History and Culture of Nairobi

On Saturday we had a break from church activities while George took us on a visit to downtown Nairobi. Given that I, nor several others of us, had much knowledge of Eastern African history prior to this trip, it was an education like none other. The day began with a hair-raising careen down the main road to the city center followed by a stop at the National Archives. Featuring the collection of African culture, arts, and artifacts donated by one of Kenya’s early foreign ambassadors, the Archives told the story of the traditions of the East African peoples and their rise to independence from British rule. You could sense the immense national pride exhibited by the Kenyan people in the pictures and mementos of prominent rebels of the Mau Mau revolution. The personification of Kenyan patriotism was Jomo Kenyatta, a leader of the revolution who was arrested by the British army on allegations of conspiracy against the British government and who later became Kenya’s first president. Ben made an insightful statement about Kenyatta being Kenya’s George Washington.

Afterwards we dropped by the Kenya International Conference Center, the second tallest building in East Africa, to take in the breathtaking view of the expanse of Nairobi from the top of the 30+ story building. From the top you can view the happenings of the downtown Maasai Marketplace as well as the extent of the crawl of the slums away from the city center. Viewing the stretch of these “informal housing” districts which we had visited yesterday next to the relatively small downtown area emphasized the extent of extreme poverty in this country, with 40% unemployment and 50% of the people living below the poverty line.

After lunch we visited the Railway Museum, which documented the development of British East Africa through the construction of their railway (built 1901-1906). Before the railway, Nairobi did not exist, and was created as a stop en route to Uganda, the primary destination of travelers of the Kenya Uganda Railway. The railway was constructed by laborers from India who, during the second year of construction, often fell prey to lions suffering from drought/famine. Nairobi has grown substantially in the past century, especially with the large influx of rural citizens into the slums during the past couple of decades.

Before dinner at the famous Carnivore restaurant, where ostrich, crocodile, and camel graced the menu, we did our part to bolster the Kenyan economy by visiting a small outdoor market and purchasing a selection of hand-made arts and crafts. The people working the “booths,” simply laid out on blankets on the sidewalk, are some of the lucky ones in the area who are capable of marketing a skill to earn their living, and were quite excited to see visitors from America along with their wallets. We are planning on bringing some of these items to Grace to sell to the congregation as a way to supplement the mission’s funding.