Hanna Wanjiru Photo by David Blumenkrantz

The Urban Peasant
Originally published in Survival, Spring 1994
(Article)

By David Blumenkrantz

"Poverty is no more surreal than wealth; a body clad in filthy rags is not more surreal than a principessa dressed for a ball."

* Susan Sontag, On Photography

How easy it is, particularly with photographs, to romanticize life. Poverty for example, while far from being the most desirable of situations to find oneself in, has proven time and again to be a photogenic entity. Perhaps we all recognize and appreciate the human drama of those living in impoverished circumstances. Or perhaps they do seem surreal to us.

Photographs alone cannot do justice to the women shown on these pages. Yet the written word is even a riskier venture. Accolades and tributes to their harsh existence too often seem falsely empathetic. Attempts to understand the daily struggles that harness their lives can only fall laughably short. There is a social distance which vicarious viewing or reading strives to bridge, yet rarely succeeds.

Photo by David Blumenkrantz

Around half of Nairobi's 2.5 million people are living in the capital city's sprawling slum settlements. These ghettos have familiar names-- Mathare, Kayole, Korogocho, Majengo, Kibera. Together, they constitute a world apart.

Life in the slums can be brutal-- water, sanitation, nutrition and security are never to be taken for granted. Electricity is usually non-existent.

These women, who might be referred to as the matriarchs of modern Africa's "urban peasantry," are the backbone these slums. Just as in the rural areas, the women of Nairobi and other large towns bear the brunt of all survival-related labor. That they must do so, often without the advantages and security of the traditional extended family, only adds to the burden. Exacerbating this is the widespread incidence of single-parenthood, and a largely male chauvinistic social status quo.

So how do they survive? The answers are as varied as there are ways to make a shilling. Somehow, and usually against incredible odds, a woman will manage to put three out of her six children through school. If she is truly a miracle worker, she may be able to persuade the others not to run off to the streets. Others find this (begging) a desirable option. There are worse evils to entrap the desperate.

When all is said and done, these women deserve a reversal of fortune, of biblical proportions. Short of this, only our heartfelt support can reach them. They may never know the inside of a fine restaurant, or the sensation of wearing a silky new evening dress. But you can be certain that they know and understand the value of life.