Matatus

Matatus are fascinating.  They are mini-buses that are used for public transport in Nairobi and all over Kenya.  They have 30 seats and hold 77 people - or they did until they passed a law in 1994 saying everyone had to have a seat.  Once Darlene and I turned off 1st Avenue in Eastleigh into Juja Road and there were 4 matatus abreast coming at us (and that's on a 2-lane street).  I guess they missed us; I didn't remember anything for a few days.  Here is a picture of two matatus coming down a street in Eastleigh with lots of trash in it.  Many of them are wildly painted, with all sorts of graphics and words on them.  And they play loud music and drive as fast as they can wherever they are.  The objective is to pass one more car.  And the method is to stop anywhere and without warning to try to pick up one more customer before another matatu does.  They cause lots of traffic jams by passing anywhere, especially if there is a slowdown, blocking cars from the other direction, filling up the round-a-bouts (traffic circles) and causing all traffic to come to a standstill.  Everybody hates them, and everybody rides them.  Of course some of our kids at Made in the Streets aspire to be matatu drivers. 

  And yesterday we were in a small traffic jam on the highway, following a matatu, and we saw written on the back of it -- Max Lucado!  Now that's fame!