Searching for Peace in Kenya

Six years ago from this month of July, I stepped onto African soil. But my goal was to step into the lives of the Kenyan people, those living in what most people would call “squalid conditions” It was my choice. I needed something to shake me. I needed a place where we could identify with each other in the depths of our souls.

My only visions of Africa were those that included war, devastation, poverty, and disease. Surely these people would show me that there was life and peace in the midst of pain and adversity.

On our first day, we met in the Vapor Center, located right next to the dirt track where Kenyan Olympians had trained. The Ngong hill country surrounds the track, bringing in elite runners from around the world to train on this prime training ground of hills and elevation. From the track, you can see the Gichagi slum, only about 400 yards away – a small cluster of tiny “shacks”, homes for 1,000’s of residents living in extreme poverty.

The children you see in my photos are the first children I met. I was alone, walking
around the dirt track, when my gaze met some small figures working to get through a small wooden gate(background of photo) that stood about half way between the slum and the track. My heart began to stir as I saw the smiles and joy radiating from these little bodies as they raced toward me. Still separated by a fence, they lined up and clung to the wires, baring their smiles. I said “Hi!” and they continued grinning. As our eyes locked, I knew that we had connected.

I knew they saw a person who cared about them, and I knew that I was seeing joyful human beings, despite their circumstances.

My heart only felt a twinge. But I knew it was the beginning.

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