STORY TWELVE

One million. That’s the number of people who inhabit Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum, and the second largest slum in all of Africa. What is even more astonishing is that all of those people live within an area less than one square mile.

As we drove along the outskirts of Kibera, there were “No Dumping” signs posted that have long been ignored. Trash piled, in some places, as high as a human is tall outlined the slum. We saw a sick old man lying within one of the piles, either using the trash for warmth, of having been dumped there himself. People were scrounging around through the piles looking for food to eat. Along side them were dogs that were so thin you could see their rib bones. On one occasion, we also saw wild monkeys atop a trash heap.

Some of the trash is burned, much like we might burn our garbage. However, the way their garbage reeks is much more potent and fills the air. It is hard to escape the odor even after you leave because it lingers in your nose.  It’s hard to imagine unless you’ve smelled it, but large piles of rotting food, cardboard, wood, feces, decomposing animals, and Lord knows what else, sitting outside, all day, every day baking in the heat of the sun.

Our drivers took us up a very steep, crevice filled slope, up to a bluff that overlooked the entire slum.  That was easily one of the most awe-inspiring views I have ever seen.  Above is just one small section the slum, and I encourage you to really look around.  Immediately you will see clothes hanging from wires, and the tin roofs.  But as you look closer, you can see even more trash in the streets and ditches, the “self-help” building, a man holding hands with a child, and the sparsity of greenery.

Kibera truly is a site to see.  So here it is, from one side to the other — Kibera (*VERY LARGE FILE — 16MB).