Visiting Homes #4- Mama Dan & Merry-Go-Rounds

Yesterday I went to the house/ apartment of a woman I just know as 'Mama Dan'. She has a 7 year old and a 5 year old, and is in charge of the Sunday School program at the church, so I thought that she was older than I was... but she's actually just 22. Wow! Their house is SO basic... I haven't seen anything like it. Two rooms- one with two couches and a large wardrobe and the other with two small cook stoves and a bed with a falling apart mattress and tattered sheets. No running water so there are no sinks for washing things and of course no toilet- they have a personal outhouse (=hole in a cement floor in a wooden stall) at the end of the row of units. I don't know where she gets water from- I think it is a few blocks away. There was also no electricity, so again the only light was through the open front door and one tiny window. The walls are cement and covered in large chunky holes from the nails placed in and removed by previous tenants. They really have almost nothing but she just invited me and the visiting pastor over for lunch so warmly. They pay 1200Ksh/ month for the meagre accomodations- <$25CDN. I can imagine it must be a burden to get even that much- plus food and school fees. Her kids are hilarious- the little girl never stopped moving the whole time- talking, singing, dancing, running- she balanced out her older brother who was more quiet and watchful.
Mama Dan is part of a neighbourhood merry-go-round... Merry-go-rounds are not play things you find at parks here- in fact I have yet to see slides, swings, or any sort of play equipment here for children to play on. Instead, it is a community support and saving system. Each woman contributes some small amount of money each week or month ($2-10), and each week all/ nearly all of the money collected is divided between a small number of recipients (1-5). That way, once it is your turn to receive money, you receive a large amount at once which you can use to buy much needed items, like cooking utensils and pots, or to buy a goat or cow, or to buy bricks for a house, or to pay school fees. When you are part of a network like this you may also receive money from the other women at other times- eg. when someone in your family has fallen ill and you need to pay for hospital bills or medicine, or when someone dies and you need to cover costs for a funeral.

Mama Dan wishes to use the money she will receive in April to start a small market stall where she can sell vegetables to make some income. Her husband is a plumber but gets work not very reliably. Trades people seem to be at the mercy of the employers and are often left hanging with promise of employment but no follow through. They seem to just go to town each day and ask around until they find some lead to go on. I know another man who is a skilled carpenter/ builder but has not been able to find steady work for 1 1/2 years.

I asked some of the men who are students here where I am staying if men are ever part of merry-go-rounds. They laughed and said no, it's a woman's thing- but men have something similar which they call self-help groups. They are typically more complicated, involve some sort of business aspect, and involve more money. They never did explain it to me fully...