Ngecha Art Festival, Safari Animals and Human Rights

(**Photos to be posted soon...)

NGECHA

It was an eventful weekend. As I mentioned, Saturday was spent traveling to Ngecha Village for the Ngecha Artist’s Association art exhibition and cultural festival. The art was exquisite: vibrant, colorful, happy, and unique. Rarely does one have the opportunity to meet the actual artists and to purchase art directly from them – so that was great! Some of my favorite pieces are featured above.

Elephants, giraffes, warthogs and rhinos

Sunday we visited an elephant orphanage, where we saw maybe a dozen baby elephants. They were totally adorable. Actually, some of them were so young they could barely support their own weight or stand up. Some kept slipping in the mud, and they were quite playful with each other. We also saw warthogs and a rhinoceros.
Next, we visited the giraffe orphanage, which was awesome. We got to feed the giraffes, and it was super majestic to watch the giraffes in their natural habitat. Some were quite friendly, and let us pet them. Although the giraffes we saw were babies, they were already quite big. I just like them; they are cute and friendly creatures.

Nairobi, human rights…life here

Tonight has been chill, reading lots of Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) materials, and preparing for the week. It is quite sad to read about the human rights violations which have taken place in the past, and which continue here in Kenya. The worst recent human rights tragedy was the post-election violence in 2008. It is truly horrific to read the accounts of what transpired during that time. Yet it is also amazing to see how people seem to have healed and how the country is moving forward despite this painful past. The work I see my colleagues at KHRC is especially inspiring, and I am both heartened and hopeful to see such organized, thoughtful and effective human rights practitioners.

On another note, I do have to say that I am experiencing a fair degree of culture shock. It is an interesting experience for me, as a former study abroad advisor, to evaluate whether I can and do actually take my own advice! I used to repeat something that a speaker told me as an undergraduate at our study abroad orientation. She basically said that one day is enough to get down and depressed about culture shock, then you need to get over it, move forward, embrace your surroundings, be open, and truly enjoy the experience. I am trying to do just that!

The culture shock is brought about by the differences, large and small between Kenya and the US. Living in a “developing country” you begin to see how fortunate you are to have the amenities that many of us do in N. America, Europe, the global North… For example, there are no washers and dryers here, internet connectivity is intermittent, there are rolling blackouts, and we don’t always have hot water for our showers. Perhaps the strangest feeling is that of being constantly walled off from the world – there are guards which stand to protect our apartment complex, and there are even guards outside of my internship site. They are also in the shopping centres and most businesses.

On top of that, the disparity and inequality here is haunting. On the way to Ngecha this weekend, we drove past what literally looked like a small palace perched in the side of a hill. It was fenced off from the rest of the world. But right on the other side of the fence off to the right side was a mini slum – what must be the servant’s quarters. This image has stuck with me, and is just a small indicator of the inequality which permeates Nairobi. We drove past Kibera slum today…it is expansive, with corrugated metal roofs stretching as far as your eyes can see. The slum is brown and gray in colour. Sadly, Kibera slum and the other informal settlements in Nairobi are among those hit worst during the 08 post election violence.

The informal settlements here are such a complex issue. In a sense, the slums function quite well, they provide a modicum of shelter for individuals too poor to secure other housing. Monthly rent is about $7 USD. Yet there are inherently dangerous. The literature I read claims that women and girls are in constant danger, that they cannot use the restroom for fear of an attack. There is also poor sanitation. But solutions are elusive, never simple. As an outsider, I find it important to be very humble to the fact that we just do not understand the intricate system and reality of the informal settlements. Our professor is adamant that we will never know and warns us against a sense of false solidarity. I know this intellectually, yet my heart still tugs in my chest…isn’t there a better way? Can’t there be more equality? Why can’t people be safe and have their basic human rights protected?

It seems appropriate to quote the words of Lila Watson and the Australian aborigines, who stated together that, "If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time…But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."