kibera mirror april

8/2/2019 Kibera Mirror April

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KIBERA MIRRORReal life stories from the slums to the world

Issue 8

April

2012

Cycle of disastersRescue personnel were

forced to demolish

hundreds of houses to get

machinery to the landslide

scene.

By Nicodemus Odalo

and Kizito Nadebu

Twelve people among them two children havelost their lives in the last four weeks after a cycle

of disasters struck the two largest slums in Ke-

nya leaving thousands homeless and raising ques-

tions on the safety of the people living in the slums.

In the latest incident nine people died

when huge rocks crushed into their hous-

es in the early hours of the morning on April 4.

The houses were built on a depression with large

boulders hanging dangerously from a cliff above and

it was suspected that the rocks loosened following

heavy rains that have been pounding the city recently.

Felix Omondi was sleeping when he heard a loud

thud followed by loud screaming from his neighbours.

I thought the city council was evicting us, but

as I was leaving the bed to see what was happen-

ing, several rocks tore through my roof, he said.

He narrowly escaped as he was already at

the door when huge rocks landed on his bed.

My house was attened before my eyes in a

matter of seconds and I could not be speak-

ing to you right now, he told the mirror.

Lack of access roads to the sight made rescue efforts

difcult with the rst body being retrieved at 9am,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Disaster response in slums on the spot as rescue teams struggle to reach affected areas

Red Cross personel retreive a body from the scene of a mudslide at Mathare slums Area 4A.

Photo: Nicodemus Odalo

Nubians still struggling for legal rights in KenyaHusseins story is replicated in the lives of many

members of the Nubian community in Kibera. Theyfeel they are regarded as second-class citizens, a dispos-

sessed, downtrodden minority in their own country de-

spite having arrived in Kenya more than a century ago.

I lost my ID during the post-election violence and when

I went to get a replacement, I was asked to produce my

grandfathers birth certicate to ascertain my nationality, he

says, adding that the fact that his parents were born in Kenya.

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Is charcoal

expensive?

Women in

Kibera have

created a cheaper

form of fuel

Page 4

He used to act for a

packet of chips. Now

he is the most sought

after actor, comedian

and radio presenter

JalangoONE ON ONE

Page 6

That didnt helpeven though he knows that the constitution

states that children born in Kenya gain citizenship automatically.Being without an ID in Kenya pushes you to the fringes of

society. You cannot get a job, own land, transact any ofcial

business, be legally married or access some social services.

Furthermore, you cannot gain access to many buildings, since

you will be required to produce one. The situation is worse

if you are a youth. Young people, especially those from poor

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

By the Mirror team

Hussein spends his time chatting with his friends at one

of the bus stops along Kibera drive. He earns a living from

carrying luggage, which he has been doing from this particular

spot for two years, waiting for anyone who will alight from

a bus with luggage that will need to be carried. As he talks

to us, his eyes rarely move from the road. He says he wanted

to be a driver but he cannot get a drivers license. He lost his

ID ve years ago. Attempts to get a replacement have been futile.


2/8

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We really need better

disaster response in theslums, not politicians

rushing to the scene

In what has become a normal occurrence whenever

disaster strikes in the Kenyan slums, Politicians stream

in their numbers to the scene offering all sorts of political

rhetoric on what they feel should be done. As usual, the

political talk ends just there. Talk. After that everything

goes back to normal until another disaster strikes.

When huge boulders crashed on peoples houses in

Mathare, rescue efforts had to be disrupted each time a

politician came to the scene as they had to be briefed on

the progress made. This happened like ve times taking an

average of ten minutes per each politician that arrived on

scene so a lot of crucial minutes were wasted.

Furthermore, like in each slum disaster, rescue ma-

chinery had a difcult time accessing the scene. Area lead-

ers had to plead with the residents to allow some houses to

be demolished in order to create way for the machines to

pass. When they nally made it, it was six hours after the

disaster was reported. Compared to other disasters, Mathare

residents were adequately assisted during their hour of

need.

Other times, help never arrives. Two weeks before the

incident, the people of Laini Saba in Kibera were left on

their own when a huge re razed hundreds of houses. With

no water and the re brigade not around, the situation got

so desperate that the residents decided to demolish some

houses in order to create a buffer to stop the re.

Indeed you can argue that lack of access roads

prevented the re brigade trucks from reaching the scene

which is true. Whose problem is this? Should we point

accusing ngers at the slum residents who are so desperate

that they occupy every available space or the authorities

who let it happen in the rst place?For a start, we should have a disaster committee in

every slum that would assess the risk of disaster that their

areas are facing and train the people on how preventive

measures and how to react. This would make response

to these disasters faster and this would go a long way in

reducing the number of causalities.

These committees would also have contacts for emer-

gency response teams like the Police, Red Cross, Ambu-

lances and the re brigade.

Instead of rushing each time to a disaster scene, the

politicians should begin with creating these committees and

work to ensuring there are proper access roads in the slums.

KIBERA MIRROR ISSUE 8: PAGE 2

KIBERA

MIRROR

OPINIONwrite to us on [email protected]

or follow us on facebook.com/kiberamirror

A publication of Shining Hope For

Communities

EditorVincent Achuka

The Team

Josephine Gisesa,Kennedy Inditho, Nancy

Akinyi, Michael Omuka, Raquel Oonga,

Sylvia Nekesa, David Otieno, Isaac Gomba,

Kizito Nadebu, Nicodemus Odalo, John

Okewa, Paul Owino

Technical assistance

Dan Whipple& Kathleen Bogan

E-mail: [email protected]

Quote of the Month

A pessimist sees the difculty

in every opportunity, an

optimist sees the opportunity

in every difculty

Winston Churchill.

We often

preoccupy ourselves

with the symptoms,

whereas if we went

to the root cause of

the problems, we

would be able to

overcome the

problems once and

for allWangari Maaathai

Late Nobel Laureate

Increase in tempera-ture, unfavourable rainfall,

increasing desertication,

and starvation have one thing

in common. They are all are

the consequences of global

climate change and the most

affected continent is Africa

where the impacts are being

seriously felt. Survival is

for the ttest and the ttest

are usually the wealthiest.

Those with money can afford

to purchase food and have a

good life. Those from humble

backgrounds are dying of

hunger and poverty.

The most surprising

thing is that we are not yetlooking for solutions. We

instead assume that all of this

is a day-to-day way of life:

hunger, lack of clean drinking

water for both humans and

Future generations of Africa at risk if the continent

continues to do nothing to combat global warming

livestock, and deaths.

Most of us are waiting for

solutions from outside our

continent rather than solving

our problems ourselves.Africa is known as the green

continent and it has always

been so, but today the green na-

ture is no longer there the green

nature has disappeared.

All those pictures showing

Africa green are myths today

because all suffering of human-

ity is found in Africa. Cutting

of trees and indigenous forestshas led to desertication. Today

the worlds largest desert, the

Sahara is spreading fast in

Africa. No clear measures have

been taken to stop it, so in a

few years Africa is going to

be one big desert.

Today our continent has

all it needs to correct our

misfortune. We have the re-

sources, professionals and the

materials needed. We have no

excuse whatsoever. What we

should do is to have visionary

leaders and have good plan-

ning of our enter continent.

For me, one of the ma-

jor reasons to move beyond

just the planting of trees was

that I have tendency to look

at the causes of a problem.

We often preoccupy ourselves

with the symptoms, whereasif we went to the root cause

of the problems, we would be

able to overcome the prob-

lems once and for all, as the

late Nobel peace prize winner

Wangari Maathai said.

But if we are still on the

left foot, we will be sorry

time is running out. Change

on our continent starts with

you and me. If we dont

deal with our environmental

problems, we will no longer

be in existence in genera-

tions to come. So think twice

every time you pollute our

environment. Let us all come

together to ght for our envi-

ronment to rescue the future

generations from destruction.

Isaac Gomba

Women queue to fetch water from a water point in

Kibera. Despite the rains thre slum has been

grappling with an acute water shortage

photo:le

With the current political

arena in our country, I keep

wondering if this was created

as just another ministry to

add more cash into the pock-

ets of our legislatures. The

other close to forty ministriesare doing very little to attain

this vision that Kenyans live

for.

The ministry of vision

2030 should be the highest

and the most valued institu-

tion in our countrys cabinet

and leadership. It should act

as a supervisory docket to

the cabinet and the govern-

ment at large. Since this

ministry was created after the

controversial elections in our

country in early 2008, four

years have passed yet not

much has been realized interms of development.

W e still have a long way

to go as a country consider-

ing what we expected to have

achieved in 2030, our coun-

trys development ladder,

has not been climbed to the

middle. The only world class

road dubbed Thika Super

In a lifetime one decides

to choose the kind of life

he wants to live. The only

problem is that majority of

people do make it to their

destination while others

dont.

Decision making about

life begins immediately after

birth. To some, their lives

are decided by their parents.

Many though make their

own decisions.

Diverging from an elderly

decision, means diverting

from life But from a childs

perspective, its the duty of

the parents to take note of

the development of their

children, failing to do so will

ruin the future of that child.

Education has been and

still is the major eye opener

to most people in the world

though some people do make

it through other avenues like

sports, music and art.

However education still

remains the greatest basic

need a parent should give to

a child. It does not end with

paying school fees. Some

parents do tend to leave the

responsibility of educating

their children to the teachers

entirely.

A t school, there are

different types of teachers.

There are those that do not

take note of the childs un-

Vision 2030: mirage or reality?

Highway is so far the only

infrastructure development

we can see.

In terms of education,

the system to be used is still

under crucial debate. Whether

it should be 8-4-4 or 2-6-6-3,we are not sure about com-

munication and technology,

the Konza Technology City

that is expected to attain that

has its construction still under

planning; health care services,

our hospitals and health cen-

tres are still far from world

class health care services as

our leaders can be seen going

for treatment abroad, in terms

of economy our country is

still below par.

This is well proven by our

political leaders who politicize

almost everything concerningthe countrys economy.

Citizens and the leaders

of Kenya need to wake up

before it is too late and make

vision 2030 a reality not a

dream that it remains to be.

Kevin Ogola

Nairobi

derstanding. There are those

that are just there because

they get paid for it and thereare there are those who take

childrens matters seriously.

As parents it is therefore

our duty to take care of our

children and make sure that

we give them all the best we

can, but it would be worthless

if love is excluded.

Kennedy Inditho

We need to assist in shaping the future of our

children.

facebook/kiberamirror

OVERHEARD

From what we haveseen here a bulldozer

is required for almostevery disaster in a slum

so each of the disaster

ofces I am proposing

should be equiped with

one

Fedinard Waititu

MP- Embakasi


3/8

Slum residents unite against

forced evictionsThey demand the

government to

respect their housingrights through

signing a petition

By John Okewa

Amnesty International pitched

tent at Kamukunji grounds in Kib-

era to collect residents signa-

tures on petitions to present to the

government asking for an end to

forced eviction in African slums.

This campaign was conducted

on March 24, simultaneously in other

African nations, including Nigeria,

Ghana, Zimbabwe, Chad, Egypt and

Kenya. We want to show the Afri-

can leaders that the slum dwellers

must be involved in the decisions

and recommendations they make

and that they are not doing us a fa-

vour, it is our constitutional right to

be sheltered by the government,

said Marcus George from Nigeria.

This African ministerial con-

ference on housing and urban de-

velopment (AMCHUD) was be-

ing held at the KICC Nairobi.

The meeting that brought togeth-

er African housing ministers from 54

countries from 20-24 March, agreed

that the government should consider

the following before evictions: rstly

the government must respect the pro-

visions of article 20 of Kenyas newConstitution; secondly every person

must have a right to live; thirdly there

must be an eviction policy and reset-

tlement guidelines; and lastly com-

pensation of victims in some mini-

mum degree and security of tenure.

Speaking to our reporter during the

event, Daniel Valls, the regional cam-

paigns coordinator at Amnesty Inter-

national, said, Amnesty International

is a human rights organization, it was

founded 50 years ago the organization

stands for the oppressed, those not

able to speak and express their ideas.

We have also included the rights of

those oppressed economically, so-

cially and cultural rights violation.

This road show is in solidarity with

those affected by housing rights viola-

tion and to demand from the govern-

ment, local authority from Kenya to

respect housing rights and stop forced

evictions, he said. The petition be-

ing signed shall be presented to Afri-

can governments in September. This

will compel them to involve the slum

dwellers in their decisions before

evictions. They should be given an

alternative place to reside, he added.

The idea is good. The problem

is that our African leaders just see the

slums as votes. After electing them

they forget our grievances, said Mary

Auma, a resident of Gatwekera when

asked about her views on the event.

The Amnesty International crew

were dressed in t-shirts with different

messages, all trying to persuade the

government to stop forced eviction.

The event attracted a mammoth

crowd. They were entertained by

the energetic gospel musician Ju-

lius Owino Juliani who was the

Amnesty International ambassa-

dor against forced eviction in Ke-

nyan slums that is Kibera, Mkuru,

Mathare and Korokocho. The musi-

cian also led the crowd in observing

a moment of silence in respect to the

people who lost their lives in a re at

Mathare. The crowd was also enter-

tained by outstanding comic perfor-

mances from the Zangalewa dancers.

Water shortage

persists despite

the onset of rains

By Paul OwinoResidents of several villages in

Kibera are facing severe water short-

ages, even after the formation ofa task force to oversee disconnec-

tion of illegal water connections.

Long queues, some as long as 500

metres, are being witnessed at water

points, many of which have run dry.

Though the rainy season has

started, there is no possibility of

harvesting the rain water as it is un-

safe for use because roofs are rusty

and clogged with debris and trash.

The Kibera Mirror discovered

the problem was being caused by wa-

ter vendors who were sabotaging each

other last month. A meeting between

all the water vendors was convened

at the District Commissioners Ofce

on March 14, in an effort to come up

with a simple and long-lasting solu-

tion over the Kibera water shortage.

Those attending the meeting, which

was also attended by the area chief

John Mutai and the Regional Tech-

nical Co-coordinator of the Nairobi

Water Companys southern region,

Mr. Masinde, accused the company

of being reluctant to effectively

deal with the water problem in Kib-

era especially illegal connections.

Lugunga, a water vendor from

Makina, pointed an accusing n-

ger at the company saying that it

was colluding with the people who

have water in their taps. My tap

has been dry for ten years now but

each month I receive a bill, he said.

As this continues some residents

are blaming two NGOs that providewater to the residents. The coming

of the NGOs led to the numerous

illegal connections as they offered

employment to idle unskilled Kib-

era residents who took advantage of

the situation to benet themselves.

Meanwhile long queues are still

seen with the price now averaging ve

shillings in Gatwekera. The situation

is even worse in areas like Karanja,

where the residents are paying as much

as ten shillings per 20 litre jerrican.

Week-long police

search results in

arrests, mob kill-

ings of suspects

By Mirror reporter

A week-long, door-to-door

police search for criminals at Lindi

has resulted in several youths de-

serting the area, and the execution

of other suspects by angry mobs.

Several of the youths who were ar-

rested protested their innocence.

The search, which was conducted

by the Kenya Police with the help of

residents, resulted in several youths

being rounded up, accused of be-

ing criminals. This occurred after a

man was shot dead in broad daylight

by gun-toting thieves. The victim

had refused to let them steal his car.

The area has been perceived as

one of the most insecure places to

stay in Kibera because the crime rate

is high. Even people who sell veg-

etables have been robbed at gunpoint.

The week-long operation was

intended to recover illegal rearms

which are said to be in plentiful in

the area. Some suspects were killed

by angry mobs during the operation.

Nubians still struggling for legal rights

in KenyaFROM PAGE ONE

neighbourhoods, are subjected to

frequent harassment by the police.

The Nubians originated from

the Nuba Mountains in central Su-

dan. They were press-ganged into the

British Kings African Ries in late

1800s to ght during the scramble

for Africa. After conquering Kenya,

the Nubian soldiers were offered land

in Kibera on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Here they could keep cattle, grow

crops and settle with their families.

According to The Carter Report,

a 1933 document written by British

colonial administrator Sir Morris

Carter which urged justice for the

Nubians, the area which was gazetted

in 1918. It originally measured 4,197

acres and was assigned to ex-soldiers

from The Kings African Ries to live

with their families. Today only about

500 acres remain. It has become Af-

ricas largest slum, where the govern-

ment regards everyone as a squatter.The Nubian community is the

only community that does not have

communal land and its people do not

have a rural home. They therefore

cannot do any meaningful develop-

ment because of the constant fear

of demolition. The effect of this is a

whole community living in poverty.

Article 63 chapter 5 of the new con-

stitution states that community land

shall be vested and held by communi-

ties identied on the basis of ethnicity,

culture or similar community interest.

Ironically, Kibera comes from Ki-

bra a Nubi word for forest or jungle.

Mzee Mohamed is in his late

sixties. He says that their problems

began immediately after indepen-

dence when the government branded

them as foreigners. Since then it has

been a multi-generational struggle

against poverty and alienation.

Sometime after independence

the then governments started carv-

ing out several pieces of land origi-

nally allocated to them by the Brit-

ish for developing present day

estates around Kibera, like Jamhuri,

Otiende, Southlands and Ayani. We

were pushed to the area around Kara-

nja that later turned squalid, con-

gested and overpopulated, he says.

Despite the existence of a state-

ment in article 15 of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights of

1948 on nationality that states that

Everyone has the right to nation-

ality, the Nubians in Kenya are

faced with a myriad of challenges.

They lack land rights in Kibera

and other settlements that they oc-

cupy. In Kibera, for instance, there

have been incidents of confrontations

with other communities. They live

in a constant fear of being evicted

without notice or compensation.

When the slum upgrading project

started in Kibera, most of the Nubians

disapproved it because of this reason.

The only piece of land that the

Nubian community owns is the cem-

etery. It is very sad that you are only

accepted as a Kenyan when you

die, Mzee Mohamed says sadly.

They not only have a hard time get-

ting ID card but also birth certicates

and passports. In fact they were con-

sidered as foreigners until 1990 when

the government created vetting com-

mittees to establish the nationality of

each one of them. Those who did not

pass the vetting still live in legal limbo.

The community also faces con-

stant discrimination with regards

to their identity. Mohamed says

that he feels bad whenever he

hears others refer to them as Mnu-

bi which he says is derogatory.

Furthermore the Nubians are

not factored by the government

when it comes to resource shar-

ing and allocation. The commu-

nity is probably the only one with-

out representation in parliament.

With nothing being done to ad-

dress their issues by successive

governments and political leaders,

the Nubians are no doubt Kenyas

most vulnerable and underrepre-

sented communities in social, eco-

nomic, political and cultural levels..


Hip hop

artist Julius

Owino Ju-

liani

(in a black

t-shirt)

holds

hands with

residents

of Kibera

in solidar-

ity against

forced

evictions at

Kamukunji

grounds

Photo:

David Otieno

Members of

the Nubian

commnity

during a

past meeting

in Kibera.

There have

been com-

plains that

the commu-

nity is being

margina-

lised by the

goverment

photo:

Latah Sabah


4/8


Pic speak

Business Mirror

From dust to money

By David Otieno

Even with the discovery of oil in

Turkana fuel prices in Kenya have re-

mained largely high especially in the

slums where a litre of kerosene is re-

tailing at 90 shillings a litre because of

the number of middlemen involved.

However some women have devised

a much cheaper alternative by creat-

ing charcoal blocks made from char-

coal dust and soil, popularly known

aspunguza (reduce) by area residents.

Way cheaper than charcoal

This new form of fuel is fast

gaining popularity among the resi-

dents who complain that the price

of charcoal has escalated within thelast one year to retail at 50 shillings

for a tin which can only cook one

meal thus more and more people

are turning to punguza as an alter-

native since it can cook more food

and it is cheaper to charcoal. In the

process the women behind Punguza

are making some good earnings.

Ruth Ambani, a 35-year-old lady

who has been in the business for

four years, shared her experience in

the business with the Mirror team.

I have been in this business since the

year 2008 and the business has greatly

benetted me. Through this I manage

to pay school fees for my children of

whom one is in secondary school and

the rest are in primary level. she said.

Ambani buys the charcoal resi-

due from charcoal sellers who other-

wise do not need it at a price of Sh 300

per sack and carries it to the site near

a stream where she works. Water is an

important component of the product

thus she has to work near a river in

order to reduce the production costs.

Immediately after bringing the char-

coal dust, I excavate red soft soil from

the roadside and carry it in a basin to

the site. She said explaining to us the

process of manufacturing punguza

Before mixing the two, she sieves

the charcoal with a net to come up with

ne particles. She told us it is essential

that the larger particles are separated

from the smaller ones otherwise the

nished product would fail to ignite.

She emphasized that the residue

should be as soft as our, which she

demonstrated as she showed some of

the sieved dust, the ingredients are

then mixed in a ratio of 2-to-1 twoparts charcoal dust to one part soil.

Mix them thoroughly and add

some water, she said as she dem-

onstrated. Water is poured into the

mixture until the ingredients stick

together. After the dust is mixed

with the soil and water, they are

poured into a container to create a

block or any other desired shape.

The containers can be 500 grams

or one kilogram, and she prefers to

use a 500 gram container to come

up with the shape of that type, the

blocks must then be placed in an open

area to dry for three or four days.

Per week I can make Ksh1800

after selling a block for three

shillings each, she said.

Mildred Achieng, one of Ruths

customers, told the Mirror, I like

buying from Mama Ruth because

they are affordable and are of veryhigh quality, too. Instead of buy-

ing parafn at Sh 50 daily, I just use

Sh 10 to buy three stones at Sh 9,

and still receive a shilling as change.

Tell me how much you can save if

you do this everyday for a year?

Rain challangeHowever the business is also

faced with some challanges as Ruth

says she still loses a lot ofpunguza

during the rainy season because the

blocks are partly made of soil so

they are carried away by the rain

water. they also fail to ignite be-

cause of this reason so most of the

customers shy away and opt to use

Challenged with the high cost of fuel some innovative women in Kibera have created a cheaper

alternative-Punguza

Instead of buy-ing parafn at Sh

50 daily, I use Sh

10 to buy three

stones at Sh 9, and

still receive a shil-

ling as change.Tell

me how much you

can save if you do

this everyday for a

year?

Mildred Achieng

charcoal which is not affected that

much by the rain if stored properly.

Another challenge is when chil-

dren play around her mixing site as

they can easily break the blocks and

you cannot sell a brocken block.I believe anyone can make it, as

long as you can dedicate your time,

be determined and work hard at the

same time, Ruth says . She encour-

aged women without jobs to take the

initiative in a business like this one.

she says that it instead of waiting for

solutions from outside, people liv-

ing in the slums can come up with

innovative solutions which can be

used to solve universal problems like

fuel shortage and degradation of for-

est cover which is the main cause of

the effects of global warming that

the world is currently witnessing.

A stack of

nished char-coal blocks

(punguza)

made by mix-

ing charcoal

dust with red

soil ready for

sale in Kibera.

This new form

of fuel is gain-

ing popularity

due to its low

cost. A block

goes for three

shillings whilecharcoal retails

at 50

shillings a tin

and Kerosene

is 90 shilling a

litre

Photo:

David Otieno

Members of Jah Army youth group have decided to

turn to street theatre as a way of not only entertaining

but educating the community. On this day they were

at Gatwekera teaching people on family planning .

When re broke out at Laini saba and with no help

from the city council, people did everything they

could to put it out. This man risked his life walking

on a roof-top just to offer the much needed help.

This old lady indeed proved

that age is nothing but a number

when she danced during the Iin-

ternational womens day celebra-

tions to the amazement of many.


5/8


Health Mirror

The symptoms

common to these

diseases include

nausea, vomiting,

diarrhea, fever, and

a generalized

malaise.

By Nancy Akinyi and

Sylvia Nekesa

In Kenya, 1.6 million people,

mostly children die, every year from

diseases related to unclean water and

poor sanitation, according to a World

Health Organization report.In Kibera, 55 out of every 100

people are infected with water-borne

diseases at some time in their lives,

according to Dr. Henry Oyatsi of

Johanna Justin Jinich Community

Clinic. The risk of contracting water-

borne illnesses is higher during the

rainy season, because of poor drain-

age, especially in Kibera. Lack of

proper waste disposal mechanisims

and lack of enough toilets compound

the problem further. It is common

to get a single latrine serving up to

100 people which is quite unhealthy

while the rest resort to ying toi-

lets. Food vendors who form a large

percentage of small businesses in

Kibera slums also pose risk to their

clients and themselves if they do not

observe hygiene.

Water contaminated with human,

animal or chemical wastes can cause

many diseases that are potentially fa-

tal to humans. These can occur f rom

drinking water containing dangerous

microorganisms including viruses,

bacteria and single-cell organisms

called protozoa and larger parasites

such as worms.

Examples of water-borne

diseases are cholera, enteric fever

(also know as typhoid), amoebiasis,

rotavirus, E-coli infection, dysentery

and shigellosis, among others. Ty-

phoid can lead to meningitis , and to

infections of the bones and the heart

if not treated. Amoebiasis impairs

liver function and leads to intestinal

ulcers.

The symptoms common to these

diseases include nausea, vomiting,

diarrhea, fever, and a generalized

malaise. Consult a doctor when these

symptoms are in evidence because

they can be fatal if not treated

promptly.

Dr. Oyatsi says the best way

to prevent infection is to maintain a

clean environment. Everyone must

constantly maintain cleanliness and

hygiene everywhere. After using

the toilet, people should wash theirhands with clean water and soap.

Vegetables should be washed thor-

oughly before cooking. Fruit should

be peeled before eating. Water must

be boiled for ve minutes or treated

with chlorine before drinking. Avoid

areas of poor drainage and poor sani-

tation. Vaccinations have also been

developed to prevent these diseases.

These vaccinations are available for

free at the Jinich Clinic.

Treatment for water-borne

diseases include antibiotics and the

use of oral rehydration salts. If oral

rehydration salts are not available,

a home rehydration solution can

be made in an emergency. This

emergency solution consists of six

level teaspoons of sugar and one-half

level teaspoon of salt, dissolved in

one litre of clean water. Be very

careful to mix the correct amounts.

Too much sugar can make diarrhea

worse. Too much salt can be ex-

tremely harmful, making the mixture

a little too diluted.

The infected person should be

given about one glassful of the solu-

tion every six hours. But be sure to

consult a doctor as soon as possible.

More than one litre of clean water

is not harmful. If correct amounts

are taken, it can prevent diarrhea,

especially in children.

Waterborne diseases will increase

during rainy season, doctor warns

Patients wait to be treated at the Johanna Justin Jinich Clinic. In Kibera about a half of

the people who seek treatment suffer from water borne diseases. Photo: David Otieno

GRASSROOTSUPGRADED

EXHIBITION

RUNNING TILL 20TH APRIL

NAIROBI GALLERY

MUSEUM CHARGES APPLYDEMISTIFYING EASTLANDS THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

They might not be in a fancy well equipped class

room but these pupils from Future Star Development

Centre sure do know education is the key to success.

Everyone in Mathare slums wanted a copy of of the

Kibera Mirror when it hit Eastlands. These two decided

to share a copy while their neighbour waited in agony.

The other just read his palms probably thinking he had

a copy

Still in Mathare, this man had

his nap disrupted when bull-

dozers came calling in order to

create space for rescue machin-

ery to access a disaster scene.


6/8


ONE ON ONEJalangoHe is currently one of the most sought after event MCs in the country, radio presenter at Kiss 100,

actor, comedian and event organizer. However it has not always been rosy for Felix Odiwor Jalango . He says

hard work raised him from acting for a packet of chips pay to co-hosting one of the top rated breakfast shows

during a chat with TheKibera Mirror.

Our readers would be interested to

know what Jalango really means.

Jalango refers to a Kalenjin in Luo.

So guys who are light like me in

Sondu are called Jalango and its

actually Papa Shirandula who gave

me that name when I was acting in

the show.

Is it true you grew up in Mathare?

No, but I lived at Mathare area four

near the social hall. From there I

went to Mwiki in Kasarani

How was it as a child?

I am an upcountry guy born in

Homabay then came to Nairobiafter form four. You know I was not

born in a privileged background so I

learnt to survive quite early.

Did you ever think you would be

this big?

No but if you are focused and work

hard, things just open up. That is one

advice I would give to the youth.

People think that being a come-

dian, just making people laugh is

the easiest job. Is this true?

It is even harder than being an ac-

countant or a doctor, making people

laugh. Just ask yourself why you are

not laughing right now? You know

jokes dont just come by you mustresearch and do rehearsal. Even on

radio all those jokes are rehearsed,

that is why I wake up at three in the

morning.

What is your typical day?

It starts at 3 a.m., at 4 a.m. at the

studio at Kiss 100 till 10 a.m. Then

there is a one hour meeting with

Caroline Mutoko that I attend. From

there I go to Arena Media, a com-

pany that I formed that does a lot of

thingsoutdoor advertising, video

adverts and event management.

In short you have employed the

youth..

Several of them, not only through

Arena Media, but also through the

plays that we stage monthly that pay

around 30 actors.

Are you always that funny or is

there a time that you are actually

serious?

When I am at home with my family,you know I have a one-year baby

girl called Salika, so there is Jalango

and then there is Felix. Jalango is

only on stage, radio and TV. These

other times I am Felix. Fans only

know me as a funny guy who never

gets angry. Its tricky I have to make

them laugh regardless of how my

day started or what I am feeling.

How did you end up in Kiss 100,

because all of a sudden you are

everywhere?

I am a hustler. I did not come to

Nairobi to look for a job, I came to

look for money and I used to walk to

town from Kayole just to rehearse.

That was before I moved to Mwiki

so that I could ride on top of the train

to town to avoid paying 30 shilling

fare which was too high. Then I

moved to Kibera.

You have actually stayed in Kib-

era?

There is no slum I have not lived in.

But between 2000 and 2010 things

happened too fast. I have slept

outside in the cold and at Norfolk,

I have walked to town and driven a

range rover, I have slept hungry and

eaten in a Chinese restaurant. There

is no side of life I have not lived in,

the only thing that comes to people

who are sleeping is dreams, but if

you work hard there is something

God has in store for you.

Does art pay?

Nowadays it depends with which

type of art you are doing and which

group you are working with. I

remember we were being paid with

a packet of chips and chicken after

rehearsing for a whole month. Op-

portunity comes once and if it comes

grab it. My motto is if you cant beat

them, arrange to have you beaten.

When the microphone is switched

off, what dont people know about

you?

I fear heights, my greatest fear is

ying and even though I have done it

several times I have never overcome

this fear.

Your advice to the youth

Your life is your destiny, you have to

decide and take charge. My greatest

inspiration is my late father. When

I was in form three he once boughtme some clothes and told me that

was the last time he was doing so

and I took charge. My best fr iends

are Otoyo, Shafe Weru, DNG and

Larry Asego. Whenever we are

together we love discussing how far

we have come and it motivates us.

Felix Odiwor Jalango Hosting the Coca cola Open

Happiness concert at the Gusii stadium in Kisii early this

year. Photo: Courtesy

Mathare and Kibera hit by concurrent

disastersFROM PAGE ONE

almost three hours after the incident.

Red Cross personnel said they

could even communicate with some

of the people who were trapped for

sometime up to 10 am but could

not rescue them as the rocks were

too heavy. It took a combined ef-

fort of the military, police and the

Chinese company constructing the

Thika super highway who later

came with appropriate equipment.

The machines however could not

access the sight and bull dozers de-

molished several houses to create way.

Area residents claimed that more

people would have been saved

if the rescue teams arrived intime and with proper equipment.

The military came at around noon,

eight hours after the dawn incident

though the Kenya Air force is a

stone throw from Mathare area 4A.

Rescue efforts had to be stopped

from time to time as politicians

among them prime minister Raila

Odinga, Kasarani MP Elizabeth On-

goro and Embakasi MP Ferdinand

Waititu who came to the scene were

being briefed on the rescue efforts.

Still in Mathare, re razed down

hundreds of houses claiming three

lives a forth night ago, while another

one broke out the next day at Laini

Saba in Kibera. Though the city

council responded in time at Mathare,

their re engines could not access the

scene prompting demonstrations by

angry residents who blocked Juja

road stoning motorists. It took the po-

lice several hours to contain the situ-

ation as the re razed on in the slum.

A report from the Red Cross

indicates that a total of 582

people were left homeless.

In Kibera, the residents had to de-

molish some houses which had not

been affected by the re in order to

create a buffer that would prevent

the re from spreading as no assis-

tance from the city council was on

sight two hours after the re broke

out. The re that is said to have

been started by an electrical fault

lasted for close to three hours leav-ing over a thousand people homeless.

When we visited the scene alot

of personal effects and furniture res-

cued by volunteers was scattered

all over the streets. however some

of the people posing as volunteers

took advantage of the situation and

resorted to looting. One person who

was found stealing a television set

beaten badly by an angry mob be-

fore admininistration police rescued

In another re incident Stara Chil-

drens centre was razed during the

Easter Holiday leaving over a hun-

dred students without classrooms. the

school hosted rap star 50 Cent Cur-

tis Jackson when he came to Kenya

FIRE FURY: These residents of Laini Saba in Kibera could do nothing but watch as re

continued to raze down houses on March 21. With no help coming from the re brigade

residents decided to demolish houses which had not been affected in orde to create a

buffer eventually stopped the re Photo:Vincent Achuka


7/8


Society MirrorFrom a

childs

perspective

By Isaac Gomba

To most people Nairobis East-

lands is not just the area that occu-

pies the eastern region of the city.

It is also the poor, disorganized part

of the city in the sun, the cradle of

shengSwahili street slang origi-

nating in the 1970s. Many of the

Kenyas celebrities grew up there,

but relocated after making big.

There is a stark contrast be-

tween Eastlands and Westlands

that dates back to the colonial days

where the western part of Nairobi

was a preserve for the whites. In-

dians occupied the areas next tothe central business district. Afri-

cans were only allowed to live on

the area east of the railway station.

Today it is crammed with old

city council houses, countless rows

of apartments and a high percentage

of Nairobis slums. Businesses are

based on the streets, walking ven-

dors ply their trade in every avail-

able space, people collect water from

public water points. The youth spend

their time chewing Khat (Miraa),

telling stories and watching out for

police land cruisers that pass oc-

casionally picking anyone whom

the police think is idling and free-

ing them after they part with a bribe.

However a photo exhibition that

has been running at the Nairobi Gal-

lery on Kenyatta Avenue (Old P.Cs

ofce) demysties this stereotype that

is Eastlands. The exhibition, subtitled

Grassroots Upgradedreections

on Nairobis Eastlands by Slum

TV and Goethe institute, which has

been running all through the month

of March and will end in Mid-April,

is a collection of photos shot over a

period of three years by youth living

in Mathare slums. The exhibit also

includes cartoons and video shows.

Organizers say that their aim is to

challenge the stereotypes associ-

ated with life in the areas that the

city council seems to have forgot-

ten and to show the positive aspects

of life in these neighbourhoods.

The photos themselves are amaz-

ing and it seems the organizers outdid

themselves on this one. There is one

with women lining up to fetch water

from a water point. Another, shot

from a low angle, shows a woman

crossing a narrow steel bridge over

a murky stream full of garbage and

plastic bags. There is also an interest-

ing photo of a boy sitting on aMkoko-

teni (Handcart) written Bomas no

17 that is raising a lot of conversa-

tions among the visitors at the exhibi-

tion perhaps because it is supposedly

supposed to ferry passengers to Bo-

mas of Kenya as its writings suggest.

The cameras used are Lomo,

inexpensive, with xed lenses.

They use old fashioned lm. With

the companys motto of Dont

think, just shoot, they have pro-

duced magnicent resultsalthough

some of the photos look blurred.

One of the most interesting pho-

tos is David Mbuthias photo of a

house under construction with a

pool of water on the foreground

with old cars and thrown away tins

completing the frame. The image

of the house is reected in the pool

giving it a very authentic effect of

photography that is hard to achieve,

especially if you are using an old-fashioned camera like the Lomo.

Though shot with nonprofessional

photographers, the exhibition scores

highly on the variety and richness of

the content of the photos. Once inside

you feel as if you are being taken

on a journey through another part

of Eastlands that you have not seen

beforethe vibrant side. The fact

that the photos were actually taken

by youth from Mathare slums makes

the exhibition even more interesting.

The exhibition is running

daily up to the end of April

and Museum charges apply.

Demystifying Eastlands

through photography

Some of the photos on display at the Grassroots Upgraded

exhibition Photos: Isaac Gomba

What would you

do for the peopleof Kibera if you

were the President?Victor Muliande-6 yrs

Future star development centre

I would provide better housing

and food for everyone. I would

make sure every thief is arrested

Esther Kerubo-6 yrs


My rst priority would be food.

alot of people in Kibera do not

have enough food. especially the

children

Letisha Atieno-5 yrs


I would make better houses for

everybody and repair shoes thatare torn for free.

Kof Anaan-12 yrs

Holywik Academy

I would make toilets accesible

free of charge and make sure

each person is treated

Phanice Auko-13 yrs

Holywik Academy

I would tell people to stop ghting

compiled by Michael Omuka and

Kennedy Inditho


8/8


Slum teams battle, for peaceNo entrance fee

was charged, most

of the teams hadno uniforms but

on a dusty and

rocky ground

deep inside

Mathare slum

they all played for

one thing: peace

By Kizito Nadebu

It was a battle of the titans on17 March, 2012, at Mathares Kiboro

playground when soccer teams from

major slums: Kibera, Mathare, Ko-

rogocho, Huruma and Kariobangi

gathered for the Mathare Peace Soc-

cer Tournament, dubbed Amani Ni

Haki Yangu (peace is my right) soc-

cer tournament. It was organized by

the Maji Mazuri youth group, Ghetto

Transformers, Outreachers youth

group and Simama Pamoja Initiative.

A life size grafti on one side

of the football pitch that had people

uprooting a railway line and others

scampering to safety as a police tank-

er sprinkled water on them acted as a

reminder on the need to preach peace

and to inform different communitiesof the importance of respecting each

others cultural and tribal backgrounds

to encourage peaceful coexistence.

The theme of tournament was

to sensitize and educate slum com-

munities the importance of living in

peace. Slums were the epicenters of

chaos after the disputed presidential

Samuel Kiriro, a social worker

and Maji Mazuri youth coordinator

said he was happy to see communi-

ties which had been abandoned by

the government come together and

play against each other for peace.

The post election violence

was propelled by tribalism. If you

visit any slum today you will real-

ize that some areas are occupied by

specic tribes which is a recipe for

chaos. Organizing events such as this

brings different tribes together and

playing against each other helps us

interact more and accept each other

in the society and this makes me

happy. He told The Kibera Mirror.

SHOFCO FC from Kibera emerged

overall winners after beating Maji

Mazuri from Mathare 3-1 in an ac-

tion packed nal and thrashing

Outreachers 8-1 in the semi-nals.

Simon Macharia, a resident from

Mathare 3 C and a member from

the Outreachers group who were

one of the organizers of the tour-

nament, said, We organized this

event in order to bring people to-

gether. We advocate for peace.

Apart from organizing tour-

naments their group also nur-

tures talents that help individu-

als transform and reach out to the

society through performing art.

Our vision and mission are

intertwined with performing art

be it music, or sports. Thats our

area interest basically. he added.

As regards to maintaining peace in

the slums and in the country, Mr.

Macharia said, Instead of politi-

cal leaders coming in and preach-

ing peace for us, as youths from

the slums we have a responsibility

of choosing to live peacefully and

engaging in nation-building activi-

ties, be it ensuring our environment

is clean and security in our area in

order to make the slums habitable.

He wants the youths to choose

and dene the kind of society they

want to live in. As we approach thenext election, his message to the

slum youths is for them to avoid be-

ing used. Politicians come, they in-

cite us we ght each other and burn

property. Yet we benet nothing and

for them they reap big through their

hefty pays. He urged the youth to

remain calm and engage in activi-

ties of benet to them that will lift

their livelihoods and transform them

from idling and chewing miraa to

being economically empowered

through engaging in viable projects.

At the end of the event all teams were

awarded certicates of participation.

The organisers say they are planning to

hold a round of such tournaments in all

the slums in Nairobi before the gener-al elections in order to preache peace.

NO WAY TO PASS: David Muturi Of Outreachers nds it difcult to pass through a

double tackle from SHOFCO FC players during the groups stages of the Mathare Peace

Soccer Tournament. SHOFCO thrashed them 8-1 Photo: Kizito Nadebu

If you visit anyslum today you will

realize that some ar-

eas are occupied by

specic tribes which

is a recipe for chaosSamuel Kiriro

Social worker

The Kibera Mirror, ispublished and distributed monthly for free by Shining Hope For Communities as part of its programs aimed at empowering the youth

through developing their media skills and also to bring attention to the issues affecting the residents of Kibera and other informal settlements. All the work that

goes into production of this newspaper is done by youth from Kibera. Correspondence should be addressed to [email protected], You can also visit our

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/kiberamirror for constant news updates, photos and videos . News and advertising: 0721689996, 020-2329661

Slum upgrading launched amidst concerns

that residents would not benet

Phase two of the slum upgrad-

ing project was ofcially launched

by President Mwai Kibaki amidst

concerns that it would not benet

the slum residents as it has been the

case with two previous projects.

The new project involves the con-

struction of 912 housing units, 230

business stalls, a nursery school,

a social hall, a youth centre, three

solid waste handling sheds, three

toilet blocks and a boundary wall.

The rst one was the construction

of High rise estate but it later became

a cropper after it was let out to tenants

from other parts of Nairobi who were

able to afford the high rent being

charged in the Estate. A one bedroom

house in the estate now costs an up-

wards of 15,000 shillings. The second

one funded by UN habitat in 2004 has

had its fair share of controversies af-

ter it emerged that some of the ben-

eciaries rented out their new houses

and returned to live in the slum. Oth-

ers have turned their rooms into busi-

ness premises where they are operat-

ing kiosks and selling illicit brews.

Speaking during the launch at

Kibera Soweto East in Langata Con-

stituency, President Kibaki said apart

from providing the land, the govern-

ment has budgeted Sh850 million

for the project this nancial year.

I am particularly happy that the

programme I inaugurated in Octo-

ber 2004 has turned another leaf in

realizing the governments objective

of ensuring better housing standards

for our people, the president said.However most of the people we

spoke to remained pessimistic that the

project would benet them.Of par-

ticular concern was the inclusion of

car parks in the architectural design.

How will a car park assist me?

Just walk around and ask how many

people own cars in Kibera. This is

the rst sign that this project is not

ours. A man who did not want to

be identied questioned when asked

about what he felt about the project.

The rst batch of apartments constructed under the slumupgrading program in 2004 Photo: le

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