Saturday, January 11, 2014

My Mathare...

One thing I remember most while growing up in Mathare Slums is the LOVE we shared, back then we were one big community. It saddens me what has become of Mathare right now, Tribalism has taken root, and the sad part is that the ones causing it is our generation.
Back in the day I remember my mum speaking luo and kamba so well, we did not have the tribal barrier. Our parents did not care about it, instead they cared about raising children as a community.

Christmas was for all, Fatuma would braid our hair so well, while Akumu would cook great pilau, then we would all go for Maji Mazuri camping trip. I wish I can recall where we went wrong, what happened that we lost respect for human life, what made us feel so at ease to kill each other so quickly.

I wish I knew when we allowed our heads to be filled with dirt about other tribes, I wish I would go back to my Mathare, where we would play outside till late in the evening with no worries, where one neighbour’s loss was a loss for all of us and where children were not afraid of being associated to a particular tribe.

I thank God for the young people who are still fighting to have that Mathare back, Titus Kuria, Julius Mwelu, Wairimu Gitau, Maji Mazuri Youth group, Roots Group, David Waithaka, and our big sister Naomi who loves Mathare in a special way. I pray and wish that My Mathare will be back one day, but as we wait lets spread LOVE, LOVE and more LOVE….

Hope

Nothing in life comes easy, we have to fight all odds to get what we want. I have been reading the story of Joseph and David (My favorite s...