New work for the New York Times: a story about a bicycle protest in Nairobi

For The New York Times I rode with Furaha (11), Samora (6) and Cyrus (11), who are campaigning for more rights (and bike paths) for cyclists here in Nairobi during the monthly Critical Mass Nairobi demonstration. The story can be read on Sunday in this colorful edition of The New York Times for Kids. You can get your hands on a copy by ordering one through this link.

In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Jeevanjee Gardens is usually a bubble of calm. But on the last Saturday of each month, the small park transforms into a buzzing gathering place when hundreds of bicyclists roll in.

Cyrus, 11, steers his black mountain bike over the garden’s cracked paving as he greets some of the other people who have arrived with their bikes. “This gathering is called Critical Mass,” he says. “It’s fun, and it keeps me fit.” More than 300 people, including about two dozen kids, gather here each month to ride through Nairobi’s city center and neighborhoods. They shout, blow whistles and wave flags. Their goal is to make cycling safer for people. They want the city to make bike lanes on roads and to pass stronger laws to protect them while riding.

Nairobi is big and hilly, and almost all the roads were built just for cars. People who want to ride bikes (or even walk) have to pedal next to or in between cars, motorcycles and huge buses. “Cycling in Nairobi isn’t safe,” says Samora, 7, who goes to the rallies with his sister, Furaha, 11, and their aunt and uncle. Samora says he is sometimes pushed off the road by cars and buses, because they veer toward him.

The Critical Mass rides, which also happen in other cities around the world, started in Nairobi in 2014. So far they have created some change: The city has added a few bike lanes to busy roads. Cyprine Mitchell, an adult who organizes the @criticalmassnairobi gatherings, says that there have also been talks in national government meetings about making roads safer for people on bikes.

Furaha says she will keep joining the rides, “because it’s a real community — it brings bicyclists together.” She hopes that as the city becomes more friendly to riders, more people will opt for bikes instead of cars. Until then, she and others will continue fighting to make it safe. 🚲

New work for The New York Times: a story about how the drought in Somalia is affecting kids

For the first story I have written for The New York Times, I followed Abdulkadir (8) and Amina (10) in the camp for internally displaced people in the south of Somalia. With 30,000 other people, they live in a settlement near Luglow, where the conditions are dire. You can read the full story below, or click here to buy the August edition of The New York Times for Kids, of which my piece is part of.

The New York Times: Kids in Somalia are facing a water crisis

Amina Yonis Abdinur, 10, was one of the lucky ones. She didn’t have to walk for days to get to the camp near Kismayo, a city in Somalia in eastern Africa. She had lived nearby in a small village, with her mother and five siblings, until drought forced them to move. Others had to travel for miles, taking only what they could carry on their backs. ‘‘People have told me horrible stories,’’ Amina says.

Somalia is experiencing an awful drought, which is an extended period when there’s little or no rainfall. Typically, the country experiences two rainy seasons every year. But climate change is making them less reliable. The droughts have become so long and frequent that farms have dried up completely. ‘‘There was no grass left for the animals to eat,’’ Amina says. Her family lost 50 cows and 150 goats. Once all the food was gone, they had no choice but to leave.

Amina is a climate refugee, or someone who has had to leave their home because climate change has made it unlivable. In her camp of 30,000 people, aid organizations give out food and water. People live in shelters made of tarps, fabric and sticks, and outside kids play soccer in the dusty, rocky soil. This camp is one of many in the region: The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that more than 750,000 Somalians have had to leave their homes this year because of the drought.

The camps are helpful, but life is still hard. Many kids don’t get enough to eat, says Abdulkadir Ismail Bilal, 8. In the camp, there’s only enough food for him to eat one plate of rice each morning. ‘‘At the end of the day, I’m quite hungry,’’ he says. Mohammed Ahmed, who works for the aid organization Save the Children, says that there aren’t enough funds and supplies to help everyone. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen next.

The problem is much bigger than just this village, or Somalia. Linda Ogallo, a climate scientist, says that all of eastern Africa is experiencing extreme weather, and that it will only get worse over time because of climate change.

Amina has seen it firsthand. ‘‘The land has dried up,’’ she says. ‘‘The small plants are dying, then the trees lose all their leaves.’’ After the rains, Somalia used to be green. ‘‘But the last two years, everything is orange. There is only dust. It’s getting hotter and hotter.’’ And for her and hundreds of thousands of other kids, the heat is becoming inescapable. ◊