Kisumu Kenya home visits

     Today I was part of a small group that made four home visits in a slum outside of Kisumu in southwestern Kenya, It was a warm muggy day as we made our way through the muddy garbage strewn walkways.

The children were all so excited to see us arrive and wanted to shake our hands.
I noticed many of them playing with discarded items like old tires

or they constructed something made  of wire pieces.They would run in the dirt barefoot or sit alone, with no supervision.

     However, inside each house we found a mother beaming with smiles,

so proud to have us in her very small home. We only saw one room in each visit and have no idea how the families were able to sleep in the remaining part. The rooms had no kitchen or running water. We saw a large hole in the ground filled with water. The mother said she used this dirty water to wash her clothes.

Toilets seemed to be shacks in the common areas. One counselor said that some people use "flying bathrooms"- meaning they do their business in plastic bags during the day and then at night they swing them overhead and toss them.We also noticed that mostly everyone carries items on their head, and can balance heavy items without their hands!

     Every mother had tears in her eyes when she expressed how different their lives were after their child had a sponsor from Unbound. Many times children were turned away from school for lack of a uniform or school fees or not buying the textbooks. Unbound sponsorships help families provide some of these basic needs for their child.
     Also, each mother started her own business to bring in extra income. One mother sold second hand clothes, another sold charcoal, and another had a food stand. Another mother said her husband was able to start a motorcycle taxi service.It was inspiring to see that they all had hope for a better future, even in their bleak surroundings.
     A couple, Gail and Andy,

brought hand made rosaries and gave one to each mother.

At the end of each visit, Gail asked if we could hold hands and recite the "Our Father" together. It was a powerful moment where we felt intimately connected to one another.