6.5.2009 Upon arriving in Nairobi I was greeted by a swarm of taxi cab drivers offering rides in a mixture of English and Kiswahili and at a variety of prices. I wandered around for a half an hour looking for Julius, as I learned later, Julius apparently sees orange as yellow, so my bright orange bag I’d warned him I would be travelling with did nothing to help me stand out from the crowd. We grabbed a cab and were off zipping through an absolutely illogical traffic pattern, allowing buses to test the durability of our rear bumper roughly every thirty seconds. Taking in a breath of the “fresh” Nairobi air awakens all my senses and is a much different smell than the stale air from the airplane. It is a mix of sewage, burning garbage, diesel fumes, brown dust and twice daily when the hawkers and police clash, tear gas. I’ve been away too long.
I came to Nairobi to conduct my research for my thesis, a qualitative enthnographic study using photovoice to document the lives of some youths of the Mathare slum. I’m working with the MEWLU foundation (http://www.mwelu.org), a youth based photography program in Mathare. Photovoice is a method that allows the participants to document their lives and record their stories using photography and a series of guided interviews. Those that have previously studied the Mathare document the horrific conditions, the lack of electricity, water, and sewage system, the murders, gangs, and violence. I aim to document the resiliency of these kids, their strengths and the community’s strengths. Those that wish to keep up with my adventures, wish to comment, send donations, or otherwise communicate with me please email me at: snoyesp@gmail.com
Cheers!