Today turned out to be a busy (and I must say, exciting) day. It started with a trip to South C (from Bomas of Kenya where I stay, go down Langata Rd towards town → turn right at the round-a-bout towards Nairobi West → continue and you end up in South C) to pick Allan from his friend’s house where he’d spent the weekend. Then I went with my friend Stanley for a tour of University of Nairobi main campus and a visit to the Arboretum. It is a huge place with several pathways and trails leading to sub-trails throughout. It seemed to be a popular date spot. Maybe 75% of the people we saw appeared to be couples. Probably the best part of this outing was…the matatu rides! Words cannot express my overwhelming joy when riding a matatu. I have a special place in my heart for these beat-up, music-playing, recklessly-driven, highly-efficient, death-traps. If you ever go to Kenya for the first time, if you do nothing else, you must ride a matatu. Find the loudest, most flashy one you can (FYI: the ones going to Buruburu are know for excessively loud music making them a good choice for this purpose) for the full experience.
You learn something new everyday, and this is what I learned today. The slums in Kenya are a sort of an business investment! I was under the impression that slums were established by people who are so desperately poor that they cannot afford any real permanent housing, but apparently that is not always the case (though still many people who live in slums are poverty stricken). In Kenya, slums such as Kibera (population 800,000) may be official housing communities. One of the slums near Langata (not Kibera) was ‘built’ in one day. Someone looking to make money built it and charges rent (maybe up to 2,000Ksh per month (about $26USD)) for, literally, a shack. Some people, who have jobs and everything, choose to live in the slums…even if they can afford not to kwani the rent is cheaper, but still expensive for what you get and I would have thought the dignity of being able to afford and live in an actual house or apartment would trump the money saved by living in a slum. Apparently not. Anyway, the crime is really high in the slums and the conditions horrible (no plumbing, sewer systems, etc), and the government is working on a project to move the people in the slums into permanent, low-income apartments. The first apartment is complete and I think it can hold 200 families. Many more are in process. The rent for these will be about 1,000Ksh per month, but will also be determined by what the resident can afford to pay. Can you believe it! 1,000Ksh per month is actually cheaper than what some people are currently paying to live in a shack!
Upon returning to the house, I was delighted to find that an Enumerator had arrived to count us! I was slightly surprised when I walked in and he said, “You must be Caitlin.” (my confusion was quickly abandoned when I realized Rose had already begun the process and had given all our names). He had come with a list of questions for us. Among other things, he wanted to know if we had any: cows, goats, donkeys, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats, motorcycles, cars, boats, trucks or lorries, canoes, tuktuks, bicycles, tv's, computers, cell phones, land lines, etc. he also wanted to know how many bedrooms were in the house…but also how many rooms (not counting toilets, bathrooms, or kitchens) could be slept in. Ok. Apparently stating that it is a 4-bedroom / 2-bathroom house with a family room, dining room, kitchen, and garage is not sufficient. You must also specify that a person could potentially sleep in the family room and dining room. However, the most interesting thing I found about this ‘interview’ was his interest in the type of flooring in the house. We had to state the material compiling the majority of the floors in the house (tile, concrete, or hardwood). Actually, I am surprised that ‘dirt’ was not an option kwani (because) I would guess there are likely to be many more dirt-floored homes in rural and poorer areas. Anywho, that was that. I am now ‘officially’ a Kenyan. I have been counted in the census and I will be going down in Kenyan history…as a number. I also got a photo with the Enumerator. My goodness, I’m a nerd. But, hey, how many opportunities will I have to be included in the Kenyan census?
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