Restoring Broken Foundations
Mombasa, Kenya Photo by Jessica Pamp on Unsplash
Nuala Ribeiro-Alibhai
“We are all born with dignity but through life’s journey, some of us lose it through humiliating or debilitating experiences or lack of opportunity which reduce our sense of self-worth. ”
Juma is a 37-year-old man who lives with his family in a shared Swahili house, in Tononaka Ward in the bustling town of Mombasa Kenya. He has 2 children under five and his wife- Halima, has just given birth to their third child. Juma starts his day by queuing up outside a communal tap with two jerry cans waiting for his turn to collect safe drinking water. This is usually Halima’s responsibility but now she is busy with the baby who was up most of the night with colic pains. Today the line is moving forward slowly because the water trickles out of the tap. Juma realises that if he waits any longer he will be very late for work, so he returns home empty-handed. He can see Halima's frustration and disappointment when he returns but he has a boss who is a stickler for punctuality so cannot risk upsetting him. Today Juma plans to ask his boss for a loan, to buy some medication for his other two children who have chronic diarrhea. He suspects this is because there is a growing mound of garbage outside their home, where his children play every day. The chief has frequently requested the County Government to clear the mound but his pleas have fallen to deaf ears. Juma finally gets to work without his morning cup of tea and chapati, because he had no time. He arrives to work late to the irritation and anger of his employer and receives a telling off as he walks in. How can he possibly ask for a loan now? What hope does Juma have when life seems to be working against him? Does Juma have any power to ensure his family’s well-being?
Thousands of other hard-working citizens face a similar plight as Juma. They feel discouraged, overwhelmed and powerless. His family is surviving but he does not seem to know how to make the leap to ensure they thrive. The government cannot be relied upon and the wealthier individuals in this community prioritise making money over the wellbeing of their neighbours. So, who can Juma turn to for help?
A strengths based approach is used for community transformation (Photo Credit: Nuala Alibhai)
Paulo Freire believed that in order to be truly free, men and women should deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world. This quote sums up the goal of a project dubbed TLC- Teaching, Learning and Care which was launched in Tononoka Ward in 2016. It aimed at restoring and promoting the dignity of individuals in the community by enabling them to take charge of their lives. We are all born with dignity but through life’s journey, some of us lose it through humiliating or debilitating experiences or lack of opportunity which reduce our sense of self-worth. TLC identified within the community natural helpers who by default of their position in the community had become the counsels and change-makers. They were not individuals elected into positions of power neither were they particularly wealthy. They were leaders who had built bridges in the community based on care and trust. This could be a local barber, the lady who has run the vegetable stall for the past decade, or the midwife who knows every child born in Tononoka ward. TLC recognised these individuals as leaders in a community that could act as the catalyst to bring about the ownership and agency required to transform lives.
“ to be truly free, men and women should deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world”
This was achieved through a program where collaboration, critical thinking and creativity were ignited in the participants. As a group, so that they did not feel alone in their plight, they noticed the good, the bad and the ugly in their community. As humans, our tendency is only to look at the negative, the lack or what can be done better. This perspective-taking exercise allowed them to document the resources of the area and to recognize the aspects that they had the control to change. It was an eye- opening process that resulted in a sense of freedom and self-efficacy.
The Photovoice Exhibition organised by the the first cohort of TLC to build awareness about Tononoka Ward (Photo credit: Nuala Alibhai)
By and large, Kenyan has a collectivist culture where there is a value for interdependence and the rights of the family and community are put before those of an individual. This allowed the steering group to build relationships and partnerships with like-minded individuals and organisations in the community. This included people at all levels of society including the local government, the private sector, NGOs, civil society and families. The change was lead and enabled at the level of the family, where wanting a better life for those you loved meant using every resource available to you at the community level to ensure that this happens. The citizens of Tononoka ward finally felt that they were in control and their life happens from them. They realised that they had the capacity to dream and create their own reality.
Nuala Ribeiro-Alibhai, mother healer, educator and SoFT collaborator is a third generation Kenyan-Indian.