Posted Thursday Night

Wednesday, August 26th 2009

Today there was a seminar put on for the Ghetto Light youth and other teens in the community. The day-long seminar was presented by a Kenyan organization called the Center for Rights Education and Awareness (C.R.E.AW.). The goal of the seminar was to mobilize youth to take a stand against injustice and initiate positive change for human rights. The organization helps to give power to the people who are often viewed as the bottom dwellers of society (the poor and impoverished). C.R.E.AW. hosts school and community forums on sexual and gender based violence and human rights. The two speakers were excellent and encouraged the youth to make their voices heard and to initiate change in Kenya (human rights violations and corruption is rampant). The students and hosts talked about many sexual and other human rights violations that take place in the community. Many students reflected on the 2007 post election violence. There were stories of people being evicted, raped, beaten, burned, and mutilated with machetes simply because they came from a certain tribe. Students also discussed gender equality. Many women are still discriminated against in African culture and certain tribes. Women are sometimes bought and treated like property and are victims of physical and sexual abuse. Young girls in some tribes are forced to be circumcised in horrific fashion. Sometime when a woman’s husband dies she and the property are taken over by the husband’s brother. Property and money is taken from the widow and they are to submit sexually to their new husbands. There are stories of this happening and the brother of the deceased man has HIV/AIDS and the widowed women contracts the disease from her new husband.
The speaker had a fire in his bones as he rallied the young people to make a change within themselves and in their community and country. He encouraged them to not use violence against people from other tribes, not to let the physical and sexual abuse continue. He told the youth to educate themselves and demand equality in the academic and working spheres. The way this man talked was with a heart and passion similar to Dr. Martin Luther King. It gives me great hope to see people like this encouraging young people to act in a like manner. If what we witnessed is a picture of the future leaders and people of Kenya, a just and prosperous nation would soon follow. It is great to see the light shining out of the doors of “Ghetto Light.”

Thursday,
Today Peter took me to get a haircut. Actually more than one hair was cut, but you understand what I am saying. We walked up the street to the local barbershop for a trim. The barber who’s name is Innocent cut a muzungu’s (white person’s) hair last week. He said he shaved the guys head. Most everyone even the girls have shaved heads. The hair was cut, the beard was trimmed and a hot towel was place on my face and then used to wipe down my newly cut hair, all for 50 schillings (less than 1 dollar).
Oh! Mariella and I were also counted in the Kenyan census, which is taken every ten years. Tomorrow we say goodbye to the Ghetto Light youth, Abel, Milcah and their children. We will meet up and stay with our friends who work for the Salvation Army for a couple days before heading to Amsterdam.