December 17, 2003

Dear Friends,

Whenever I visit rural Kenya I am struck by the beauty of the landscape, particularly in contrast to the slums and urban decay of Nairobi. Machakos is no exception. Chalo's family lives in the lush highlands about 80km outside of Nairobi.

Last week, Chalo and I spent two days in the Machakos district. We first visited his uncle, who is related to Chalo by marriage to his mother's sister. The uncle is the only person on that side of the family to have a job -- he is an accountant for the national school system. The other members of that extended family are sustinence farmers. They have enough food, but very little money.

The uncle was very worried that Chalo was growing up with bad influences, and wanted him to transfer to a boarding school in Machakos, so his family could keep a better eye on him. When I asked the uncle why he hadn't taken care of Chalo and his younger brother Titus when their mother died, he explained that he had already adopted another orphan from his side of the family. One additional child was all he could care for, and also, as he put it, living with in-laws is "not good."

Chalo's family is Akamba, one of the 42 tribes in Kenya. In Akamba tradition, as it was explained to me, when a woman marries, she leaves her family and becomes a member of her husband's family. The children are the responsibility of the father's family, and male sons inherit land from their father. It was thus not Chalo's uncle's responsibility to care for Chalo. He was obliged to care for the orphan from his family first.

The Akamba tradition puts Chalo in a diffiicult position. Chalo's mother divorced his father, and took the children to Mathare when she moved to the city to look for work. Chalo doesn't have a relationship with his father, and he has absolutely no desire to see him. I didn't push him to find out why. There seemed to be something below the surface that he didn't want to talk about.

The only other family Chalo has is his grandmother and uncles, his mother's mother and mother's brothers. After we visited the uncle, we went to visit this side of his family. The extended family has nearly one hundred members, all of whom live on one side of fertile river valley. They too are sustinence farmers. Again, there is enough food, but little money.

Chalo has a one-room mud-brick house on his grandmother's compound, but because this is his mother's family, he will never have any land to cultivate in the valley. It is not really his home.

Chalo and his uncles discussed the plan to leave Good Samaritan, and though they agreed with Auntie's idea to get older kids out of the Home, they didn't see any reason for Chalo to move to Machakos. He grew up in Nairobi, first with his mother and then at Good Samaritan. Though Chalo is always welcome to visit the family, the family made it clear that there is nothing for him there.

Chalo agrees with these uncles. He doesn't really feel welcome in Machakos. And he doesn't think the school in Machakos is as good as his current school in Nairobi. He would like to go to a boarding school in Nairobi, where he would get away from Mathare but stay near his friends, who he feels closer to than his family. His uncles are coming to Good Samaritan on Sunday to discuss all of this with Auntie.

Boss's grandmother will also be visiting on Sunday to try to convince Boss, Malonza, and Njambi, to move away. It appears that they might even have land they would inherit. This is remarkable in itself, as many times land that is rightfully owed to orphans is grabbed by family members or neighbors.

At this point, Boss seems more interested in playing pool than farming, though at times he talks about returning to 8th grade so he can pass the national exam and attend secondary school. He turns 18 in January, so he would be one of the oldest 8th graders in the class.

Friday was Jamhuri Day in Kenya. 40 years ago, Kenya gained full independence from Britain. Auntie celebrated by buying meat for the children and preparing a large meal. It was a rare treat, and it was wonderful to see their smiles. President Kibaki addressed the nation, and discussed the many mis-steps Kenya has made over the past 40 years. He spoke openly about AIDS and poverty, which in itself is a major change from the previous administration.

Next week I am heading out to western Kenya to continue to follow the story of Ochieng's brother. When Ochieng and I visited the west this summer, we found his 13 year-old brother in prison, accused of rape. While I am in no position to judge his guilt or innocence, it was clear that because he had no family, he was not being given due process. The last Ochieng heard, the police were asking for 10,000 shillings, a little less than $150, to get the boy out of prison. It is unclear if they are asking for a bribe, or if this is for bail.

That is all for now. I hope this email finds all of you well.

best,
Randy