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| Me with some of the orphans at Saidia |
Gilgil,
Kenya — The dusty roads of this once bustling town have seen better
days. Hopelessness and despair are etched upon the people's faces
walking the streets in the mid afternoon. This place used to
thrive due to the operations of Gilgil Telecommunications Industries,
assembling simple telephones and telecommunications equipment such as
phone booths. But thanks to the cell phone industry, the company shut
down, leaving many people scrambling to find another way to make a
living.
The
problem is there aren't a lot of opportunities in the town, located
approximately one hour from Kenya's capital of Nairobi. Many women
turned to prostitution, turning tricks to earn a few hundred shillings
each day. With that came the rapid spread of HIV, leaving many children
orphaned when their mothers died.
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| My father with an orphan child at Saidia |
Those
children eventually arrived at Saidia orphanage — a place they know
they'll never go hungry and will always have a roof over their head. I'm
not sure what I was expecting when I visited Saidia since I had never
been to an orphanage before, but I was taken back by how excited the
children were to see foreign faces. A little boy wearing a sweater
immediately gave me a hug as I passed through a narrow hallway. Another
girl grabbed and held my hand.
I
couldn't help but feel emotional as I heard the director of the
orphanage talk about its operations and the struggles the children have
endured in their short lives. Despite the success stories, I felt a
sadness hanging over the parts of Gilgil I passed through. But there was
happiness at the orphanage that day as our group of 20 travellers began
playing with the children under the hot African sun.
Some
of the men began a soccer match, others pushed the children on rickety
swings and a merry-go-round in a small playground. One girl rolled a
narrow tire around the perimeter of the soccer match with a metal rod,
rarely breaking her focus. I had no toys to give, but my camera lit up
the children's faces.
The
hardships I had learned about these children's lives faded as I watched
them smile and laugh with their new friends. Their smiles and need for a
warm embrace are etched in my memory. I'm left wondering what the road
ahead of them will bring.
