Tassia Slum

The students sang, danced and greeted us with enormous, heart-warming smiles and hugs. Most of these kids do not receive a meal unless they come to school where they are fed (ugali, rice or beans).

This is the entrance to the school. The blue building is the school building. The wires hanging overhead are high voltage and extremely dangerous. Last year, two of Jackline's students died after touching the wires while playing soccer. Walking to the school entrance is a bit tricky- eyes to the ground and one must watch every step, as it is slippery, muddy, with sewage and trash everywhere.

Jackline standing behind the school. This is the "playground" as it is an open space and relatively clean, despite the fact that school toilet drains on the ground here. There is an odor in the air, but it's a quiet haven inside the busy slum. You can even find a cow grazing on patches of grass here. Jackline warns the students to stay away from the sewage as they play, and occasionally they slip and fall in the soiled area and run the risk of becoming very sick.

Exam day

Baby class! 😍

Visiting the homes of students who live in Tassia. This is the hallway with doors branching off to small, single room "apartments" where entire families live.

Inside one of the apartments where one of the students and her family live. This space was less than 100sq feet and a family of 6 live here.

Jennifer is four years old, but only as tall as a two year old due to medical issues and lack of proper medication.  

The school "hallway"

We brought the students a treat of juice and biscuits. They were grateful! There is currently no running water in the slum as the government has shut it off (the gangs who run the slums had illegally connected to the city water - once the government found out, they disconnected the water supply). As a result, many parents keep their kids home from school and send them around the city in search of water.

Inside the "baby class". The teacher works with children from ages 3-6. The children are very well behaved and so respectful!