Fearne flew to Kenya to see how Comic Relief are working to help tackle poverty, abuse and social injustice.
She met the chap known as "The Commander" who supports youngsters living on the street.ÌýShe visited a sea of shacks and stalls teeming with people enjoying their Sunday. The next day Fearne reflected on her visit to Kibera - a huge slum - just outside Nairobi.
"We drove up and there was a blanket of corrugated iron... people walking around in this road area... people selling fruit, meat with flies flying around it... meant to keep their stalls 100 metres away from the train tracks and people are only a metre from it. "We walked over a bridge, over a stream which was not a stream. It was basically absolutely full of rubbish, old food, even a dead dog face down in all this muck. "And this water doubles up with what they cook with, they have no proper water supplies, no sanitation, no toilets anywhere. It's crazy!" In East Africa more than 12 million city dwellers live in slums and that number is growing all the time - despite the efforts of the authorities who will often try to remove the inhabitants by force.Ìý The Nyando district of Western Kenya is one of the worst affected by HIV and Aids.Ìý There are few medical centres or schools and a higher rate of illness and death than anywhere else.ÌýAround 20,000 youngsters are orphans - a legacy of these terrible conditions.
Many of these children seek out a better life in the city. Fearne met the street children to find out how this vulnerable community gets by. "We had 50 kids following you down the road, like the Pied Piper. We were filming, taking photos. And then I noticed they were all carrying these little bottles with milk or something in the bottom. "Then Joshua was saying that they all have little pots of glue and they sniff it because it gets them high and helps them forget if it gets cold at night. And that's just how they live every day." It's estimated that there are 20,000 orphans in some parts of Western Kenya.ÌýMany end up on the streets of towns and cities where life can be very harsh. Towards the end of her trip, Fearne made a friend she will never forget. Susan lives in a house with 12 people, her 3 children, her mother, father and her other relatives. The living conditions are so cramped that Susan has to sleep outside to ensure there is enough room for everyone else. Susan is also HIV positive, and her upbeat attitude to life really left a mark on Fearne as they hung out. "How can you not day-to-day think about being HIV positive?! I really felt like I was friends with Susan. We chatted and we hugged... she was really happy. She said: 'Now we are friends!' And I thought, I didn't really want to leave her." In Africa, there are few who have not lost someone to Aids and the trauma of living with this dreadful disease can put terrible pressures on families. Comic Relief is working hand in hand with community groups to provide care and support for people such as Susan, who Fearne befriended on her recent trip to Kenya. << To listen to all of Fearne Cotton's audio diaries, please click on the links on the right-hand side of the page >> And you can give money to support the work of Comic Relief in Africa and the UK by calling: 08457 910 910 All calls are charged at a local rate. You can also visit the website - the link is on the right. | 
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