KENYA. MY MOTHER’S LAND

I took a long walk in Kibera during this pandemic period. I was bored out of my wits and overtired. Staying in the house switching between Netflix, YouTube and twitter was no longer cutting it for me, matter of fact it was taking it’s toll on me. The mundanity of the lockdown had gotten to me and I needed to get out, I wanted to get out in order to escape the sad reality that is our current life or our new normal if you will. Apart of me was convinced that if I stayed too long without seeing humanity outside my immediate family then somehow I’d lose my mind.

Also I wanted to shoot my first youtube video and I figured what better way to kick start my YouTube journey than to go back to a place where I spent the better part of my childhood, a place I once called home. They say that no matter how far and how fast you run, you’ll always find your way back to where it all began for you, maybe it has something to do with the round nature of our prepossesing planet or the fact that the universe always has its ways with things. We humans more often than not have a tendency of revisiting our past physically, mentally or otherwise.

While taking my much needed walk in Kibera, I observed so many things about the people there and the kind of life they live in this country my mother calls home. Kibera was peaceful and tranquil. No chaos just vibes because life is really what you make it.

At a time when the entire world seems to be at a standstill, chaotic and crumbling Kiberians went about their business, living each day like the ones they had lived before. The women cooked by the side of the road like they had done for years, and the children played and ran around in their make believe playgrounds like they had done when all was well with the world.

The joy and happiness they exuded, the sense of community they have always had, I took it all in and savored every bit of it. But even in my state of awe, wonder and admiration I couldn’t help but feel sad for this part of Kenya that seemed to have been long forgotten.

I was irate. How could my motherland forget some of her children??? Why did she deal better cards to others and to some none at all???? Oh!!! to grow up with the odds completely stacked against you, in this country my mother calls home.