Zaahra's Home

Our first home visit was to Zaahra's home which is located about 1 block from the centre. Walking to her home was an adventure in itself. We left our belongings at the school. Zaahra carried the gifts that we were taking to her home because they probably would have been stolen from us along the way. Zaahra took good care of us while we were walking .... we walked very quickly with Zaahra directing us from behind so that she could keep an eye on us and those around us. The roads were dust covered and filled with garbage!
Zaahra's family lives on the 2nd floor of an apartment building that is 4 stories high. The hallways and stairwells are dark because there is no electricity in them. In the middle of the building is an opening from the ground to the top where families hang their laundry to dry, so during the day there is a little light.
Zaahra's family lives in a two room unit which is about 200 square feet in total. The kitchen area is an extremely small area inside the door...it contains a small square metal sink with one tap...cold water and a two shelves with some containers on them.
This little area opens onto a room that contains a bunkbed (somewhere in size between a single bed and a double bed), an extremely old tv, a bench and a rug on the cement floor. This is where the family of 12 gather to eat. There is one other room with the same size bunk bed plus another bed on the floor.
For cooking they use a small round bbq that is located in the hall of the building. It isn't called a bbq but we will find the correct name for it later.
Zaahra is paid by CBM for her work with Aaron and Erica and out of this she pays for the rent
which is 4,000 shillings and for the lighting which is 1,500 shillings. Her father, because he is Somali, can only find occasional work as a driver. Zaahra's mother is 34, with 10 children, the youngest being 6 months old. She looks older than her real age.
We took a soccer ball, toothbrushes, toothpaste and some soda for the family. The gifts were greatly appreciated as was our visit!