1 Week Later

It's been about 1 week since I arrived in Kisumu and I've seen and experienced a lot here thus far. Before, I update the blog some more, I thought I'd give a big of a sense of the place I am staying in at Kisumu.

I am living in the Kenya office of Christ's Hope International (CHI) which is in a neighborhood at the intersection of the nice part of the city (Milimani) and the slums (Nyallenda). Here are some of the scenes of the slums.

On the flip side are the homes in Milimani which are gated residences and are pretty fancy. Needless to say, the disparity between the rich and the poor is extreme and further accentuated by the overlapping proximity of the 2 communities. I remember feeling this way in NYC everytime I passed E 96th street (the border between the Upper East Side and East Harlem) but for sure, even some of the worst places in East Harlem like the projects would be major upgrades to people who live in the slums.

Since even gates aren't enough to keep unwanted intruders out from the residences, people have come up with some clever (and lethal) ways of supplementing the barriers, including the use of glass shards (as with our gate) or barbed and/or electrically charged wires

One of the main things that people seem to want to know when I talk to them is what the living conditions for me are like. The good news is that I am not living in a mud hut with no electricity or water (unlike some of the people we have visited in the Kenya countryside or people living in the slums). Unsurprisingly, the living conditions here are worse than my home in NJ and in NYC (both the Olivia and East Harlem) - I think the biggest thing for me here is the lack of water pressure; it's like trying to shower in a drizzle. Nonetheless, considering that many people in the area do not even have showers or even access to hot or even clean water, I am grateful for the modern conveniences that we do have.

here's a view from right outside the gate

This is what you see when you go inside (video)

Here's where I sleep, complete with mosquito net

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions - I'll try to update the blog more frequently!