Mo Faya - they call it a slum, we call it home
on A Serendipitous Journey (Kenya), 23/Dec/2009 14:49, 34 days ago
Just before returning to Canada for the holidays, several VSO volunteers and I went to a musical called“Mo Faya”, an exceptional musical about realities of life in the slums of Nairobi, written byEric Wainaina. We went on a Wednesday evening (2 for 1 night– cost us Ksh 150 each or just over Cdn$2) and theGo Down Arts Centrewas so packed that people were sitting on the steps.The highly entertaining musical gave the audience a slice of life in the slums in Nairobi through lively acting, song and dance. Mo Faya took place in a fictional slums, called Kwa Maji, and brought out the realities of life in the slums in a comical but very real way, including the impact of corrupt politicians, practically non-existent police force, corrupt NGO workers, and slums lords– as well as water shortages and lack of sewage infrastructure. (For example, the play includes a pair of young men who dual as clean water delivery boys and raw sewage collectors.:-)The story line revolves around a popular and dreamy local radio DJ, named DJ Lwanda, whose daily broadcasts lead and inspire the residents of Kwa Maji. But Anna Mali, an avaricious real estate diva, craves the land beneath their slum and seduces the fiery young DJ away with a job at a top nationwide station, and organizes a violent campaign to terrorize the people of Kwa Maji. When the government and media turn a blind eye to the decapitated bodies in the streets, DJ Lwanda returns home to expose the truth. (1)There are 2.5 million slum dwellers in Nairobi and 60% of the population occupies only 6% of its acreage. (2) Kibera is the largest slum with an estimated 1 million residents. Most slum dwellers in Nairobi have no water or sewage services, the majority are unemployed and residents and business owners alike are often required to pay a‘protection fee’ to gangs.