kibera now
Kibera is within the city of Nairobi in Kenya. The United Nations estimates that there may be as many as 1.5 million people living in a densely populated area approximately the size of Richmond Park in London or Central Park in New York. The population size of Kibera is disputed however it is home to a fifth of Nairobi’s population.
|
|
Kibera is the biggest slum or informal settlement in Africa. People from Kibera live in relentless and degrading poverty. However despite their harsh environment many residents are resourceful, with a strong community identity, a sense of responsibility and care for others, with a tenacity to survive. The government contends that those who live in Kibera are illegally squatting on government-owned land and therefore the government does not provide sufficient services or infrastructure.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
|
|
sanitation
The high population density and lack of infrastructure has led to acute problems of drainage, sanitation and solid waste management. Most sewage runs downhill in open ditches, resulting in stagnation, breeding insects and environmental pollution. Many residents resort to using “flying toilets,” using a plastic bag as a toilet and throwing the contents. The unsanitary condition becomes a breeding ground for water and air bourne diseases such as typhoid and cholera. The average life expectancy in Kibera is thirty years of age, compared with sixty years of age in the rest of Kenya. An estimated 1.5 million residents share 600 toilets.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
housing
People live in small, cramped, dark single room huts that mostly comprise mud walls, a corrugated tin roof and a dirt or concrete floor. It is common for 5 or more family members to live in one hut. Children usually will sleep on the hard floor. Due to the open sewage, large rats come into peoples homes. In the heavy rains many huts leak and some near to the river are washed away. Families will cook using small charcoal stoves within their hut which is a health risk and dangerous for small children.
Kibera is a volatile place with tribal and political tensions. The informal settlement is divided into 15 densely populated “villages” including Kianda, Soweto East, Gatwekera, Kisumu Ndogo, Lindi, Laini Saba, Siranga, Makina and Mashimoni.
Some villages comprise of different tribal groups and some villages will predominate with a particular community. Most of the population is now from Luo, Kamba and Luyha communities. The original settlers were the Nubian people from the Kenyan/Sudanese border – they now occupy about 15% of Kibera, they are mostly Muslim and assume the role of landlords. Many landlords can be ruthless and readily force evictions by removing tin roofs and hut doors, leaving families with nowhere to go.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
Kibera is a volatile place with tribal and political tensions. The informal settlement is divided into 15 densely populated “villages” including Kianda, Soweto East, Gatwekera, Kisumu Ndogo, Lindi, Laini Saba, Siranga, Makina and Mashimoni.
Some villages comprise of different tribal groups and some villages will predominate with a particular community. Most of the population is now from Luo, Kamba and Luyha communities. The original settlers were the Nubian people from the Kenyan/Sudanese border – they now occupy about 15% of Kibera, they are mostly Muslim and assume the role of landlords. Many landlords can be ruthless and readily force evictions by removing tin roofs and hut doors, leaving families with nowhere to go.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
employment
Around 50% of Kibera residents are employed. Work tends to be cheap unskilled labour such as clothes washing and manual labour. As a result of high unemployment, many young men sit with nothing to do all day, drugs and alcohol become an escape which often leads to trouble with the police.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
women
Women in Kibera face gender inequality. Cases of rape and assault are common. Teenage pregnancy is high. Additional health risks include a high death rate in childbirth and extreme gender discrimination creates strong barriers for women accessing health facilities or health information. In Kenya 33% of girls and women trade sex for food or education and in Kibera, 66% of girls trade sex for food, some as early as six years old. Women in Kibera contract HIV at a rate five times their male counterparts and Kibera has one of the world’s highest HIV rates.
Source: SHOFCO Shining Light for Communities ( An effective grassroots movement in Kibera)
Source: SHOFCO Shining Light for Communities ( An effective grassroots movement in Kibera)
children
The most vulnerable within Kibera are young children. According to Shining Light for Communities, 1 in 5 children die before their fifth birthday. Severe diarrhea can often lead to fatalities. There are thousands of children in Kibera who through no fault of their own, live in extreme poverty without access to sanitation, electricity, clean water, medication or adequate education; the basic rights of any child.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
kibera history
Following World War 1 the British colonial government passed laws to segregate living areas for non Europeans according to their ethnic groups. One such group were Nubian African soldiers who had served the military interests of the British colonial army. In return for their war time efforts serving the British army these Nubian soldiers were allocated plots of land, originally in a forested area on the outskirts of Nairobi.
|
|
These developed into a slum, now known as Kibera. The British colonial government allowed the settlement to grow informally. The Nubians had no claim on the land and over time, other tribes moved into the area to rent land from the Nubian landlords.
With the increase in railway traffic, Nairobi's economy developed, and an increasing number of rural migrants moved to urban Nairobi in search of labour. As a result Kibera and other slums developed throughout Nairobi. After Kenya’s Independence in 1963, certain forms of housing were made illegal by the Kenyan Government. Kibera was rendered an unauthorized settlement. Despite this, people continued to live there and Nubian landlords were renting out their properties in Kibera to significantly greater numbers of tenants than were permitted by law.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
With the increase in railway traffic, Nairobi's economy developed, and an increasing number of rural migrants moved to urban Nairobi in search of labour. As a result Kibera and other slums developed throughout Nairobi. After Kenya’s Independence in 1963, certain forms of housing were made illegal by the Kenyan Government. Kibera was rendered an unauthorized settlement. Despite this, people continued to live there and Nubian landlords were renting out their properties in Kibera to significantly greater numbers of tenants than were permitted by law.
Sources: BBC NEWS, UN HABITAT
