So what am I doing here?

My job, in contrast to the other interns, was very poorly defined until after I had actually arrived and started working. All I really knew going in was that I would be assisting Chelina at the second project, hopefully getting some hands-on experience in the urban planning process. So on the first day of work I went to our orientation meeting with no real idea of what I would be doing – and came out of it, still with no idea. Once that was over, I accompanied Chelina to the office of the surveyor who is supposed to be surveying the second site so that we can get our plans approved by the engineers and begin laying the foundation. He’s been dragging his heels though, and right now he doesn’t seem ready to get to work.

After that, we actually went to the second site for the first time. I saw where we would be building a toilet block with an honest-to-goodness sewer connection, a daycare, a playground, and several kiosks for selling goods. It’s a compact site, squeezed in between a school, numerous shanties, and the river. Right now it is strewn with garbage, but soon we will be having a volunteer cleaning day to get the community residents enthusiastic about the project.

At the second site, I finally found out what I’ll be doing for the summer. My main project will be to help the residents who live in the immediate vicinity of the site organize themselves into a CBO. I will help them register with the government, come up with ideas for raising money for the site, and hopefully help them come together as a community. In addition, I will help Chelina as needed with projects related to the beginning of construction.

The last thing I did on Monday [7/12] was to attend a meeting with Chelina and the heads of the three groups sponsoring the second site – Power of Hope, Ushirika, and the Youth Development Forum. We discussed our plans for the community meeting that was held tonight and for our next few weeks as we begin construction. By the time we finished it was late – after 7 and already dark. So instead of walking out by ourselves, Chris, the leader of Power of Hope, led Chelina and I to the gate of Kibera, where we found a matatu and made our way home. Although I do not generally feel unsafe in Kibera, I would not want to walk around by myself, especially after dark. Although I do not think there is a high risk of being hurt in Kibera, or anywhere in Nairobi, as long as I am cautious, the truth is that I stand out like a sore thumb (more about this another time) and people assume that I have a lot of money – which they might try and take.