Steven.

Josh Chinn Quality Blog Post #7

Today we visited the Eastleigh area which is a businessy area with mostly Somalian people. I'm going to be honest, it was a bit intimidating going in. It was an extremely bumpy ride driving to the Eastleigh MITS (Made In The Streets) center and there were people everywhere who gave us (maybe just me) weird looks. I saw a few kids sniffing glue which was very saddening to see. To those who don't know, kids sniff the glue to numb their senses, get themselves high, and to erase the feelings of hunger and pain.

When we arrived at the Eastleigh center, we were greeted by Larry (a guy who you'd probably think was a tourist if you didn't know him) and a couple other helpers who had graduated from the MITS program. We eventually got to meet about 30 kids aged from 8 up to 17ish. Each of them had their own story about why/how they got to Eastleigh. Eastleigh is a treacherous place where youth run to escape family hardships and abuse, but once they're in Eastleigh, they're on their own. Many of the youth band together and try to group up for protection. I wasn't able to go walk the streets because of my age but today I heard many depressing stories about some of the kids still out on the streets in their "bases". I was able to hear some of the life stories from the kids who were inside the Eastleigh center and many of them had run away from home to Eastleigh to escape abusing parents.

Realizing the conditions of the streets was a new experience for me. At home, I've fed the homeless in Seattle and I'd thought I'd known what "the streets" are, but in Kenya, the streets are much worse than what I had previously thought. There is trash and flies everywhere and many people sleep on the trash to keep warm. It was a different feeling from the slums. In Mathare and South B, the kids had homes to go to and parents who cared for them. In Eastleigh, the kids are on their own, literally fighting off other bullies in the streets, struggling for food and sleeping on garbage. Some of the older people on our team went out on the streets to the "bases" where most of the kids lived and talked with them. One teen Trenton told the team about during our debrief had a broken leg. He was only a teenager but was drunk one night and lying on the ground until a couple boys took a huge rock, dropped it on his leg, and broke it. The kid now only has one crutch, which is way too big for him, and is in the worst of conditions. I was stunned when I heard this story. I broke my ankle last year but I felt like my break was just a scratch and my experience was nothing compared to what this kid has gone through.

Another eye-opening fact was the situation girls are in. Girls aren't able to protect themselves, so they must join the boys groups. Unfortunately, to get in and receive respect, a young girl looking for help must sleep with each and every one of the boys- up to 50 in a group. I was really disturbed and angered by this and I can only pray that God will open up opportunities for the girls. The MITS staff say that they try to get girls off the street as soon as possible, but I'm still saddened and I really wish the girls wouldn't be put in that position.

Inside the center, we hung out with some of the kids and sung songs and played games with them. We taught some of them Ultimate Ninja and they got pretty into it. It was nice to see smiles on a few of their faces as they sang and danced but it's hard to notice the situation and conditions they live in and realize that they probably don't smile very often. While teaching the kids, Dakota and I got to meet and spend time with a little baby named Steven. He's 7 months old and his mother is young and there for an internship (I think). Steven was so cute. He didn't cry and he never drooled. Dream baby, right? Dakota and I took turns holding him. He can stand so we tried to get him to take little steps, and one time he took a tiny little baby step and smiled. This was by far the highlight of my day.

Overall it was a tough day. It was hard to fathom the situations many of the youth in Eastleigh are in. I can't imagine living out on the streets at the age I'm at now, and many of the kids out there are younger than I am. Tomorrow should be an exciting day, though. We visit the MITS Farm. Some of the youth at Eastleigh have shown maturity and are given the choice to live at the Farm. Still, many of the boys can't handle the rules and expectations that are suddenly put in their lives and run away. However, once somebody runs away from the Farm, the Farm won't accept them back. Hopefully we'll hear some encouraging stories about growth- emotionally, physically, and spiritually at the Farm.

'til next time
Josh