Pipeline Estate in Embakasi is a
place favoured by many for its affordable cost of living.It has other
attractions; one of the largest concentration of churches in Nairobi.One hardly
moves ten metres without locating a church. The Counties counted over 100
churches from Quarry stage through Stage Mpya to Pipeline stage.
Churches here have adopted
eye-catching names to attract congregations. One comes across many
churches. “Welcome. God will turn your
miles into smiles,” reads a banner at the entrance of a church. Ironically, the
many churches neighbour bars that operate 24 hours. Come Sunday mornings, all
one hears are pious hymns. As dusk falls, another characteristic of the estate
emerges.
The scene changes as most
residents; both men and women, young and old throng the bars. Sylvia (not her
real name) is a 26-year-old resident of Pipeline and says men from all over the
county go there to sample the ‘delicacies’ on offer in the area.
The single mother of a
six-year-old has three jobs she does in 24 hours and rarely finds time to
sleep. She is a waitress, a soloist in a church and a prostitute. She has a
tight schedule in which she attends to all her duties.
I met her as a waitress in one
restaurant at Tassia estate and we engaged in a chitchat. “I left Vihiga when I
was 20 and came here to look for a job because my poor parents could not afford
to take me to college,” she revealed. She offered to introduce me into the
area’s nightlife.
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