About 10 in the group were foreign students – 8 white Europeans and 2 Chinese – and the rest of us were African. The group spilt into two groups where each group would inspect a couple of projects, meet back at a central location and then swap projects to inspect. It emerged however, that the (almost entirely white) group didn’t want to inspect a project but preferred to walk around “just to see”. Now, this is where the hair stood on the back of my neck and a part of my spirit cried, “No!”

I don't know that I will ever understand why people would tour a poverty-stricken area just for the sake of "seeing". I find it extremely derogatory and offensive that people’s daily lives can be reduced to a tourist spectacle and dehumanisation justify this dehumanization by claims that it benefits the people who are being seen. An article on voluntourism appearing on cnn.com justifies the work that some Hollywood celebrities are doing by emphasising how it has changed their lives, or how it has made the whole experience more “personal”.

Don’t get me wrong; this is in no way taking away from the valiant efforts that people – of all races creeds and colours – have made towards addressing the problem of poverty. However, we need to be realistic about the fallacy within. Voluntourism – jetting in, kissing a few babies, taking a few pictures by a shanty town - only benefits those who are doing it. It gives them a warm feeling when they go to sleep that night (Roger Moore’s words) and is an eye opener (Dean Cain). But ask that baby 10 years down the line how it felt to have their picture taken with Dean Cain and they would probably say “huh?” It speaks to a serious short coming in our poverty reduction strategies if such mundane activities make the headlines in CNN, while the numerous indigenously started and run initiatives, like the ones half of our group visited, are ignored.

It also speaks to serious shortcomings in our society if we continue to allow our brothers and sisters to be debased, dehumanised and exploited in our attempt to gain donor funds.

I am ashamed to admit that although I was born, raised and continue to live in Lang’ata, this last month was the first time that I had been to Kibera and spent significant amounts of time there. I am even more ashamed to admit that among my closest friends; probably 90% would say the same. In fairness, many of us don’t need to pay visits to the slum to be reminded of poverty; our families live it every day. The poverty in Western Kenya, particularly during the drought or the flood season is more biting than anything I have seen in Kibera so far. Even so, I am ashamed because as I stood in that group and heard those foreigners back and forth about how dismal the conditions in Kibera were, look through their digital cameras at all the pictures they had taken of how appalling people’s living conditions were; I felt that I had failed in my duty to protect those children and families from exploitation. Because I knew where those pictures would end up (Facebook, blogs and other websites) as proof that they had “been to Africa.”

Kweli kuishi kwingi; kuona mengi. I thank God that I have had the immense privilege of travelling extensively across Africa, Europe and North America. The fundamental lesson that all this travel has taught me is that people; rich or poor, old or young; Black, White, Asian or any other race, are at the end of the day just that. People. With hopes, dreams and ambitions and the desire to make a better life for themselves and for their children. It is time that we who are committed or even remotely interested in fighting poverty stop looking at our brothers and sisters as specimens or statistics and restore their human dignity. If not, we have only ourselves to blame when the gap between those who exist “to see” and those who “are seen” continues to grow and tear the fabric of society apart.