John Goodwin, the son of Estelle Goodwin, founder of the Wilmslow based charity KIN (Kibera in Need), spent four weeks in Nairobi in the summer.
Whilst John was in Kenya to complete an engineering internship he was able to visit the KIN projects and, as a Manchester United supporter, he was pleased to provide new footballs for the KIN football team - who are currently second in the Kibera league.
Speaking about his time in Nairobi, John said "Having witnessed the impact a trip to Kenya in late 2005 has had on my parents I knew that, when I was able to make the trip myself, I would be exposing myself to an environment that is unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
"Despite having already discussed what to expect walking through Kibera and participating in the feeding with both of my parents, I can now be fairly certain that there are no words, certainly none I am familiar with, that can accurately describe the living conditions within the slum. My walk through the tiny, twisting, dirty alleyways gave me an opportunity to see the conditions the children I would be meeting have grown up in, an experience that has proved invaluable as I gain more of an understanding of the slum and it's residents.
"I say this because meeting the children, it was all too easy to overlook their daily struggle and just enjoy the atmosphere. Walking into the school playground felt no different from what I remember of my junior school years. The boys were hugely engrossed in a football match while many of the girls sang and danced around the edges of the football field.
"My arrival, however, signaled the end of play time and everyone gathered inside the one-room school building where I was introduced to everyone, the children sang and some of the older girls performed dances they had been practicing. Following this it was time for the meal. A vital opportunity for the children to eat a square meal that provides all of the essential carbohydrates, protein and vitamins a growing child needs.
"After the meal I was able to see more of what KIN does for the children as I helped distribute the ugali and beans to the children (a number of portions of a starch based meal the children could take home with them for the week) and was shown the new water tank that supplies the school with vital, clean drinking water. Before I left the school I was also able to meet a few of the children individually as they were keen to show me any English they knew whilst I was equally keen to show them any Swahili I had learnt.
"Reflecting on my visit to the slum there is one image that has stayed clearest in my mind. It is one that, I think, accurately depicts the importance of the work being done by KIN and RIZIKI and one that gave me a glimpse past the happy faces of the children at the unimaginable hardship they face every day. The image is of one of the youngest girls at the feeding program who was sat with (who I guessed was) her older brother. During the singing, before we served the meal, this girl could not join in as she held her stomach in pain. Seeing this, rather than provide comfort, her brother encouraged her to be quiet and hold on to the meal.
"This forced me to really realise for the first time that all of the children in that room felt the same as the little girl but had all grown to cope with it. Hunger is an almost constant feeling for these children. A feeling that is compounded by dirty, dangerous and extremely cramped living conditions.
"A phrase I hear often is; it is an embarrassment that, despite everything mankind has achieved, there is still an overwhelming percentage of the world's population that live unsure of where their next meal will come from or where they might next find clean drinking water. The work done by KIN and RIZIKI is absolutely essential as future generations are able to, at least for a few days, put these worries aside and play, laugh, grow and learn so that they may ultimately contribute to the society they are born in so that, it too, may flourish."
Kibera is a huge slum in Nairobi where people live in desperate poverty. Wilmslow based KIN has been funding education, feeding, emergency medical needs, seminars, children's outings and vocational training since 2007.
In 2012 a Solar Lamp Project was co funded with Comic Relief, which has benefited more than 650 households proving a source of light in the evening so that children can do their homework without the health risks and high costs associated with kerosene lamps.
KIN now needs more funds for this Light Up Kibera Project and is holding a Race Night on Saturday 30 November at Wilmslow Parish Hall. For more information call 01625 538902 or email [email protected].
