Witness in the Slum

In Nairobi's Taizé
Fr Mathew Haumann MHM

Mission Outlook - Quarterly -Review of Mission JANUARY 2002

The time is ten minutes to eight and Juja Road is still full of cars and people. Many cars don't bother to dim their headlights and the glaring light makes everything around us darker. I press my bag, holding my Mass vestment and some bread and wine, more firmly under my arm. I never feel very safe at night here on the Juja Road. People get robbed all the time. It happens regularly that somebody gets killed by a robber or a car.

I feel more at ease when I cross the open sewer and enter Mathare Valley. There are still crowds of people here, but they are at home, not rushing and not scared. I don't feel nervous here. I'm among people. I'm not alone in the crowd along the Juja Road. Men stand talking together, women sit in front of their rooms; here people come to greet us. It is quite dark - only here and there the candescence of a lantern or a pressure lamp in a vegetable stall. A smell of cooked food, charcoal and urine hangs in the air. Children join us and offer to carry my bag. By the time we arrive at 'Taizé', we are quite a group. It is here that we are going to celebrate Mass tonight.

Taizé, is a small village in France, a monastery, a place of prayer, meditation, quietness and reflection. Here, in Mathare Valley, there is another 'monastery' of Taizé. The brothers have rented a wooden shack, built of scrapwood, and they live like their neighbours, separated only by a thin wall of hardboard. Their roof leaks like the roof of the people next door. Like everybody else around them they pay too much rent.

Brother Denis, a monk in jeans, welcomes us at the door of the packed house. They have two rooms, a living room which is also the reception-room and kitchen. Next to this, separated by a piece of canvas, there is a sleeping-room which is also a prayer-room and a chapel. Here, Brother Denis, with the flexibility of a Frenchman and the endurance of a German, tries to be present for the people of Mathare Valley. A few Africans, brother candidates, have joined him. It all started round about Christmas 1978. Brother Roger Schultz, the founder of the Taizé community in France, came to Nairobi with about 25 young people from all over the world. To symbolise their solidarity with the poor they lived for a few weeks among the poor of Mathare Valley. To some it seemed a naive gesture, but then it often takes a great deal of courage to be naive. Quite possibly Christ would be called naive these days.

Denis and a few others stayed here. They stayed without much preparation, without big plans, without a job-description. Denis is a qualified architect. Hardly anybody has a decent house in Mathare Valley. He has the courage not to start working, not to start projects, not to pour in money, as we so often do. He and his fellow brothers have the time to be present to the people around them.

It is especially the children from the neighbourhood who come here and they get the time and attention which they don't get at home. Denis and the others organise games for them, perhaps a car rally with toy cars made by the children themselves, or they may take them for a walk to that other world outside the Valley. Through the contact with the children they get to know their parents.

Now the dormitory-cum-prayerroom is packed with children and about 20 adults. In one corner of the room there is the Blessed Sacrament. Above this is an icon from the Coptic Church: Christ as a brother to people. Brother Gregoire is also present. He sleeps here, but he works in town during the day. He earns a salary to support this community working as a translator and French teacher. His work makes it possible for Denis and the others to be jobless and do 'nothing'. The few belongings the brothers have, their clothes, their blankets and their sleeping mats, hang on wires from the ceiling. In this way they escape the rats. The roof is supported by two poles in the middle of the room.

I have to step carefully over several children so as to reach the small altar-table. Many of the children demand attention; they even try to shake hands with me while I try to put on my vestments. Martin van Asseldonk comes in. The children know him and several want to sit on his lap, but he has only place for two. The wooden shutters are open. A young man, slightly drunk, leans in through one of the windows, still debating whether or not he will attend.

With an opening song we easily drown the noise of the radio next door. This radio is always on when we celebrate Mass here. This evening we celebrate the feast of the previous day, the feast of Peter and Paul, two pillars of the early Church. I try to find out who is called Peter, Paul, Paulina, Petronella, Petra or Paula. This is their feast day too. Hands go up and we applaud all of them. The face of a small Paul or Peter in front of me lights up in response.

They start singing again. No, they don't sing solemnly or beautifully as one might expect in a monastery of Taizé. These adults and children sing the way life is in Mathare Valley, raw and loud. They are not nice, sweet little children. They are restless, in some ways demanding, craving the care and attention they have a right to, but which they don't seem to get in the broken homes they grow up in.

At times, when I get here, I wish we could do something very beautiful, so that they would all look and listen in amazement. But they aren't easily amazed. Aboy of 15 beats the drum vigorously, as if he is accompanying a group of traditional dancers.

We read about those disciples of Christ, Peter and Paul, whose lives are to be an inspiration to us today. At the same time people can listen to the news on the radio next door.

The two poles in the middle of the room have been dressed up today. With the help of blankets, faces drawn on old paper, cement sacks, and beards made of sisal, they have become contemporary statues of Peter and Paul. Brother Denis explains: they are two pillars, not of concrete but of flesh and blood. They supported the early Church. It was not a church of concrete but a church of flesh and blood, a Church of people. Each had his own temperament, each his own character, vision and commitment to build communities.

Both had to pay for this with their lives. Denis tries to explain this and what it might mean to us. At the same time somebody else is trying to sell us Blue Band margarine on the radio. I must admit that technically the man who is advertising Blue Band is much better than Denis. But we easily shut him up with a very loud version of the Creed. The advertiser can’t beat that one. These people certainly believe in a lot more than just bread and butter, or Blue Band margarine. Passers-by stop and look through the window. The half-drunk man, who seems to have decided to stay, scratches his head thoughtfully as we pray for people who are in distress. Now and again he joins in with the singing. Many others have gathered at the window and the Mass is now half in the street.

The wishing of peace to one another before Holy Communion is rather chaotic; everybody wants to shake hands and everybody, especially the children, climbs and falls over one another in an effort to do this. Together with Brother Denis, I give Communion. For some we have to reach very far over all these singing children. People hand the chalice to one another. During the last song, after the Blessing, some adults and Brother Gregoire start leading the children out. Some don't want to leave; they protest that the song isn't finished yet.

The drummer has a last go at that drum of his and the grown-ups start looking for their shoes and slippers. They talk together. They know each other. They meet here every Wednesday. I haven’t said much to them tonight; the service was directed more at the children. But the adults can probably still understand that language; after all, they were children once. I hope they haven't forgotten that.

A baby goat in the street nervously bleats for its mother. The children don't seem in a hurry to go back and look for their mothers. One of them is walking around with a piece of St Peter's beard. I shake hands with lots of people. A child wanting some attention asks, 'Father Mathew, what is your name?'

As I walk home I still think about the service in the 'monastery' of Taizé. 'Beautiful', 'devout', 'solemn', 'meditative' - all these words have nothing to do with it. Perhaps the words 'real' or 'true to life' describe it better. In any case this liturgy doesn’t stand apart from everyday life in Mathare Valley. In many ways it reflects it. I also think to myself that somebody out there has a few less fleas; they seem to have found a home with me - I'm itching like mad!

'Enkare Nairobi' - The Missionary of Africa and the Nairobi Slums
By Bill Turnbull W.F.

The Bishops of Kenya have written several Pastoral Letters and on the Third Sunday of Lent (22nd. March 1992) they issued 'A Call to Justice Love and Reconciliation'. It begins:

"We the Catholic Bishops in exercise of our prophetic role do once again address this letter to you, all people of Kenya and particularly to our leaders, during this difficult political situation in our country. Urged by the word of God we feel that the words of the prophet Ezekiel are relevant to all of us in Kenya today. We are shepherds of the Catholic Church and in union with all the religious leaders of the country, are challenged by the words of the prophet Ezekiel:"Son of man, I have appointed you as watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear the word from my mouth, warn them from me. If I say to someone wicked, "You will die", and you do not warn this person; if you do not speak to warn someone wicked to renounce evil and so save his life, it is the wicked person who will die for the guilt, but I will hold you responsible for that death' (Ezekiel 3:17-18)."

They then address the problems of 'inter-tribal conflict', multi-partyism and human rights in Kenya and draw to a conclusion with the plea below followed by the prayer of St. Francis."We admire the courage and self-control of our Kenyan people who have resisted the provocation to fall into the trap of violence. We call upon the people in the affected areas and indeed in the whole country not to take revenge but rather to be reconciled with one another. We appeal to them to hold reconciliation barazas so that the peace and harmony that existed between them may be restored. Those who hold property belonging to others are morally bound in conscience to restore it to its lawful owners. We further call upon you all, of whatever religious confession: Muslim, Hindus, Traditionalists or other creeds, but particularly you Christians, not to allow yourselves to be divided by tribal disputes. 'For you are all sons and daughters of one and the same Heavenly Father' (Col. 3:10)."

Over Christmas and New Year I was lucky enough to get the opportunity of visiting Kenya. It was my first time to visit an African country as a 'tourist' - not to be actually working there. Prior to returning to Britain I had been in Malawi for nearly ten years, but my time there did not prepare me for the 'culture shock' of Nairobi.

My first surprise was when we flew in to Nairobi airport and the whole of the city lay before us. A vast city with a population of at least two and a half million people - the size of Birmingham - with many tall buildings which a western capital would be proud to have. Over the next few days I was to get to know the city better and come to appreciate its extremes.

Nairobi is a place of great contrast; from the rich trappings of tourism and its souvenirs to the poverty brought home when being startled by someone emerging from a rubbish skip as you walk by! - opposite poles with a great deal of variety in between.

Different people are attracted to Nairobi for various reasons. It has become, as most cities in developing countries, a city paved with gold for the rural population but also is host to many coming from surrounding countries where conflicts rage. To walk along the streets and look at faces is an education in recognising people from virtually all over eastern Africa.

It is hard to believe that a hundred years ago Nairobi was just a place where the Kikuyu and Maasai watered their cattle: it was known as 'Enkare Nairobi' - 'the place of cold water' in the Maasai language. In 1899 the British established a staging post there for oxen and mules on their way from the coast to the interior. With the building of the railway from Mombasa to Lake Victoria the town grew and gradually all the colonial administration moved up from the coast.

The White Fathers had two Parishes in Nairobi, South 'B' (Our Lady Queen of Peace) and Eastleigh (St. Teresa's) both of which I visited. Though Our Lady's is a more 'prosperous' place both Parishes have their poorer areas, and the people share the same problems of urban life. Actually they only have South B.

There are four White Fathers at Nairobi South 'B' and the Parish has a contrasting population from fairly well off to those who live in the shanty town. In 1988-89 there were only two Basic Christian Communities (BCC's) in the Parish and many people thought it was not possible to start such things in a 'middle class area'. All the same it was decided to give it a try.

Bishop Holmes-Siedle, a White Father, and Fr. Louis, a Mill Hill Missionary, were invited to talk to people who were interested. From the seed which they planted, and the concern which the parishioners had, BCC's grew - by the end of 1990 there were 15, today 26. They were not imposed by the priests, but where the people saw a need they responded and met together to bring a greater sense of community on a local level.

People meet in someone's home, a different place each time, every week and discuss the Gospels. They look at their work and see the problems which they all face and try to help each other. In this way many people are able to sort out their problems. They come back to the Church and arrange their marriages.

Our Lady's Parish is a very lively place and one of its main centres of activity is 'Club Pax'. This is a part of the Parish youth club which helps to entertain people with their singing and the musicals they perform. While bringing enjoyment to many they also try to help those in need. At present they are attempting to raise money to set up a 'Drop-in' Centre for children between the ages of seven to eighteen. The daily problems which members of the Club face have helped them to become aware of those around them who are in need. They wish to help others to help themselves by having a place where they can come to talk and sort themselves out. By charging a small entrance fee at the concerts and plays they are able to raise money towards the cost of building the Centre. The young people involved have done a great deal already but will need a lot more in the bank before their dream comes true.

One of the groups that the 'Club Pax' want to help are the 'Street Children' of Nairobi. These are children from the city and surrounding areas who have left home for all sorts of reasons. Their ages vary from seven or eight years old to their early twenties and they can be found all over Nairobi at any time of the day or night. They live in small groups and exist by trading, theft, prostitution and begging. The day to day survival is made even more hazardous with the added problems of drugs, and of petrol and glue sniffing - the latter appears to be quite common. Even though life is hard for these children they still retain a strange innocence. The Undugu Society also takes care of these children around the city.

It is difficult to estimate the population in Eastleigh Parish - some say 300,000 others 500,000 - the reason for this being the Valley! Mathare Valley covers more than half the Parish and no one really knows how many people live there - it could be as many as half a million - because of the continual influx of people. This shanty town is a place which attracts people from all over Kenya and also refugees from other countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia where wars have been raging for some time. Mathare Valley can be a haven for some.

The problems and tensions of life within the Valley often boil over and result in robbery and street violence which is carried out especially by gangs of youth. The 16th. November, 1991, was one such day when many incidents occurred. This coincided with a rally held by 'Forum for the Restoration of Democracy' (FORD), an opposition party, at Kamukunji - a traditional meeting place for expressing political views - not too far from the Parish compound. The meeting was broken up by the Police and the leaders arrested. It is difficult to find the link between the disturbances in Eastleigh and the rally, but it is probably fair to say that some of the gangs took advantage of the circumstances to indiscriminately rob and beat people up.

The above paints a bleak picture of life in Eastleigh and the Valley but this is not so. The deprivation suffered by the people is quite incredible but they are friendly and very hospitable - as I found out when I went to a baptism in the small community church of 'Mathare 2'. The faith of the people carries them through much of what they have to suffer and unites them in their daily lives. There are 15 Basic Christian Communities (BCC's) in the Valley and another 9 in the rest of the Parish. Again, as at Nairobi South 'B', when the Church is present at such a local level, as with the BCC's, it really does improve the lives of the parishioners.

The Parish compound itself is a centre for all sorts of activities. There is a Mass attendance of about 6,000 every Sunday and while the various Masses are going on there are other meetings in the Parish halls - from teaching catechumens to choir practice. During the week the pace does not slow and various classes are given in adult literacy and accountancy (mentioned in previous magazines).
St. Teresa's is the birthplace of the 'Undugu Society' and it too has many activities in the Parish. During the week the buildings become home for 40 to 60 'Parking Boys'. They are given facilities to shower, wash their clothes and to have a meal. The only condition put on their acceptance is that they do not sniff glue or petrol - a great problem with youngsters throughout Nairobi.

The White Sisters (MSOLA) do a great deal of work in various parts of Nairobi and one of their best known projects is 'Dollicraft' at Kangemi (St. Joseph the Worker Parish). The project employs thirty women on a full time basis and they produce hand made dolls in tribal and national costumes. The dolls are about a foot high and made of local materials - brown cotton cloth, black wool and filled with polyester yarn. Though they are mainly sold to tourists they are well liked by Kenyan children.

After a basic training in how to sew the dolls, the women are left to their own devices. 'Dollicraft' is open to women who have unemployed husbands or are single parents, no matter to what faith they belong. It is a way of helping them gain some income and also leads to an improvement in education, as it is possible to follow adult literacy classes and also course in tailoring and dress-making.

This article has just concerned itself with the Capital of Kenya and not with the rest of the country. The reason for this is mainly because the White Fathers only work in Nairobi and also that it is a side of Kenya that people do not often see.

At this delicate time in the country's history the Church in Kenya is giving guidance which is valued by people, of all denominations, who have a concern for the future. The Bishops do not fear to speak out against injustice, despite the consequences - nor do many journalists and lawyers. Through their influence they are helping to find peaceful solutions to the problems which Kenya is faced with these days.