Where to start?

I just finished 4 days of teaching my classes to HIV+ adolescents who are enrolled in the Nyumbani slum outreach program, Lea Toto. (which means raising the child)The children came from all 6 sites, slums all over Nairobi. Kenyan schools are on holiday now so that's why we could get them for 4 days in a row. I co-taught with a Kenyan nurse, Francis, who works at one of the sites. We started with 29, ended up with 27. 2 dropped out because they got sick. It was incredible that as many came for 4 days. The weather was absolutely crappy, cold and rainy. mud everywhere. Some took 2 1/2 hours to get there, every day! We taught the classes at the Kawangwari slum site, it took me over an hour and 2 matatus to get there. The room was unheated, no electricity so it was very gloomy, old cement floor, tine walls and roof. Our table was a piece of wood balanced on USAID boxes. I sued the blankets from KLM and BA as a tablecloth. They still came. They came dirty, hungry, sick. But they also came so eager to learn, so appreciative, so full of questions. They would come through the gates with huge smiles on their faces, go right to the books I put out on the table. They'd gather together and share, talk and laugh and explain to each other.
These kids all live in horrific conditions, with less than nothing. Some are on ARVS, if they can find someone to do the training necessary for them to be able to get them. I would sit there watching them shiver and listen to them cough. One boy left the room and I found him vomiting and crying. He said he didn't want to miss any of the class. We fed them tea and snack when they got there, snack was buttered bread. After the classes ended for the day, about 1, they were given lunch. A whole plateful of warm nutritious food paid for by Nyumbani and made by one of our community health workers who has a little cooking business on the side. You could tell that for many of the kids it was the only food they would get for the day.
At first they were a little hesitant and shy around me, but by the end of the 2nd day the girls were braiding my hair, yes it's that long! It really hurt too, I would only let them put one in the front, they told me you have to feel pain when you get braided. As I have traveled over Kenya you always see women and girls sitting outside getting their hair braided, it seems to be a basic part of what they do and who they are. talking, laughing singing while they do it. Anyway, even the boys would come by and touch my hair!
Over the 4 days we taught them about their bodies, puberty, sex, hiv/aids, arvs, condoms, pregnancy, abstinence, rape, sexual abuse. It's all things that nobody here talks about, but they all really want to know. For these kids too knowing can be the difference between life and death. They role played how to tell someone they're +, answered their questions, some so poignant they made my eyes tear. We talked about how they feel about being +, what they see for their future. They don't ask, how long will I live? they ask, how long will I stay? I guess for them everyone is always leaving. By they end of the day no one cared how cold or dark the room was, the warmth of all the caring was deep into all our souls.
Today when I was leaving I cried, I got hugged and kissed and thanked so many times. They all got backpacks from Movin Shoes, they loved them. They were all proudly wearing them. They asked over and over if I could come back. All I can say is the world has so much to be ashamed of. These children deserve so much more. From everyone.
There was one girl in particular, Rosalia, who is 13 and lives in Kibera, the largest slum in the world. You will hear a lot more about her the next couple of weeks, and will see a picture. I have worked with and seen so many kids here, never has one shone like her. And it wasn't just my bleeding mzingu heart, all the staff at Kawangware recognized it too. She wasn't just bright, she could think things through and come up with answer. She was a step ahead of all the others, but came from even a worse place than a lot of them. And there was such sparkle in her eyes, so much life. I'm going with the social worker from Kibera and my friend who will be here Dr. Jim C to meet her family next week. If this child is lost, it will truly be a tragedy.
When I'm home, and I'm remembering, this is one of the places I will see myself.