Concluding our “How Are You” series, documentary team member Bob Davidson shares about the lasting impact from his time spent in the Nairobi slums.  Below are some of Bob’s last reflections on the culture, community, people and overall experience from this life-changing trip.

(Un) Final Reflections by Bob Davidson

As I sit on the plane to Chicago reflecting on my time in Kenya, a variety of emotions and thoughts that have surfaced.  Some are obvious.  Some are trivial.  Some are unfinished. Here are a few words/phrases that I leave with…

Read the rest of this entry »

Some of you may remember Kelsey from the “Held Hostage by Apathy” campaign promoted to raise funds for the production of our second documentary.  Based on the results from this campaign, author and world traveler Kelsey Timmerman spent one of his nights in the slums of Nairobi.  Below is a glimpse into Kelsey’s experience with the documentary team.  Kelsey offers a personal insight into the idea of faith, and the lessons learned from the beautiful people met in the slum communities.

Faith In the Poor by Kelsey Timmerman

I covet your faith. I’m not sure if that breaks any of the commandments or not. It probably breaks several. Still, I do.

My time with Life in Abudance was awesome for several reasons. One of them is that I had a chance to be around people with such strong faith.

Read the rest of this entry »

Documentary Team Leader Justin Ahrens provides 11 observations made from his time spent filming in the Kibera and Mathare Valley slums in Kenya.

*  Approx 80% of the citizens of Nairobi live in some sort of slum dwelling.

*  Everyone likes to be called by name, no matter where you live.

*  A local health worker visited a house to check in on a sick child. When entering the house she found the 6 year old making a meal for his siblings, because their mother was dead in the next room.

*  A child’s smile and joyous laugh is a beautiful thing.

*  Many African families in the slums try to have more than one child due to the likelihood of one dying.

*  Taking time to hold, hug or touch a child’s hand can change their day…and yours.

*  1 meal a day is a good day, but the meal is typically the same thing over and over and over and over…

*  A life without dreams is not a life but an existence.

*  During the rainy season people, mainly children, run the risk of being swept away due to inadequate infrastructure between the river and homes.

*  Without money for health care, parents often give their children local or herbal painkillers in order to help their child cope with the pain instead of getting adequate care. Usually the kids just get used to or live with whatever health issue they have, which in turn can be something that kills them.

*  The poor are worth our time, prayers, and resources, and we need to SEE them.

As we continue our “How Are You” series throughout the week, we will be sharing the reflections of author Kelsey Timmerman and Bob Davidson giving their observations from these communities.

If you missed the full reflection from Justin Ahrens we would encourage you to check out his blog post here, regarding his Changed Mind having spent time learning from the people in the Nairobi slums.

Graphic designer and illustrator Von Glitschka provides a great overview of life in the Nairobi slums.  As a member of our recent documentary team Von gives both factual and observational insight into his experience.

Von has set up his reflections as a visual journey seeing the conditions and meeting the people, we invite you to come along.

Slum Life by Von Glitschka

I’m struggling with knowing how to write about this experience? I want to share it with everyone, but I feel wholly inadequate to do so. I’m not even sure where to begin?

The last week and a half I spent in the Mathare Valley Slums in Nairobi, Kenya was an experience that has touched me deeply. And writing about it now brings me to tears as I think about the various interactions I had with the people there.

So I hope what I’m about to share will give you a new perspective on life in the slums.

Mathare Valley Slums Nairobi, Kenya.

The population of Nairobi, Kenya is around 3 million. And the slums which the city encircles both in the Mathare Valley and Kibera makes up 80% of that population. So the majority of the Nairobi work force comes from the slums.

I was part of a team of around 12 people filming a documentary about the work that Life in Abundance is doing in the slums in Nairobi. My roll was mostly related to grip and gaffer duties but I was able to work with the kids from the slums too which I’ll share more about later this week.

Read the rest of this entry »

Justin Ahrens, Principle and Creative Director for Rule29 Creative, as well as an LIA board member, shares about his experience from his time spent in the slums working on our latest documentary project.  Read below as Justin Ahrens answers the question, How Are You?

Read the rest of this entry »