My Girl Mercy!!!! Day 57

When I stayed at Camp Lukenya a few weeks back as a counselor, I met a sweet girl named Mercy. I posted information about her in a previous blog. We have been in touch via email and phone since then. When I was on the phone with her she asked if I could come visit her. At the time I did not know if it would be possible. However, I asked Paul Weaver if he knew the school that she was at. He knew right were to take me.

We went to the Mathare Slums. Paul took me to the main offices of the school Mercy attends. He asked that one of the teachers show me around. A teacher from Mathare Community Outreach School named Douglas came to meet me. He took me on about a 10 minute walk through the slums to the school.

As we walked through the slums I observed my surroundings. Most of the housing was made of old metal scraps that are placed against each other for walls and a roof. There housing is cramped and the area is very populated. There was garbage everywhere and the smell of it was potent. The people stared at me as I walked by. White people are a minority. Children and babies were running around, some with parents nearby and some alone. Since the grounds are dirt filled with random garbage laying everywhere, the babies and children were very dirty. The Mathare slums are huge. The environment is almost inconceivable, yet thousands live in there, many of which are children.

When we arrived at the school, I was taken from class to class. There are approximately 600 children at this school all together. Each class sang a song for me and recited a memory verse. The last class I went to was Mercy’s class. I saw her sitting at her desk in the back of the room. I introduced myself to the class as they welcomed me. I went up to Mercy and gave her a big hug! We were so happy to see each other!
We spent a bit of time together on class break and during lunch break. I sat in on her class to see what school is like for them. One of the teachers taught a lesson on patience and one of them taught a lesson on science. The teachers had me do a lesson on Social Studies. The kids learned a little about the USA. They asked any question they could think of and I did my best answer. One of the children asked, “Are there any slums in America?” … My answer of course was, “No.”
On a side note, what most Americans consider to be an area of poverty in the US, the kids from these slums would consider that to be a Rich area.

Once lunch time came I was fed ugali and scuma. It’s my favorite African meal. The teachers and I all sat in their office room as we ate. When I was finished I went outside to find Mercy again and spend time with the other kids. Many of the children would just come up to touch me, or to feel my hair. They are not used to seeing white people. There was this little girl in a purple dress that followed me around. She was so sweet and cute! I loved spending time with her.
The children asked if I was going to play games with them after lunch; however, I had to get going back. I said goodbye to Mercy and gave her another big hug. Than Douglas walked me back to the main office to meet back up with Paul. Douglas was a very kind gentleman. I thanked him sincerely for the tour.

I am so thankful that Paul took me to see Mercy! Seeing her was the highlight of this month. She is so sweet. It’s hard for me to see where she lives. I wonder where she sleeps. My assumption is on the dirt ground between the walls of scrap metal and under a metal roof. Oh, I cringe at the thought. My stomach is churning as I contemplate what her life must be like. Yet she is so graceful, humble and thankful.

This is a website of the Mathare Community Outreach School. They are dedicated to reaching out and helping children in the slums. Mercy is one of the children that is being helped by this school! http://matharevalley.org/