Mathare SlumBy Lars H. Kristiansen

The first glance over the

Mathare slum is a strange

experience. The sounds

from the Mathare valley

make it seem like a busy

place, and it is, with its

600,000 residents. The

smell also provide a

certain realness that the

photos do not. To

experience the Mathare

slum you have to be part of

it yourself.

This is Daniel, a guide that

shows tourist around in the

slum. He has grown up in

Mathare, and says that he

did not know about the

“real world” around him

prior his teenage years.

The life in Mathare does

not seem so bad for the

children living in it, until the

learn about the world

outside of the slum.

The streets in Mathare are

muddy and slippery, so the

people living in certain

areas have made canals

that lead the water. Some

of the streets are almost

impossible to walk through

because no one has made

a canal system like the one

on the photo.

The schools inside of Mathare

gets limited amounts of

financial aid from the

government. On the photo

there are six students sitting on

the two out of three desks in

this classroom. This classroom

is one of few at this school with

windows that provide light.

Other classrooms have almost

no daylight and it lacks even

more furniture than the photo

portrayed on this slide.

The school depends on

donations from people and

organizations. Had it not

been for two men from

Finland the stairs and

second floor shown in this

image would not exist .

Small donations can

provide the students in this

school desks and

equipment in order for

them to obtain a proper

education.

The school holds around

100 students and the

playground provided is

limited to only a few. On

the picture you can see

some students getting

ready for a show. They are

preforming a dance show

as a way to say thank you

for your donation.

The Good Samaritan

Children Home &

Rehabilitation Center is a

safe place for the orphans

that live in Mathare. They

provided stories of children

found in dumpsters, and

even in a dead woman's

arms. They give the

children a roof over their

head and food. Their

money comes from

organizations and also

independent donors.

Each room is stuffed with

beds and the children's

stuff. The rooms holds a

surprisingly 30-40 little

ones. The little girl on the

photo was the only one

there at the moment, she

was sick and had to take a

day off inside.

The people living in Mathare

vary from those who have to

live here due to low income

and people who come from

other places in Kenya looking

for work in Nairobi. The prices

of the shanties also vary, and

the cheapest ones are closest

to the river. When it rains in

Mathare the river overflows

and the houses closest gets

washed away. Most think that

Mathare consist of squatters,

but they have to pay a rent of

$5-10 a month and a they

earn about $1.00 to $1.50 a

day.

This is Margaret, she is the

principal at a school

outside of Mathare. She is

probably one of the most

positive persons you will

ever meet. Her little school

is humble but full of

energy, you can hear the

children sing from a far.

The kids there love to play,

and they are not shy at all.

It can remind you of the

kindergartens back home

are like. On the photo they

are playing a game where

they are going to dance,

and when the guy in the

blue shirt says something,

the kids jump if they that is

something they can eat it.

Soccer is a big part of the

daily routine in Mathare.

On every corner and every

open area there are

children or grown ups

playing the sport. Either

they have a proper soccer

ball or a ball made out of

plastic bags and strings.

The experience a person can get from a day in Mathare is

indescribable, it is just something that has to be done in

order to really understand what is happening there. On the

picture above the children at one school were preforming a

dance as gratitude for a donation and also because they

just love to do it.