Pro Slum Tours in kenya

Pro Slum Tours in kenya

This is ranked the second largest slum is sub Saharan Africa second to Soweto slums in South Africa. The name 'Kibera' is a Nubian word for 'forest.' The original settlers were Sudanese soldiers who settled there after fighting for the British in World War One. The Kibera Slums is located in an area 5 Kilometers South East of City Centre Nairobi. It is the most populated informal settlement in East Africa, housing about one third of Nairobi's population.

Kibera is divided into nine official villages, each with its own Village Elder. They are: Gatwekera, Kianda, Soweto, Kisumu Ndogo, Lindi, Laini Saba, Siranga/ Undugu, Makina, and Mashimoni. These villages, excludes Raila centre which rest on the northern half of the valley east of the Nairobi Dam.

Kibera is roughly 2.5 Kilometers squared with an estimated population of over 1 million people. There are no permanent residential buildings over a single storey. The average home size in Kibera is 3 meters by 3 meters, with an average of five persons per dwelling. Urban services such as water or sanitation are minimal. There is an average of one pit latrine for every 50 to 200 people, save to the new latrines recently built by donors. A biogas plant is under construction in Kibera which will use human waste as its raw material for the production of gas for both cooking and lighting 200 households once it is fully operational.

The rooftop view of Kibera Slums

Drinking water is sold to the inhabitants in plastic containers after it has been pumped through metal and plastic pipes along side sewage trenches. These trenches carry refuse and human waste to the river at the base of the valley. The river then runs into Nairobi Dam. Both the river and the dam are used for recreation (e.g. swimming) and resource (e.g. bathing; clothes washing). The plastic pipes are brittle and exposed, often breaking, to be repaired without care for sanitation. That is, these pipes are jammed or taped back together often without being cleaned, creating suitable habitat for water-borne diseases like cholera and typhoid.

Health Services and Sexual Education are minimal in Kibera. There are several individual and NGO run health clinics within the slum .Health mobile clinics are frequently conducted by the health NGO's and the government. Many people living in urban areas in Kenya are either HIV positive or have AIDS.

A Boy sitting next to sewer lines in Kibera

 
 Housing in Kibera, it is sad to note that many Kibera slum dwellers are tenants to those living within and outside the slums. 90 % of the residents in Kibera are tenants who are not able to pay for their monthly rents regularly. Thanks for the UN - Habitat for constructing the New 600 units at the Kibera decanting site. The construction is underway. Hopefully, the buildings will be occupied by the Kibera residents many of whom cannot pay their rents currently. They are expected to sublet other rooms in order to meet the monthly rent for the new houses once they occupy them. Good luck.

Volunteers visiting one of the Kibera villages

There are few schools within the Kibera slum run by well wishers. These schools are run by donations from individuals and corporate bodies which occasionally donate items like: food, books, and desks, pens, building materials and teacher's salaries for the volunteer teachers. The case study is the Baraka Za Ibrahim Children Centre which is a school offering education to kids as from pre - unit, primary upto secondary level on charitable basis. All activities are run by donations from well wishers. Orphan children are accommodated within the centre which also offers boarding facility in tiny iron sheet rooms. A small kitchen is in place for the preparation of lunches and supper. The Classrooms, kitchen, boarding rooms, toilets, mud walled staff room, children playing ground are all crowded in an area of about 1 acre of land.