My journey to a flower in the slum
by Kajsa Dahlström

See pictures of all the children in the Ch. Garden

The leader of Children’s Garden is Mr. Moses Ndung’u. I met with Moses for the first time when Globetree was invited by Habitat to lead the opening ceremony of the 18th session of the Commission on Human Settlements in March 2001. About 400 children from 7 different centres and schools from all walks of life participated. In conjunction with the opening ceremony the children also created a Future Vessel on the premises of the United Nations.

This marked the beginning of an exchange program between Sweden and Kenya. In May the same year a Swedish delegation of children and teachers came to Kenya and created a Future Vessel at Bomas of Kenya and discussed with UNEP the possibility of having a Children’s Meeting Place at the United Nations - a place where leaders of the world on regular basis can meet and dialogue with children.

In September the same year the inauguration of the Children’s Meeting Place took place and Secr. Gen. for the United Nations in Nairobi welcomed the children to their Tree - The Children’s Meeting Place. For the inauguration children from many parts of Kenya joined together with children from Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and the Nordic countries.

Children and teachers from Nairobi joined another Future Vessel Event called “Bridges of Joy” which became the inauguration and ongoing program for the EU Conference on Sustainable Development in June the same year. This year another delegation from Kenya joined the Future Vessel Event in Stockholm - Roots and Space.

Our cooperation with Moses Ndungu has mainly been in Nairobi. Already from the beginning I was impressed by his creativity and his strong will to develop ideas to support children with small chances in life.

Moses shared with me his wish to start a school for children in between the two slum areas Kibera and Dagoretti. As you know, the people living in the slum areas are very, very poor and the focus is on survival.

Moses wish is to give children who cannot afford to go to school a possibility to get education and also give them a relation to the living environment.
I was touched by Moses ideas and Globetree promised to support him. Last year I visited Children’s Garden and I was amazed to see how quickly Moses ideas were put to reality. Globetree did not have much fund to realize the Children’s Garden but the small funding was used in the most creative way.

On my way back from Johannesburg I again visited Children’s Garden and was met by 60 children and many adults from the area who work together to develop Children’s Garden. The children are of all ages, from very small up to 18 years old. Moses himself walks up to children in the slum areas and asks why they are not in school. He gets many answers. Some has to take care of their younger sisters and brothers. Some cannot afford the school fee. Some cannot afford the uniform or shoes. Some are ill – many of them and their families have HIV/AIDS. Moses invites them all to Children’s Garden. That’s why the children are of all ages and with many special life experiences.
The school building is a small room built from what is available in the area and is mainly a shelter for education when it’s raining. In the small shelter I listened to the adults who have joined the Children’s Garden. They are living in the slum areas and have very small or next to no income. Still they wish to support the Children’s Garden with what they can give and share.

Near the school, the primitive shelter, is the garden. It’s now a green and beautiful area near the street. The children have cleaned the area from all garbage and it’s now a very nice place for a nursery of plants and for teaching children about nature. The plants are given to schools in the area to help them to get life into their every day life and they are also for sale. The idea is that the selling of the plants will give income to develop the Children’s Garden. Not many can afford to buy plants in this area - as it’s so very poor. One way to solve that problem is to invite people from rich areas and ask them to buy plants from Children’s Garden.

In Children’s Garden there is a stream of water which is very polluted. Moses walked with the children to the source of the stream and they could see the clean water. Now the children join forces to get the stream clean. They are literally fishing up garbage from the stream to make the water flow easier and the activities of the children is noticed by adults in the area and slowly the children’s activities make the adults interested and concerned.

Moses is convinced that good deeds of children will influence the adults and make them more and more concerned and active in caring for the environment. The water from the stream is also watering the plants the children are raising in their garden. The children understand the importance of clean water and I’m sure it will not take long until more people are involved and active in Children’s Garden.

The dedication and the results I have seen will be an inspiration for many around the world who live in very poor areas. What Moses shows with his example is that you can do a lot with very little.

This lesson is important for children in the North. That is why Globetree organize Study Travels to Nairobi for children, youth and adults. The Study Travels is a unique opportunity for children in the North to meet and learn from children in the South.

I’m sure the Children’s Garden will be an inspiration to you.
 
Warm regards,

Kajsa Dahlström
President Globetree

See pictures of all the children in the Ch. Garden

There are three ways to get in contact with Moses Ndungu

1. Write an email: mosesndungu2002@yahoo.co.uk

2. Write a letter: P.O. Box 73418, Nairobi, Kenya

3. Visit the Children’s Garden:
See the map how to get there.

Children’s Garden is situated along Naivasha Road. Anyone living in Nairobi will have no problem finding the place. The best day to visit the Garden (when it’s most certain Moses Ndungu himself is there), is on Saturdays at around 2 O’clock. But any other day is also OK. You ask for Moses Ndungu (Mwalimu) and people will know where he is.