Doreen dreams of being a dancer. And every weekend, she is one. She lives in the heart of the Kibera neighbourhood of Kenya’s Nairobi, the biggest slum in East Africa. The 13 year old, who is shy but breaks into a warm smile when something amuses her, takes Saturday classes at Project Elimu, a community initiative which specialises in dance, particularly ballet.
While Kibera is full of energy, it’s not an easy place to live. Doreen walks to her ballet class from her family’s cramped, two-room house. It’s a washing day, and drying clothes are strung up inside, so there is little space to sit. She climbs through mazy streets up an escarpment covered in discarded plastic bags. Doreen says her family hasn’t always been able to afford for her to go to school, where students have to pay a small sum to attend each day. It was tough being left out while others were in class. “When my friends are inside, and they are learning, I used to feel that I was not supported,” she says. But her ballet classes are free.
