When asked to describe life in Mathare Valley ghetto, Naomi van Stapele says “It feels like walking into a pressure cooker of life.” Naomi is chair of Duara Foundation (DUARA) and has been a part of the Mathare Valley community for over twenty years. On average, 250,000 to 300,000 people reside in Mathare Valley, a crowded ghetto in Nairobi, Kenya. This diverse, tumultuous and vibrant community has no paved roads and no public sanitation system. People live in dilapidated houses fashioned from mud, tin and concrete. Mathare was initially established as a stone quarry by Indian laborers, brought to Kenyan under British colonialism, who settled in the area and its surrounding villages in the 1930s. No longer a South Asian stronghold, African residents, migrants from rural Kenya, increasingly settled in Mathare illegally by late the 1940s. Mathare Valley, a neighborhood of 11 villages, has a population twice the size of Denver, CO or Boston, MA or Seattle, WA and spans over a distance of 3 miles. It is said that for an outsider, the look of the ghetto can be overwhelming, and unsettling. Yet in my conversations with people who have been to Mathare or work closely with residents of the ghetto, they all claim an undeniable energy that captivates and endears you to Mathare Valley and its residents.



Following my interview with Naomi van Stapele, chair of the DUARA, I was further endeared to Mathare Valley and her growing network of peace activists. In conversation, I gained deeper understanding of her lengthy involvement and commitment to this ghetto neighborhood. From a series of frank questions and equally frank responses, Naomi elucidated how STOP the BULLET! (STB) will continue its effort to foster community building, nonviolence and inclusion now and in the future.

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1.  Please introduce yourself to our readers. (Name, occupation, affiliation with STB)

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My name is Naomi van Stapele, I am 38, Dutch and live in The Netherlands. I am a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Amsterdam. I am also the chair of Duara Foundation, the Dutch charity that helps the STB platform in Mathare with raising funds, developing, planning, monitoring and implementing projects.

2. I learned from Agunda Okeyo, that you have always had deep ties to Mathare Valley. Can you speak on your involvement from an adolescent until now? Was giving back to this community something that you initially felt obligated to do, or has community building resided inherently within you?



I traveled to Kenya for the first time in 1990 together with my twin brother, more than two decades ago. I was 15 years old when I first met youth in Mathare, youth like MC. We were all teenagers back then who hardly spoke English. We became friends despite not sharing a common language. As a very young and inexperienced 15-year-old from 'the West' I was overwhelmed by the ghetto. Mathare looked very different in those days. It was greener and more spacious than today, but still the dilapidated houses and lack of sanitation made a lasting impression on me. Most of all, I was in awe of the people who displayed an energy and creativity I had never seen in my life, despite their apparent hardship. I became a youth group member and from then onwards I travelled to Kenya almost each year to join the Mathare youth in camps, and other activities. I traveled on my own once I turned sixteen and I still marvel at the fact that my parents let me go to Kenya on my own, at that age.
I cannot remember a specific moment that I decided I would continue to stay connected with people in Mathare or try and find support for their initiatives in the affluent 'West'. Like the other youth members I was expected to 'give back' as part of the youth group's mandate. And it felt natural seeing that I received so much from the community in Mathare; most of all friendship beyond boundaries. And over the years, these friends have become family, and I do everything I can to assist them. What I did and still do is not unique, it is exactly what most youth in Mathare did and still do. I share a similar sense of responsibility with them to assist my family, my friends and the community at large to develop, but always on their own terms. The last bit is essential. Apart from the way I was raised by the Maji Mazuri youth group as a young teenager, a background I share with MC, I also became aware of global inequality at a very young age. These two factors have shaped who I am. I feel responsible for the community in Mathare because I AM responsible, and so are you and everyone else who is more well off than they are. My work as a researcher, and in DUARA is to encourage a form of community development in Nairobi ghettos that is determined by people on the ground (be it youth groups, gangs, women’s groups, elders), and not by big self-serving institutions (and/or people).

3.  When I spoke with MC a few weeks ago, Mathare and its surrounding communities experienced a surge in gang violence. I asked MC his thoughts on why he believed that was happening, and I would like to hear your perspective on the violence that occurred. Do you think there will be more outbreaks of violence as the 2013 election near?



Unfortunately, the prospects do not look good. If there are outbreaks now, it is very likely to increase in the next few weeks because politicians are seeking alliances with groups to expand their spheres of influence in the run-up to the elections. The police are on the ground now, but for how long? And mind you, they were also on the ground during the post-election violence in 2008, and that went on for weeks. I will not go into it too deeply now because the situation is still extremely tense. STB, especially the community dialogues, can address and bring antagonistic groups together. They need our full support to make this happen, and we need to keep in mind that they work, day in day out, in a situation that is incredibly complex to navigate.



4. Did you have any misconceptions about ghetto life of that were shattered once you became enthralled in your work with STB?



This is difficult to answer because I have lived in Kenya and worked in Mathare for different periods over so many years before I became involved with STB. I do not remember if I had a conception, let alone a misconception, of a ghetto when I first arrived in Mathare. STB, however, has made me more aware than ever that ghetto residents have all the ideas on how to improve their situations; they often just lack the means, the skills and the time. That is where we hopefully come in.



5.  What is your wish for the Mathare community and the people that inhabit the surrounding villages? How is DUARA, its affiliates and STB programming bringing your dream to fruition?



My dream is that young people in Nairobi ghettos have access to education and work, and can feel they are part of Kenyan society. STB is creating a foundation on which other plans can take hold in the future. We cannot expect people in high places to make the change that is needed because they have too much to lose. The change has to come from below. The first step is safety, awareness and inclusivity. Through STB youth unite themselves by organizing peace promotion together, and gradually work towards a ghetto-wide network of peace advocates. Accordingly, highly marginalized groups in the ghettos will feel more a part of and responsible for their community (and be less prone to partake in violence). At the same time, we have to start with programs addressing their needs for education and work (not just beautiful words of peace, but real opportunities as well). STB works hand in hand with several local programs also supported by Duara, to realize this. This is all happening on a small scale right now, but we hope to develop a solid model for future expansion to all the other ghettos in Nairobi.

6.  You have given back a great deal to the Mathare community through Duara Foundation and STB programs. Name one intangible lesson that the community and your work have given to you.



Now I have to smile, because I hear MC's voice in my head telling me 'never to give up hope. Giving up hope is not part of life, it is part of death'. It is simple, but deeply profound. What more can I add?



7. Are there any new programs that STOP the BULLET! will take on in the following year that you would like readers to know about?



Yes, STB may start a leaderships program geared towards the Arts (music, design, film), and help youth to access training and job opportunities in that field. On the whole, STB is looking into setting up a program to help youth access the job market, and get the right guidance and training. But we are still in a preliminary phase, exploring the possibilities.

Apart from said future plans, all current STB initiatives will continue. In this respect the community dialogues between antagonistic social groups such as gangs are paramount as these give a platform for marginalized youth to air their views, forge new alliances geared towards peace, and develop conflict resolutions together that traverse previously drawn boundaries based on locality and/or ethnicity; in the moment and from below. This is essential as politicians try to divide groups for electoral gain and spheres of influence. These divisive tactics are employed in the run-up to national elections—on March 4, 2013—but also after politicians are in office as power dynamics constantly shift and the battle for already scarce resources is historically organized around patronage networks. These forged divisions can only be overruled by people on the ground who work together to break through social binaries and open up access for all ghetto residents. That is what STOP the BULLET! is all about.