Youth Uprising in Kenya
April 11, 2009 at 8:41 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Africa, Kenya, youth
George told me why we are holding the peacesummit next week, I mean I had ideas, but this story spells it out. During the violence after Kenya’s election last year, a member of parliament asked a group of 10 youth if they would go disrupt the opposition’s rally. The MP paid the group 500 shillings and they went and caused fear and chaos and stopped the opposition’s event. Afterwards, the politician gave all the money to one youth, and the others wanted it so bad they almost killed him to get it. When the total was divided up it was 50 shillings per youth — less than one dollar. And here these youth risked their lives and could have been arrested. This made them so angry and bitter that they went and smoked weed and then took women and raped them.
Uprising Youth Club House
He told this story to a group of youth we visited in the Machako Slums in East Naiobi called Uprising Youth to illustrate why we are holding this peace summit, because youth can be manipulated by politicians. Uprising Youth is a group of young men that are brought together by a love of football, and their team is in one of the premier leagues. In order to support the costs of the team, like uniforms, registration and transport to games, they have several businesses to generate income. A few years ago there was a big trash dump right in the middle of the slum, so they cleaned it up and negotiated with the city to have the space where they built a club house, which they use for almost daily meetings to plan their game strategy and business ventures. Their first project was to manage the public toilets installed by city hall, which they still do. But the toilets were not bring in enough money, so they got a small loan and built a shower next door, where people pay 20 shillings for a hot shower. Business is thriving, and children play in the hot soapy water that pours out of the doors into the open sewer.
The group also manages 6 rental houses, but their pride and joy is a car wash. They are the only ones in the area with a power washer, and this means they can charge more than the others for their services. One month money was short right before a big soccer tournament, and the group pawned the powerwasher to the nearby NGO for a loan in order to get the boys to the game. It took them about a month to repay the the 7,000 shillings they borrowed (about $100) all in coins.
powerwasher
Several of them told me, “before I joined Uprising Youth I was a jailbird, a hustler. I just wanted to be a criminal, and now I want to be the best soccer player in Kenya.” A couple of the young men, holding babies said, we do this for our children, so they will have better chances than us. Uprising Youth has also accessed the National Youth Fund in Kenya, which is hard to do for all the bureaucracy involved, and got a loan of 47,000 shillings (about $450). They used the money to buy a PlayStation2, which they charged admission from kids to play, but parents started complaining so they temporarily suspended business until school is out. They have almost paid the money back to the government.
soccer coach for Uprising Youth on right
This group of young men live in one of the most violent slums in Nairobi, but all they talk about is soccer and what their next business plan will be. Dreaming big has paid off, after 7 years of asking, someone has given them a matatu (a van). They will use it to drive to their games, and on the other days they will operate it as a bus. Uprising is such a great example of what young people can do with a little support. But what sticks with me is despite their difficult circumstances, these young men had passion and drive, and that can’t be bought.
My new calling: teaching blogging to Kenyan students
April 10, 2009 at 7:40 am | In Uncategorized | 2 CommentsI finally had a chance to unleash my wordpress sales pitch – really they should hire me. I visited St. Paul’s University outside of Nairobi to see a professor teaching a Master’s program on AIDS, including gender, Dr. Nyokabi to community workers and pastors. Love what she is doing.
On the way out the door, the communications professor asked me to talk to his class on public relations. So there I was, 30 young Kenyans looking at me expectantly. First thing I asked them was how do they use the internet, and how often? Most of them said they use it every day, and every single one of them was on Facebook! I have traveled the world and I can say for sure that young people will do whatever it takes to get to the internet, it doesn’t matter their income or status– they will find a way online. Well, I told them about youth-led organizing using online tools like TakingITglobal and the Global Youth Coalition on AIDS, trying to spread the word that youth can do anything, and the internet can help, you just need to work hard on your vision. Interesting thing was that their professor is not an online guy – I told them they have to keep him up to date, and, that my mom just joined Facebook so things are changing.
They were a quiet bunch but by the end of the class I told them about WordPress and said — what if I told you that you could set up a website in one hour, would you be interested? Finally, all of them raising their hands, nodding. Then I walked them through the site – wishing I had some powerpoint or some visuals, but you can do a lot with a chalkboard. I told them if you can do Hotmail, you can do WordPress.
Anyway, will be interesting to see if any of them create blogs, will need to check back. Their professor, Dr. Charles Ngng, is teaching video production with no equipement, just his personal camera. He is looking for universities or TV/radio stations in the US that could donate their old equipment, as long as its digital, he will make it work. There must be some organization that works on this kind of thing… will do some sleuthing later on, or drop me a line if you know who does this.
Waiting for death, with no help from the church
March 2, 2009 at 12:45 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Africa, AIDS, Commission on the Status of Women, Fulata Moyo, Malawi, religion, women
Fulata Moyo
This year’s Commission on the Status of Women is discussing caregiving in the context of AIDS. This theme is not well understood – and incredibly unequal because women are almost always the ones who care for the sick. Yesterday I heard Fulata Moyo from Malawi and the World Council of Churches talk about losing her sister to AIDS and her husband to cancer. She focused on lack of care for the caregiver, unpredictable wait for death, and the use of sacred texts to maintain widowhood. What impresses me is that after her husbands death – she went around and told churches how to better care for the caregivers…
When people from the church came to visit me they only said that God would heal my husband. The church told me over and over that God will heal him. I did not want to tamper with that so I prayed day and night and did not sleep. I was giving care to my husband but I also needed care. Some Christian fundementalists visited the bedside and told me there were symbols on my outfit that were demonic so I burned that outfit. I loved that outfit.
After he died the church people told me that God was my husband. But after 6 months I had physical needs. These are issues women face and they will not talk about it. I asked my pastor, so God is my husband, what can I do? Our male pastors do not know what pastoral care for women is. Most women do not talk about this but I do because I am one of the crazy ones. If I had had daughters they would not have gone to school during this time because you also have to care for all the visitors that come to see the patient. Praying was seen as the only way to be supportive, if the spirit was OK then the body was OK. But I needed someone to cook the food.
After he died I went around and talked to churches in the region and shared my experience and called for a greater commitment to pastoral counseling. My advice to people who are with someone who is dying: ‘if you don’t have wisdom keep quiet, and don’t talk to a widow about being a husband of god.’
advocates need to team up with artists
February 20, 2009 at 4:18 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
we all need more designers in our live
I love this visual from Wikigender. I have worked on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women for a few years now so I am glad to see this.
the life of Sergio Vieira de Mello
January 19, 2009 at 7:28 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: Iraq, peace, Sergio Vieira de Mello, United Nations
You can’t wait so long between blog posts! I know, I’m sorry.
Over Christmas I read the recent biography of Sergio Vieira de Mello, Chasing the Flame by Samantha Power. A life-long UN staffer, Sergio was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights when he was killed in a bombing of the UN in Baghdad in August 2003 after the US invasion of Iraq. Born in 1942 and working for the UN since 1969, he lived through the peacekeeping milestones that have created the UN today. His first major post was spent in Cambodia repatriating refugees, where he began his trademark of negotiating with all sides, including heading off into the jungle to negotiate with the Khmer Rouge. Jobs took him to Lebanon, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Kosovo and Sarajevo. His biggest achievement was as the UN Special Representative for East Timor, literally charged with rebuilding the country. Much of his life is harrowing, you read the book with your teeth clenched – hoping the international community will be able to help the people in this war-torn countries, and they make so many mistakes. By the end of the book, the weight of the UN’s bureaucracy — a place no greater than the member states themselves, crushes you.
Sergio is not a saint, he neglects his family and as a diplomat, there are times when he puts too much faith in the UN Security Council and not enough in the local country. He values personal relationships highly; he was known for writing thank you notes to encourage his staff, or make up medals to give to peacekeepers when there is no other encouragement for their work. Power sums up one of his life lessons as “Dignity is the corner stone of order”.
If you are interested in peace and conflict, security, humanitarianism, refugees, the United Nations, development — this book ties fifty years together, marking the progress and follies of a world that intervenes in state and regional conflicts. For the world, the loss of Sergio is tremendous, and the very reasons he was sent to Iraq attest to this. No one else but him had the expertise as a diplomat in peacekeeping, restoring services, setting up elections. He was slated to be next Secretary General of the UN, and the world lost a leader many years in the making. He died because while the US brought an army of 250,000 to invade Iraq, they did not bring emergency equipment to deal with collapsed buildings . The U.S. had no plans anticipating any insurgency, and when Iraq was looted the lifesaving equipment was stolen from the fire trucks. Sergio’s life ended crushed between two floors, slowly bleeding to death, as the U.S. military scurried around incompetently.
With over 400 interviews and access to classified and personal documents, Power has created a masterpiece. It is a gift to our world leaders and citizens, I hope they will read it.
A Communion of Care, a sermon for World AIDS Day
December 1, 2008 at 10:13 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: AIDS, caregiving, faith, Kenya, Lutheran, Papua New Guinea, women, World AIDS Day
I
was asked to preach today for World AIDS Day at Advent Lutheran Church.
I woke up this morning on World AIDS Day with many emails in my inbox from around the world. WAD is a time of social networks, and we celebrate it in many ways – we post liturgy on websites, email, worship, remember, give money, wear ribbons. Today is the day that we do these things all at once, all over the world. By sitting here in these pews we are part of a chain of reflection and action.
AIDS is with us in the US, but from my work at the Lutheran Office for World Community, an office representing the ELCA and LWF at the United Nations, I have seen the immense and tragic effects of AIDS’s in countries that are poorer than ours. Having traveled to far off places, I feel I must tell you what I have seen, that among suffering I have felt awe. This witness is what I am going to talk about today.
When I visited Kenya last year, I sat with a group of women at Jerusalem Parrish in Nairobi. These women meet weekly for a widows support group. In Kenya, widowed women are considered outcasts, and face discrimination. After the husband dies, it is part of the culture for his family to take his land and his house, in the worst cases forcing the woman out on the street with nothing. One of the women told me: “As you mourn death of your husband, someone from his family is in Nairobi filing the paperwork.” I can’t imagine, on top of such a loss, having to fight for your home at the same time as you grieve.
Continue reading A Communion of Care, a sermon for World AIDS Day…
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