It was an early Wednesday morning in November, and the FACE of HARVEST team woke up at the crack of dawn, ready to visit the community of Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya. It had rained the previous night and so Eastleigh was flooded with pools of muddy water all around. The hundreds of matatu’s (mini-buses) running through the congested streets, only made the situation worse; but surprisingly, business went on as usual. No one seemed bothered by the situation. We were especially taken back by the number of women dressed in ‘Hijab’.
As we approached the city, our matatu driver warned us to make sure that our windows were closed; otherwise, some street thugs could reach through the windows to steal our belongings. “In Eastleigh” he reiterated, “they will take every opportunity to rob anyone that seems foreign.”
Once settled, we walked through the overcrowded roads in Eastleigh, accompanied by our ground coordinator who has lived in the area for more than twenty years. We were amazed by the booming retail businesses along all the streets. There were a few small malls that were full of traders selling their goods. We came to learn, the businesses started as small scale trade carried out by the immigrants. The immigrants used to sell their goods from their boarding rooms in a lodge called “Garrisa lodge.” Years later, the lodge converted into small business stalls, and traders from all over East Africa would come to the lodge to by in bulk.
The goods are mostly imported from Dubai and other European countries, making the whole enterprise very successful. It’s amazing to think that, Eastleigh, a dirty, dense, intense and striking neighborhood of Somali refugees, has become one of the main trading centers of East Africa. As a result, streets are blocked for hours on, and the traffic repeatedly comes to a complete standstill, as huge trucks stop in the middle of the streets to unload tonnes of imported goods.
Our ground coordinator went on to tell us about the religious commitment of the people in Eastleigh. He explained how all the businesses close down on Friday’s, as the people head to their local mosques for Friday prayers, known as ‘Jumu’ah’. He told us that, “those that are unable to make it to the mosque in time, lay their mats on the streets and worship… the city basically comes to a standstill during Friday worship.”
Eastleigh is such a beautiful place!
Nancy
Medical Programs Director
FACE OF HARVEST (FOH) BLOG 