Prepare
. . .
Tuesday
Then
I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how
Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let
us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer
suffer disgrace.” I told them that the hand of my
God had been gracious upon me, and also the words that the
king had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us start
building!” So they committed themselves to the common
good. -- Nehemiah 2:17-18
by
Maxine Covington
Amid
fanfare, thousands gathered in Kibera, a
Nairobi slum, for the global celebration of World Habitat
Day, an annual United Nations sponsored event meant to remind
the world of the state of human settlements and the basic
right to adequate shelter.
Nairobi
was chosen this year to highlight the phenomenal rate of
urbanization in the developing world, and to remind policy-makers
at every level not to think of “urban” and “rural”
as separate entities, but rather as parts of an economic
and social whole. Those of us who traveled in Kenya last
summer heard firsthand accounts of families – mostly
widows and orphans – living in desperate conditions
in urban slums after having been driven out of their upcountry
homes by poverty, disease, and the death of a husband/father.
Kibera
is the most populous slum in East and Central Africa. Visible
from the highway, the slum appears as a sea of rusted tin
roofs. Inside, the streets at their best (in dry season)
are rutted tracks of caked mud – and worse –
and the houses are 10x10 foot shacks without electricity,
running water, or sewer. Apart from two public pit toilets
and an outdoor urinal, ¾-million residents have no
alternative to “flying toilets” (tied plastic
bags tossed into the street).
As
part of World Habitat Day, Kenyan President
Kibaki unveiled a plan to begin at once to build and relocate
thousands of Kibera’s residents into new blocks of
flats with running water, indoor shower and toilet facilities,
and electricity. This is to be the first of an ongoing series
of such projects.
Some
Kenyans are understandably cautious. A long history of broken
promises leaves them wondering if the allocated money will
really be spent on the project, and if rents will rise so
high after renovation that the current residents will no
longer be able to afford to live there. President Kibaki
says “no” and promises that this is the beginning
of a series of renovations that will ultimately improve
the lives of the one million residents living in Kibera
and other slums in Nairobi.
We
praise you, God our King, for the good work emerging from
World Habitat Day. May your plans prosper so that those
who live in the Kibera slum would know more of the goodness
of life that you intended for all your people. We pray
that the government and community leaders will work well
together and that you will protect all their efforts.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
An Advent Journey