The Nairobi Experience is a chance for all the BVC volunteers to meet up halfway through our year of volunteering. Volunteers meet in Nairobi for about 10 days starting right before New Year’s. We go on safari, tour the Nairobi worksites, and spend several days learning about village life in Nunguni. This year we had a group of 14 volunteers, plus James Kimeu, bringing us up to a total of 15 Johnnies.
East Africa Assembled
The first volunteers to arrive in Nairobi were the pairs from Tanzania and Rwanda. I was excited to see them, both because their arrival marked the beginning of the Nairobi Experience and because their sites were the most similar to our own. While all three sites are in East Africa we are the only site in a large city, giving us some extra amenities. When the volunteers landed, the first thing we did was take them out for breakfast. In Kenya, we get to eat out anytime the craving for a different type of food gets too strong. At the sites in Tanzania and Rwanda there is no option outside of the staple East African foods. I’ve never seen someone so happy to find pancakes on the menu! After breakfast and getting moved in to the Amani Center, we brought the guys to the Utalii Hotel. This is where we’ve been working out while in Nairobi. They’ve got a gym, sauna, and pool, and once again the volunteers from Rwanda and Tanzania were absolutely blown away. Seeing this really made me appreciate all the things that we have access to in Nairobi… the only food that I have yet to find here is a really good burrito!
Goodbye 2023
The rest of the group arrived just in time for New Year’s Eve. We started off our Sunday by going to church with James and his family. You’ll often see churches here filled past capacity and today was no different. Because of this, about half of us ended up sitting outside and watching the service from a distance. After church, we all went to the Karura Forest just down the road. The Nairobi volunteers have been using the forest as a place to run since we got here. James had a ‘short’ loop planned for us to jog, finishing at the cafe inside the forest grounds for a bite to eat. The Johnnies slogged through a 7.5 mile run and quickly drank the cafe out of water. After eating, we went back to the Amani Center and spent some time catching up and relaxing. That evening, we went out for supper at Whiskey River Lounge and had some of the best nyama choma (grilled meat) I’ve had so far in Kenya. We spent the rest of the evening/night trying to loosen up from our run on dance floors across Nairobi.
Return to Nunguni
On the first morning of 2024, the Johnnies slowly got up and prepared to spend two and a half days in Nunguni. We arrived just in time for a lunch of fresh goat, ugali, and lots of other sides. After lunch we went on a short walk to the top of Mt. Carmel (nearby mountain where James went to primary school) and then hung out at the Kimeu’s house until supper. This was the only quiet time we had planned for the next week, so we took advantage. The next morning we got paired up and went on home visits around Nunguni. We were visiting groups of people that work with or benefit from Peter Kimeu’s (James’ dad) organization, Decent Living. I got to meet a lady who is helping to pay for her children’s education by raising chicks into chickens. She was provided with a chicken coop and the money to buy chicks, which she paid back after selling the fully grown chickens. Then one of her sons took us on a walk through the village, showing us a cool overlook of the entire area along the way. Hearing about everyone’s different visits really highlighted the impact that Peter’s organization is having here.
The next morning we had a football (soccer) match scheduled against the local Nunguni team. We arrived at the field just as the Nunguni players started their drills. They had jerseys and a coach… we had 3 former soccer players in our midst. I wasn’t liking our chances. I thought it would be a good idea to try and tire out the other team during the warmup run, so I took off up the first hill with several Nunguni players in hot pursuit. I’m proud to say that I held them off on our way out, but after turning around I realized I was doing far more damage to my own team than I was to theirs. We ended up losing the game 5-1, but everyone had a lot of fun watching the wazungu (white people) try their best. After lunch we headed back to Nairobi with an invitation from Peter to come back again anytime.
Safari
The next day we were back on the road, this time headed for Maasai Mara. This is one of Kenya’s national parks and we did a day-long safari there. Lots of lions, cheetahs, wildebeest, giraffes, and more! The other group even got to see a leopard, which is the only member of the Big Five that I haven’t seen yet. Halfway through the game drive we all met up and ate lunch on the Kenyan side of the Serengeti. We also walked along the river that runs along the border of Kenya and Tanzania, spotting many hippos and crocodiles in its depths. The following day, we drove to Hell’s Gate National Park. There we went on a bike ride through the park, seeing lots of water buffalo, gazelle, and some beautiful scenery. After the bike ride we finished our drive in Nairobi at a Pizza Inn, where we ordered and ate one large pizza each.
Mlango Kubwa
Our last day with everyone together was spent walking through Mlango Kubwa. This is a section of the slum that we haven’t been able to walk through yet. It’s not safe to be inside without having people with you that know the area well. I was quickly able to tell that this wasn’t just some overly cautious rule. It’s hard to explain what we saw, but I can say that the situation in Mlango Kubwa is a living hell. It is poverty and hopelessness to a level that I didn’t know existed. As much as anything else in Kenya, it has left it’s impact on the 14 volunteers who took part in the Nairobi Experience.
A big thank you to Logan Lintvedt and James Kimeu for planning the entire experience!
Thanks for reading!