-------A note from Krista: I saw this post from Bryan last week and I asked if he would share it on our blog. It really hit me. Our name is "JustOne" - becaus ejust one person can make a difference. And by helping just one person we can start a snowball effect of change. But also - every life - matters. This is a story of JustOne life lost. It won't be on our news stations or read about. But this little one's life matters. I dream of a day when rain does not have to mean fear - of losing one's home and health.-------
Last week, I wake up at 6am trying my luck to getting a glimpse of the sunrise. I failed, but along the way I found stories with lots of trauma after a heavy downpour swept across Kibera and Nairobi as a whole. The rainfall brought widespread destruction, devastation and loss of lives in many parts of the city. Some people had also lost complete household items, in one occurrence a person was almost swept while sleeping but he managed to escape the dreadful deluge, the only thing he succeeded to salvage were the clothes he was wearing, a complete household was swept away. Nonetheless, this is something affecting many parts of the country, a natural catastrophe that only God can save us.
Many people lost their properties during the downpour and to one family it was more than a loss to them. A family that resides in Raila village, lost their four year old son due to a landslide triggered by the rain. It's was a bigger loss and devastation to the family as this was their child. I arrived at the home where the family was living at 8 am and the body of the child was still there awaiting police verification before being taken to the morgue. However, some of these houses people live in, only God can protect them.
Bryan Jaybee was born and raised in Kibera slums where he still resides. He is 22 years old and a journalism student at Multimedia University of Kenya, currently in his final year. Bryan will be sharing an insider’s view on life in Kibera every Tuesday on our blog with his photos and words. You can follow Bryan on instagram at @kiberastories for daily posts on life in Kibera.
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