She traveled to Nairobi, Kenya in 2009 to cover the debut of the first free school for girls in the notorious Kibera slum; the largest slum in East Africa. The many visits that Bethe made to Kibera, and the current popularity of “poverty tourism”, prompted her to reflect and write on the “ethics and economics” of slum tours. The article appeared in Commonweal Magazine. Bethe has also been a volunteer on projects in Kenya.