anger on their neighbors believed to have supported Raila's opponent, President Mwai Kibaki. Kibera was no longer safe for women and children and especially not for women and children of the "enemy" – the Kikuyu. In the words of a Kibera pastor, "Kibera is now more that ever divided into sections with clear tribal boundaries where if you are in the wrong area and you are all alone, you might lose your life."

As women and children fled Kibera, they found safety at Jamhuri Park (Swahili for republic). Jamhuri Park's main function, under normal circumstances, is an annual Agricultural Show put on by the Agricultural Society of Kenya. It is by no means, a refugee camp, but that is what it quickly became in the early days of January. The Red Cross, NGO's, the UN and FBO's (faith-based organizations) all came to help the internally displaced people. They fed, clothed, housed and sanitized at least 1000 displaced people, and probably a few more living nearby who showed up for the free handouts.

Then the camp was closed and three days notice was given for the "residents" to leave. But many didn't have any place to go. They couldn't go back to Kibera, it was too dangerous and their houses had either been reduced to ashes or "stolen." Many didn't have money to travel to their relatives' homes and others couldn't go because the roads they needed to travel on were too dangerous. Many of them needed a place like Ngenga's halfway house to start their lived afresh.

Today, three Kikuyu women and one Luhya women share the living space at Ngenga's. They cook together, clean together and try to figure out their lives together. Their children play together, listen to music together and wish they could go back to school. Esther, who should be in 8^th grade and studying hard for the big end of year exams, remarked sadly, "I can't think about school, because there is no money for school fees and I don't know where we will end up." For now, she sits quietly by herself, watching the other children (mostly boys) talk and play.

Collins, who should be in 5^th grade, is of mixed ethnicity. His mother is Luhya and his father is Kikuyu. Their home was taken away when they left Kibera. Now all his mother wants is a small house somewhere safe and to "start a small business even if it is just selling vegetables." Collins, like Esther, is longing to go back to school. He also would like to play soccer with his friends from the halfway house, but they don't have a ball, or a place to play.

Members of Ngenga's church are working on finding the women housing and possibly jobs. Two of the mothers hope to be able to move out in a few days. Their rooms, however, won't remain empty long, as other women and children seeking to get their feel under them will take their place.

 

Note: I thought I would publish something "journalistic" on my blog instead of my normal ramblings about myself and my life. Enjoy! And also beware that my facts might not be entirely correct – this is for my blog – not a newspaper and I just wrote it based on what I know in my head and what I've heard in passing or in the newspaper. If it was to be published there are a few facts I would definitely need to verify. (EG. How many people camped at Jamhuri Park – I actually think the figure was way over 1000 but I don't know. Another one: I'm not exactly sure who helped the IDP at Jamhuri – I only know Red Cross for sure along with some churches, the others I think but I'm not sure). This is more of a "my take" on things than a completely factual article.