The moment I remember the most, and that I think set the tone for the rest of the trip, was watching the Harambee/ D4K (the NGO we were working with) video that featured Kabro, one of our Kenyan friends/ Harambee boy. In the video, Kabro was thirteen years old living on the streets of Dagoretti Market. We watched him buy glue to sniff, struggle for food, and talk about his home life. He was small, smiling a lot, determined, and at the time reminded me of a baby or a little brother. The entire viewing experience was sort of surreal because Kabro was sitting right in the room with us older now and very different from the boy in the film. In the video, Kabro goes back home to his mother and tells her that he wants to do well and does not want to be on the street, or cause trouble, or sniff glue anymore. He says he wants to be successful so that he can help his mother and his family, and he also cooks for them.
When I watched him do/say these things, I couldn't help but think about the ambitions that got me to college. The whole reason I studied or did anything right in school was because I wanted so badly to never have to see my family live in the conditions we were in. I did not want to have to worry if our car would be outside the next morning, or if I will fall asleep on a rat tonight, or what the heck kind of fungus is growing on our ceiling. Relative to the countries we represent, I understood Kabro's wish to just not have to witness anymore stress and suffering. I understood the streetboys desires to not be a burden on their parents who could barely afford enough food to feed them, and it was here that I really began to understand what we were up against. These boys are like inner-city boys, like the boys I grew up with. They are in search of family, guidance, and a way out. It was interesting to me to see how many forms one problem can take.
No comments:
Post a Comment