Walking Through a Mathare: Lili's Experience

Written by Lili Wei, a 10 year old from Seattle

Today, I visited a slum in Nairobi, Kenya. I realized how lucky I am to have a great home and environment to live in. I think it’s unfair that some people still have to live in poor conditions while others lead luxurious lives, and I hope that I can do something to help them improve their homes and schools as well as the environment that they live in.

 There were free chickens roaming around in the area, and an occasional “squawk!” could be heard from the wandering roosters. The rush of the river and the thud of trash bumping against the river bank faded into the background. The trash caused a bad smell wafting over the entire place. I also saw volunteers cleaning up the river and helping to clear up all the trash. Without a garbage truck coming weekly, trash eventually builds up and needs disposing of.

All the trash scattered around the place causes the place overall to be unsanitary with a polluted river and such. It can make people sick and children may not be able to attend school. In schools, they need our help, and we can help a lot. Donating read books and used electronics gives the schools opportunities to have tech classes and a library. We talked with the principal of a school, and he said what their school needed most were electronics and books. All children deserve the same amount and quality of education, and in the next few decades, I hope this goal will be reached.