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"Karibu Covid", stories of lives in Kenya during pandemic

The book of Paola Viola will help an italian onlus projects

17-11-2021 by Freddie del Curatolo

Could it have been incurable optimism in the face of Covid-19 in Kenya that averted the catastrophic predictions of the World Health Organization ("it will be a massacre" March 2020)?
Certainly, the history of Sub-Saharan Africa teaches us that any calamity, whether visible, as in the case of a handful of armed foreigners coming to colonize, even civilly, or invisible, as in the case of a virus, has always been welcomed by the common people with the spirit of hospitality that is typical of these peoples, seeking to make the best of it (or even the minimum necessary to survive...) at least until it was (dis)humanly too much.
This is one of the reasons that may have pushed Paola Viola, a teacher, volunteer by vocation and photographer by passion, to try her hand with a book-report entitled "Karibu Covid, La pandemia da coronavirus in Kenya raccontata da chi la sta vivendo" (Piazza Editore, 180 pp. € 16).
The book, which will be presented tomorrow, Thursday, November 18 at Villa Onigo in Trevignano, in the province of Treviso, and in the following days in other locations in the Veneto region, consists of a series of interviews conducted by the author throughout Kenya, from the slums of Nairobi where her non-profit organization "A Hand for a Smile" operates, to the coast where Paola is starting other projects.
"It is the story of a humanitarian journey made between July and August 2021 on behalf of the Italian NGO "Una Mano per un Sorriso - For Children" - reads the book presentation - A mission that took place in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. A journey that in 30 days has collected 30 interviews of people who, on the other side of the world, are living our same story. People who are already forced to overcome unimaginable challenges on a daily basis and to fight against every indescribable violation of their rights".
To tell Malindikenya.net how this beautiful initiative was born, whose proceeds will go entirely to the "Smiling Center" project, a multipurpose center that will offer children living in the slums of Nairobi the opportunity, through courses in computer science, music, dance, sports, photography and art, to develop their talents, is Paola Viola herself:
"This book was just an idea before I left for Africa last summer, born from the desire to return to what I consider a second home. I wanted to finally go back and embrace my distant loved ones and simply ask them how they were and what they had experienced during the time we were away. I actually knew, because we never stopped staying in touch with our staff and through them with all the children and families we have been supporting for years. But it was only fair to ask them, who always have so much to teach me."
So Paola arrived in Nairobi and dived back into the reality that she has been supporting for years, thanks to the help of friends and donations. Then from the capital she took the train to Mombasa and something happened....
"It all started there - the author admits - John, the man who sat in front of us, began to tell us about his life and his experience during the still ongoing pandemic. In his simple words, but above all in his moved eyes and in the big strong hands with which he held his children, I recognized all the humanity that can be breathed among these lives. And so I decided to draft some questions in my notebook and ask him if I could interview him. He was very happy to talk to us and those five hours went by in the blink of an eye. Finally, I was breathing Africa again, the real one. The Africa of immense challenges and great people who always manage to see their lives through and get back on their feet. The second interview was also "accidental". On July 17, when we woke up, we went to the Safaricom office in Malindi to get new phone cards and, in reality, that was our only concern, given that we had not been able to contact our collaborators in Italy for over 48 hours. At the store, however, they couldn't change the Euros to buy the new cards so they directed us to the travel agency next door saying they could help us. There we met Steven "Stefano" Kombe and got to know another amazing story that became the second interview. Interview after interview I began to realize the value and importance of the testimonies I was collecting. Day after day the words of all the people I met enriched me, but at the same time often made me ashamed of myself. Of course I had many questions in my mind before leaving, but they, in the simplicity of their lives, were able to give me many more answers than I was looking for. Here, "Karibu Covid" is the answer, the one that in so many different ways they were all able to give me...but I wouldn't like to reveal any more".

 

TAGS: karibu covidlibri kenyasociale kenyainterviste kenyaonlus kenya

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