As in many other slums around the world, small and large corrugated iron huts are lined up close together in Mukuru, and stone buildings are few and far between. The few roads that are passable are muddy and the small paths between the huts are littered with rubbish. During the mission in July, two months after the flood, the water was still high on the roadsides and there was no end in sight to the rainy season.
The people in Mukuru live in great poverty and with very little prospects; for example, attending school is a major challenge for many children. As there are few public schools, many small schools have been set up that barely comply with state regulations. The teachers themselves have often only received short introductory seminars and are now expected to teach up to 70 children. The blackboards are old, school materials such as pens, crayons and paper are in short supply - as are space, light and tranquility. The roofs are usually made of iron sheets, which make it so loud in the classroom when it rains that it is impossible to understand anything. The walls are also often so thin, that voices and noise can be clearly heard from the classroom next door, making it difficult to concentrate on the lesson. Many of the small schools do not have a playground - the children have to sit on the bench during breaks and have no opportunity to play or relax.
Food security is a major issue in Mukuru. Most of the children do not receive regular meals, which has a negative impact on their ability to concentrate. Domestic violence, including sexual violence, are other challenges the children face. Christina (name changed), one of the local teachers, reports that the children find it difficult to concentrate as a result. Christina works in a small school in the center of the slum. The safety and wellbeing of her schoolchildren is very important to her.
The team therefore concentrated on how to support children who live in an environment characterized by violence. Together, they worked out solutions on how to create artistic units despite the lack of space and materials. These small ‘breathing spaces’ gave the local educators a lot of joy - for a moment, they and their children were able to forget their worries. Wamu, an educator from the Waldorf Kukuma Project, describes the atmosphere in the room as follows: ‘At the end of the session, you could see the participants with smiling faces. The sadness they had come with faded and was replaced by relaxed, happy faces.’
Behind this, however, was a genuine interest in understanding what trauma is and how it manifests in children: ‘When I left the Mukuru kwa Njenga slums, I took with me deep insights and invaluable lessons. My experiences there have not only enriched my understanding, but also equipped me with the knowledge of how to help people who have experienced trauma. I have great respect for the residents of Mukuru. Living in such difficult conditions requires extraordinary resilience, adaptability and hard work. It is obvious that continuous psychosocial support from organizations and private groups plays a crucial role in maintaining their strength and hope,’ says Wamu.
In November, the emergency education team will meet again for a week with local educators to further develop trauma education methods. The long-term goal is to create places of safety for the children. To achieve this, it is important that the educators learn how to interact with the children in a trauma-sensitive way, but also that they themselves feel safe first - because the environment is often frightening and traumatizing for them too. ‘The situation is not easy for any of us,’ says Frances, a teacher from Mukuru. ‘I really hope that we can offer the children a better future.’
Fiona Bay