Last week it rained for three days. On that third night I realized my pad was getting soaked. I thought the rain had gotten around the edges of the window, but I looked closer....and it was coming through the wall! Our room was built with secure-looking bricks, but they're just one layer deep and on …
(apologies for the unfinished version that posted early) People tell us not to drink the city water, though some of the poorest families around us do. We run all the water we intend to drink through a ceramic water filter, and hope that is enough to make the city water safe to drink. At least …
Continue reading Water water everywhere…who gets a drop to drink?
The electricity just went out for four hours. It wouldn't have been a problem...except the one appliance we're running in the middle of the day is the ceiling fan. That matters in August. Thank God it was only 90 degrees with manageable humidity, one of the more pleasant days we've had. But little Shakeenah struggled …
My first slum homestay was in a large, decrepit house. The entrance was split into narrow hallways by particle boards. I followed my homestay "brother" down one of the makeshift paths to the right, then left, right then two more lefts, shuffling between flimsy dividers that didn't leave enough space for my shoulders. We arrived …
Stranger in a Slum 