A Migrant’s Diary

Dear Diary,
Hello, my name is Lucas and I am a migrant. I am the oldest of eight children and we live on a small farm in the Hills of Kenya. Tomorrow I will have to leave my Family to move to the capital city Nairobi. Here I work on our small patch of land with my Mother and Father, the only problem is that everything is getting worse. There are so many in my Family that we haven’t got enough food to feed everyone. That is why I must go. I will try to find work to earn some money and then send it too my Family to help them. We rely on the Weather to be able to grow crops but this is normally not very successful. The weather here is very bad for our crops because mostly there are either Droughts or Floods.
The condition of the soil is very poor and our crops die very quickly. Because we live on high land it is hard to grow crops because of all the slopes. I am very excited to go because I will hopefully be able to help my Family but also a bit worried because maybe I will not even find a Job. I have heard that Nairobi has quite a lot of jobs on offer so I hope I will find one. Very many people live out here in the Countryside but not very many people live in the city. More and more Migrants like me are moving to the City. I hope the People in Nairobi will be nice to me and not make me feel down. I do not like to leave my Family but I have to, so that they will be able to survive. I must go now to get ready for Tomorrows leave.

Goodbye
Lucas
Dear Diary,
I have just arrived in Nairobi and I am very impressed at what it looks like. The Journey here was very long, Tiring and bumpy and I am glad I have got some fresh air to breathe now. I am now waiting for my cousin to meet me here. Most buildings here are very small and are made of Iron. It looks quite clean here but there are a lot of piles of rubbish outside the Houses. The people here wear much better quality clothes and they look a lot richer than I do. The city is built on very low Land and so it is very easy to build houses.
There are some higher buildings but I cannot see any Skyscrapers of any kind. There is a lot more Traffic here than were I used to live. The people here look much more busy and I cannot see any Farms. I think they work in Offices, Hospitals, Schools and shops. I have a lot of hope that I will get a Job even if it is only small but I need to save my Family. The City looks much bigger than the Countryside. There seem to be a lot of People crowded in one little space. I hope that my cousin will come soon because I am starting too feel very nervous. Oh, there she comes, I will write to you later.
Goodbye.
Lucas
Dear Diary,
I am now in my cousin’s house and I am not very pleased. I thought that I would live in a really nice house, because my uncle told me that she was doing really well but it doesn’t seem like it. The House is very clean but very small. She calls it a shanty house and there is lots of rubbish outside and a river of sewage is running outside. There is no Electricity or clean Water and I can’t believe anybody could live like this. The Walls are made from mud and the Roof from Iron. It is very hot in the day and very cold at night. There are a lot more Jobs here, which is what I was looking for, but the ground here is not ideal for farming either. I have written a letter to my Family describing what it is like and that I am searching for a Job. Every day I go out and look for a Job, but it is very hard as I am a Migrant. The Offices, Schools, Hospitals and Shops are a lot cleaner than the Shanty Houses. Well I will write more Later.
Goodbye.
Lucas
Dear Diary,
I have now been looking for a Job for 4 weeks and I became very desperate. My Family have been asking what’s going on and I told them that I couldn’t find anything, but my cousin was helping me. It is very hard to find a Job because all I know about is farming and there are no Farms in the City. But yesterday a man came up to me and asked if I would like to work for his cleaning Company. I was so pleased that I said yes without Thinking First. I am so happy that I have found a Jog.
I only get paid very poorly but it is still better than working on the Farm. I will get my first amount of money next week and that Money will go straight to My Family. I have already sent them a Letter. I work as a cleaner on the streets of Kibera and have to pick up the Rubbish that is left in front of all the Houses. It is not very nice to do but I need to bring some money to the Family. I hope that they will be Pleased with the Amount I send. Being a Cleaner is very hard work and I work 11 Hours a day. All the rubbish outside the Houses makes me feel a bit sick but apart from that I’m O.K. I will write more later.
Goodbye.
Lucas
Dear Diary,
I have know been working for 3 Month and have been sending Money to my Family every Week. My sister said that she is very impressed and wants to come to work here as well. I wrote a Letter to her that said something like this.
Dear Sister,
I am very pleased to hear that you would like to come and live with me and help me. I must tell you though that the City isn’t as great as you think. The shanty houses are very clean inside but very Dirty outside. As I have previously told you I am a Cleaner and I have to pick up all the Rubbish people leave outside. You might need to get the same Jog as me but if you are Lucky you will get a Different one. Working here is great but very Hard.
I hope you will come so that we can send even more money to the Family and maybe sometime I could pay them a Visit when you are working. If you tell me when you will arrive then I can come and Pick you up at the Bus Station. I hope the whole Family is well. Please write back as soon as Possible, to tell me all Information. There are a lot more Shops here and better health care. Please come to visit because I am starting too fell very Lonely. Even though I live with my Cousin I’m still Lonely because I never see her as she is working at Night and I am working at Day. The City is very nice and Different so Please Come to Visit.
Goodbye,
Your Brother Lucas.
I am so happy because she wants to come and Visit me. I am really starting too fell Lonely and It would be great if she came, so I am holding Fingers crossed. I am sorry but I will have to go to work now.