Solutions for improving the slums
Low cost flats:
- 770 families rehoused
- Inhabitants were involved in the planning
- Running water, toilets and electricity were integrated into the plans
- Lower crime rates than the slums
- Gives pride in people and the community
- Funded by the government, charities and private loans
- Making homes permanent, as the shanty settlers have no right to the land they live on
A charity (Practical Action from the UK) has been developed to make low-cost roofing tiles for local people to use for roofing. Two main water pipes have been provided by the Kenyan government and the World Bank. Medical facilities are provided by charities, training locals. The UN Settlement Program provides affordable electricity at 300 Kenyan shillings per shack. Toilets and wash blocks were built and cess pits are regularly emptied. A Bio Gas Station has been built to manage human waste.
The UK government has funded sanitation projects and a UK charity has sponsored a community clinic called “soap box”. The NCC (Nairobi City Council) have introduced a market stall project to create employment, but people require primary credit to start their stalls. A primary school has been built for the slum for children that have been introduced by CFK (Carolina for Kibera, a charity run by the University of Carolina). Comic Relief supports the work in Kibera, particularly with AIDs.
KENSUP
KENSUP has a goal of improving the livelihood of 5.3 million slum dwellers in Kenya by 2020. The program started in 2001, and by 2003 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Kenyan government and UN-HABITAT for a strategy for implementing this.
Deigmology 