A Community Walk by Abi Herring

Saturday, June 8, 2024

We arrived at Misisons of Hope International (MOHI) Pangani School after a bumpy half hour bus ride. We were greeted by smiling faces and taken up to a classroom to begin orientation. The director of Pangani School, Raphael, talked us through the history of MOHI, its mission initiatives, as well as some do’s and dont’s for us as we visited the families in the slums. From there, we split into groups and accompanied by the social workers we headed out into the Mathare slums. There are not words yet created that could accurately describe this place. The smells were a jarring blend of cooking food, meandering animals such as goats, chickens, cats, and dogs, and the overwhelming scent of sewage. There were children playing all around us and they would run up to us for high-fives and hugs. Their smiles juxtaposed their living situation in a heartbreaking way. The adults stared as we went by, all of them with deep worry etched on their faces. My group eventually arrived at a woman’s shanty house. Her name is Alice. She is a single mother of four children, one of which is currently in university. She works as a laundress to provided food, shelter, and education for her family The only thing I could think of this whole time was, How? How can someone live each day like this? How can you not just lay down and cry? How can you have hope? There was one moment, as we were headed out to the slums, which made me pause in reflection. I glanced over at a concrete wall to see two children sized hand prints on the side of the building. I took this testament to how even in an unforgiving place the innocence of human nature leaves a loving impression. - Abi Herring