Mika Obanda

After one day, I started calling a few people that are close or maybe that we had plans with in the studio.

And through those calls, I think that's where my courage came back again.

No one was hurt, but the loss of belongings, loss of where to sleep, you know, that's a reality in the slum.

It's something that they know happens over and over again.

I remember I called a friend of mine called Rose.

She's a publisher of the African Arts News.

And then she encouraged me to share that incident on my social platforms.

And after sharing it online, I started getting support.

People calling, people trying to check up on me.

and through that I got a residency in Kibera.

So that was like some sense of hope.

They wanted me to maybe repeat the pieces that I had made.

I had to insist that I can't do that.

It's not possible.

I am an artist who lives mostly in the moment.

I can't create something that is long gone.

So I had to go back to the studio again and start afresh.

People funded my stay in Kibera by materials from my art practice.

Hey, builders were building the studio.

Through that, that's where I really found the real community.