This is Heaven: A Visit to AmericaShare's Harambee Center
November 5, 2010 By: Barbara King
"This is Heaven," my husband, Michael, remarked as we toured AmericaShare's Harambe Center, an oasis of hope in Mukuru slum, outside Nairobi. This, our third visit to Mukuru in recent years did not evoke the same gut wrenching emotions of despair as had the first two visits.
In 2004 we first experienced Mukuru, one of Nairobi's blighted areas. I recall in vivid detail the drive, which seemed hours long but lasted only 20 minutes. That November day was sunny after the pervious night's soaking rains, rains that easily turned Mukuru's dirt roads into rivers of mud. A mass of humanity lined the the route, standing in front of store fronts that provided a facade for the dense rows of shacks sardined behind them. Some people had vacant eyes but not the children---their eyes sparkled, smiles radiated, and hands waving while chanting, "How are you (with the emphasis on 'you') at the passing caravan of Micato coaches. Silently I wondered how soon the reality of slum life would obliterate the smiles, the hope.
Then we arrived at what is now called Harambee Center, a slice of Heaven, a patch of land dotted with green space that is focused on helping women and children, offering solutions and providing for their physical health, education, vocational training, and nutrition. I've blogged about AmericaShare in the past and rather than repeat myself, I suggest you visit www.americashare.org to learn more about this incredible organization. One important note: All administrative costs of AmericaShare are absorbed by Micato Safaris and its founders, the Pinto family. That means that 100 percent of donations reach the women and children who sorely need them.
Fast forward to this visit, October 29, 2010: Unlike previous visits that sucked the air out of me, I breathed in the progress I saw, the measurable growth and success. A few years ago, a guest of Micato Safaris, impressed with AmericaShare's project, donated funds to build Harambee Center. On this visit we found so many signs of hope: a learning center housed a bank of computers to assist in strengthening children's basic education; a new sports court was being built and would offer basketball, tennis, and a games area; an area women used to create handicrafts that they sold to support themselves; increased classrooms for the preschool; and a micro-factory which constructed reusable sanitary pads. When girls are menstruating, they often miss school because they have no means to stop the flow of blood. In an effort to earn enough money to buy disposable sanitary napkins, some girls offer their bodies for sex, risking their lives and their health. AmericaShare provides a safer option. (See photo below). Girls now stay in school and have less chance to contract AIDS.
While Mukuru's populations has swelled to 750,000 from the 500,000 of 2004, AmericaShare, too, has grown. The atmosphere of hope, of a solution to the terrible cycle of poverty is palpable. So, Michael was indeed accurate when he stated, "This is what Heaven is like."
Footnote: Virtuoso donated $15,000 to AmericaShare and Matthew, Jessica, Clay, and Benjie Upchurch matched that donation with another $15,000...a reminder of the how travel helps heal our world.
