Saturday, July 12, 2014

Mama Emmanuel

This is my first blog post from Kenya. Most of my posts will be written upon our return. However, I wanted to introduce you to a resident of the Mathare Valley Slum. Mama Emmanuel (Mother of Emmanual-her firstborn) is a lady otherwise known as Sophia. We met her today while doing some home visits. Some people think we go to the slums to teach the residents how to live a better life (which can be true), but the people of Mathare teach us so much more. I was blessed to me Mama Emmanuel today.

Mama Emmanuel with Robert
It was our second home visit of the morning, and we were led down narrow, muddy, wet passageways before we got to Mama Emmanuel's tiny tin shack. When we first walked in (one at a time) you went through the door, then had to close it to enter her tiny living space, before the next visitor could enter in the same way. We were surprised to see a bright and cheery interior and cramped together on a tiny couch where we could visit with this lady. We were introduced to her through our fantastic friend and the Area 2 social worker, Robert. He interpreted Swahili for us as she did not speak English. She had a calm and dignified demeanor and I could tell she was a thoughtful and classy lady.

We heard that she was was a single mother of two boys as her husband had died of stomach cancer in January. She worked as a waitress in Eastleigh, which has a large population of Somalis, so during the month of Ramadan she was out of work and out of a source of income. The rent and electricity (which kept flickering on and off during our visit) was about $20 per month. She was worried about money and work. As we talked, we could see the depth of her character, and if she had lived in another place with more opportunities like in America, I could see her being a highly educated women who could be working and living successfully instead of being stuck in the Mathare Valley slum.
Every thing is covered for warmth in the winter,
but also to create a beautiful home.

I told her that she seemed to be a woman who closely resembled her humble home. She was beautiful despite the conditions around her. She had made her home as dignified and homey as possible with an artistic grace that showed her desire to provide her family with a home worth living in. As we talked to her further and asked her what she was concerned about in her life, she told a story of a hard-working woman who thought more of her sons than she did of herself. She was worried because in order to get up for work at 5:30, she would rise an hour earlier to make breakfast for her son Emmanuel, who was in the first grade at the Area 2 School (her other four year old son, Shadrack, lives with her sister). She would then have to leave him and go to work, He would get himself to school and at the end of the day, come home alone to his house. Mama Emmanuel would not get home from work until around 7:30 make dinner and go to bed.

Even her ceilings were decorated.


She was worried that she did not have the time to invest in her sons and without a father, it was becoming difficult for Emmanuel. She could not attend school meetings because of her job. He noticed some of his friends had dads and a family to spend time with after school. Emmanuel was not getting that and wanted more out of his life, despite the hard work of his mother. Emmanuel was expressing an interest in going to a boarding school and that made her sad.

Here is a woman doing all she can to survive, providing for her sons, making their home bright and cheerful, and wanting time to spend with her children and everything she has is evaporating around her. Sometimes, I run across people who say that poor people just don't work hard enough and it is there fault for their poverty (and yes, I have heard similar sentiments when I told some people about my trips to the Mathare Valley). I wish I could introduce them to Mama Emmanuel. Here is a woman who teaches us more about perseverance, faith, and grace, then we could ever teach her about anything. We are just there to learn, support, and encourage her efforts. Meeting amazing people like Mama Emmanuel is a wonderful part of going to Kenya.

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