Pro Slum Tour 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.