Hustling

Saving culture

Photography
through thick
and thin

National Youth Services is not only

transforming slum communities
through community cleans and construction of washroom. It has also
introduced a SACCO that is meant at
promoting residents saving culture.
Story on page 5

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Business
Timber sales
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Ghetto Mirror

ISSUE 19

Real life stories from slums

Ghetto Mirror

ghettomirror@shininghopeforcommunities.org

Water ATM
RELIEF | Residents now fill a 20 litre water jerican at 50 cents as ATM opens up

Residents of Mathare trying the recently launched Water ATM at Mashimoni in Mathare. The ATM uses a swipe card and only costs 50 cents per
every 20 litres water jerican.
>>> Story page 3
Photo: Courtersy

SHOFCO Gender development department

Gender & Sexual violence

Call:
- 0703 445 737 - KIBERA
- 0720 852 920 - mathare

............

Referals
Rescue centre
Psychosocial support services
Link to legal assistance
Medical assistance

Ghetto Mirror | 2

ISSUE:19
JULY 2015

TALKING POINT
Youth are the
most vulnerable
and valuable to
politicians

In crafting their campaign strategy, politicians often tend to target slum youth, emphasizing that youth
are future leaders and key change agents of society.
However, this strategy is merely a calculated move
for politicians to come to power and gain votes, rather than a genuine platform for supportive policies.
Despite the fact that youth often represent a significant contingent of politicians voters, recent patterns have shown that as politicians end their tenure
of office, there are still little to no policies in place to
benefit the same youth who voted for them in such large numbers.
Most politicians are aware that youth are the strongest part of change and of political strength, which explains why they take advantage of these youth, especially those who are poor. In exchange for votes, politicians
compensate youth with small amounts of cash (enough to purchase a cup of tea) instead of opportunities to earn their livelihood.
Politicians
should
begin
taking
steps
to
ensure
social
and
economic
wellbeing
for
youth.
As it stands, on no occasion do politicians make
the time to inform youth about ways to engage in their
communities and overcome obstacles, such as joining the Kenya Youth Empowerment Program (KYEP).
If elected leaders are concerned with bettering the future
of this country, they need to be aware of how to address needs
of the youth not simply by providing basic needs, but promoting development in a truly comprehensive, and sustainable, way.

Quote of the Month

Even if youre on
the right track,
youll get run over
if you just sit there
Will Rogers

We welcome letters on topical issues on the stories we publish and

comments on ghettomirror@shininghopeforcommunities.org.
You can also drop them in our offices at Gatwekera near PAG church.

The railway evictions

Informal settlements insecurity cases on the rise

In the wake of national insecurity, the situation is
far much worse in slums like
Mathare, Dandora and Kibera.
In these informal settlements, almost everything is in
the hands of slum lords, cartels
and gangs who seem to man
and run the streets.
These gangs and cartels
control basic social amenities
from housing to electricity to
water and even public toilets.
They have taken advantage of this situation to the
point of terrorizing the locals.
In some sections of the slum,
the gangs have initiated a defacto curfew by making it unsafe for one to walk around as
soon as night falls.
The gangs have also taken advantage of the slow response of police to act in criminal activities that they have
started to rein havoc to the locals. In specific areas, it is not
an unusual thing for one to be

attacked and robbed in broad

daylight.
Thugs who are usually armed with daggers and at
times guns pounce on their
target and no matter how badly one screams for help, none
comes by.
In fact, the locals seem to
have become used to it and say
that, we all must eat.
At Mathares chiefs
post, there is a list of all the
crime hotspots across the slum.
This is meant to alert the locals
to avoid using these routes as
soon as night falls due to the
rampant criminal activities that
occur in these areas.
Crime prevention creates
safer communities, its about
time that the police venture
into these no-go zones in the
slum, where the rule of law is
not applied, and uphold security for the residents.
The government, through
the police service, should in-

troduce community policing

in which they assign the same
one or two policemen to a particular area of the slum so that
they become familiar with the
residents and the residents with
them, as a way of reducing
crime.
More commonly known
as walking the beat, community police officers patrol
neighborhoods on foot. This allows them to become acquainted with their assigned neighborhoods and the individuals
who reside and work there.
The officers dedicated to
a specific community have the
opportunity to come into direct contact with residents and
business owners repeatedly.
This develops trust in law enforcement as the police officers
form relationships with community members.
The difference between the activities of patrol
officers and walking the beat

is the level of involvement

within a community.
Patrol officers drive
through and scan for criminal
activity while community police officers are personally involved with citizens who comprise a specific community.
This increases public
support for law enforcement as
they become a known part of
the community and place the
police in a better position to
fight and avert crime with information from citizens.
Community
policing
utilizes problem solving techniques to respond and correct
potential weaknesses rather
than responding to a crime after it has taken place.
The emphasis shifts from
crime fighting to crime prevention.

Felix Omondi

A publication of Shining Hope For

Communities
Editor

Liz Mahiri

Illustrations
Oscar Chitiavi

Contributors

Johnston Mutua, Michael Ogutu, Namayi Kefa,

Sylvester Oluoch, Vincent Baraza, Erick Ouma,
Dorothy Orinah, Eunice Otieno, Kevin Ochieng, Felix
Omondi, Ammbrose Pascal & Brian Okinda

Technical Assistance

Albanous Gituru & Lily Bullitt

E-mail:ghettomirror@shininghopeforcommunities.org

Send us your feedback by texting your name and where you are reading from to
20308. The sms is free of charge. Start with Ghetto Mirror Shujaaz or GM Shujaaz followed by your name and place.

ISSUE:19
JULY 2015

one on one

Ghetto Mirror | 3

Mammitto
By Andy Wanga
Who is Mammitto?
My real name is Eunice
Wanjiku. I was born and raised in
Kibera, Laini Saba area and I am
still living in Kibera.
I believe I am a strong comedian with rib-cracking jokes.

Mammitto, a young girl

from Kibera believes
she has grown with her
stand-up comedy on
Churchill show. Ghetto
Mirror reporter
Andy Wanga, caught up
with her for this months
One on One.

When were you born and how

was your upbringing?
I was born on September
18, 1993 and raised by my single
mother.
I went to school in Kibera but
I moved from school to school. I
did my K.C.P.E at Loy Academy
in Laini Saba then proceeded to
P.C.E.A Luvagu in Kakamega
where I did my K.C.S.E.
My mother has struggled with
me so much to be where I am now.
I dont think I would be
where I am today if it was not for
my mother.
Is it a challenge being a woman in
the comedy industry?
Yes, its a big challenge
because people believe that men are
superior.
I also find it difficult to express my jokes because I think that
the fans outside there have their
own one artist that they like. But
as for me, Mammito, I am always

myself, I will not change myself to

imitate other people.
As I know, I have so many
artists and fans that would really
love to be like me but the problem
is that they just cant be me.
How did you find yourself in
churchill show?
Auditions are announced on
television each time the Churchill
show is on. The auditions take
place at Carnivore grounds on
Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The first time I went there, I
did not have a joke, but instead did
a play and a poem.
Although the judges did not
let me perform these, one judge
kept on telling me that I have a
talent that I am hindering.
He encouraged me until
I cracked a joke and with few
minutes the hall was filled with
laughter.
They just took me straight
away and thats how I got into
Churchill show.

I just left the microphone and went

backstage. In my experience, Kenyans can be really hard to please,
especially when it comes comedy.
Do you have any advice to
the youth and girls that aspire to
be like you?
I will start by saying that if
you are a girl and you have that
talent, just come out and explore
your talent.
You can start by auditioning at
Carnivore grounds for the Churchill
show.
Ladies, dont sleep on your
talents, believe in yourself because
you can achieve what you want if
you just start somewhere.
As for the youth, believe in
your passion and yourself, remember to put God first always in
everything you do.
Lastly, remember that you
have to know the game so you can
break the rules.

Whats the worst experience

youve ever had at churchill?
I have a lot.
The worst one was when I
was on stage cracking jokes, but
there was no reciprocation from the
audience, they were just looking at
me without laughing or blinking.
I realised that I was boring, so

Water ATM opens to relieve residents

By Ambrose Amayo

athare residents are

now enjoying clean
and cheap water at
50cents per 20 liter jerry cans thanks
to the recently opened Automated Teller Machine (ATM) water dispenser.
The initiative, which was officially opened on July 22 by His Excellency Governor of Nairobi, Dr. Evans
Kidero, is the result of the combined
effort of Nairobi City County Government, Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company and the Government
of Denmark through the Danish Water Engineering Company, Grundfos.
So far, the initiative has two
fully operational water ATMs already open and two others which
are still under construction and
should be ready by August.

Front view of the water ATM in Mathares Mashimoni village. Residents pay 50 cents to
fill a 20 litre water jerican.

Photo: Courtersy

Pre-paid cards
Before one can use the water ATM, one must have purchased a pre-paid swipe card at the
ATM for a one-time fee of Ksh.50.
The
swipe
card
allows
users to then
purchase
tokens
to access the
water.

There are no charges incurred if

one losses the card, it is replaced free of
charge with all remaining tokens intact.
A customer at one of the
ATMs says that The project has
really benefitted us, water is now
less expensive and the problem
of water shortages is decreasing.
Dispensing
water
through
ATMs has proven to be an ideal

form of providing clean and cheap

water to people living in poor areas around the world after it was
tested and proven in India last year.
The County Government also
says that the dispensed water will
help in curbing water-borne diseases. This comes after the most recent cholera outbreak claimed many
lives and left scores hospitalized.

22 year old, Mary Odianga a

health officer at one of the dispensaries
in Mathare who had usually receives
patients complaining of stomach ache,
vomiting and diarrhea said, This situation is a health hazard since it can
lead to the spread water-borne and
sometimes very dangerous diseases.
The initiative should also be
able to curb cartels who acquire

water illegally and make a living by selling water at high prices.

The cartels control over providing water is also dangerous because
most water pipes leading to their
selling points are not safe as they are
almost always vandalized by fellow
cartels and some pipes run across
ditches and sewages making the water
easily susceptible to contamination.
It has not always been mysterious to see dirty water in dark
color running from the taps, Mary
Akinyi, a Mathare resident said.
This usually meant that we wouldhave to wait till the water cleared
before we could fetch, she added.
But, even as residents of
Mathare are now enjoying cheap
and clean water, cartels in most other slums of Nairobi are still extorting
money from residents as a 20 litre jerry can generally go for up to Ksh. 50.

50
Cents

The total amount it

costs to fill a 20 liter
water jerican

Ghetto Mirror | 4

Pic Speak

ISSUE:19
JULY 2015
A full page of
pictures stories
from slum areas.

The talking walls of Mukuru. Let us maintain

peace and brotherhood, is the massage put
across by the graffiti artist on this wall.

Photo: Courtersy

A lady crossing the Gitathuru River in Mathare

after fetching water from a stone-throw distance
away.

Photo: Courtersy

SHOFCO C.E.O., Kennedy Odede, shaking hands with players at the final
match of the SHOFCO tournament played at Vision Grounds in Mukuru kwa Njenga. The tournaments objective was to mark the launch of
SHOFCO in Mukuru as the organisation seeks to extend it services.

Photo: Joseph Kinyua

Photo: Joseph Kinyua

Due to increased numbers of unreported gender violance cases, SHOFCOs Gender Department set up suggestion boxes across all the villages
of Kibera to help those that are unable report their cases feel represented. One can fill their info in a provided form and drop it in the box.

Photo: Emily Akoth.

Photo: Adan Ibrahim

Mathare by night. Mathare shines since Kenya

Power launched the Adopt-a-light system. This
has also helped in reducing insecurity.

As our national philosophy states, a working

nation, this picture is a perfect example of just
how hard we work towards this goal.

A resident of Mathare loading garbage unto a truck

to be dumped at the Dandora dumpsite. Garbage
has reduced since NYS started operating in Mathare.
Photo: Joseph Kinyua

It is not only humans who look at themselves

in the mirror to fix themselves. As it appears,
even birds do this.

Photo: Adan Ibrahim

ISSUE:19
JULY 2015

Ghetto Mirror | 5

Love doctor makes money through his talent

By Eunice Otieno
29-year-old Wilson Otieno,
known in Kawangware as Awilo,
runs a dating service in Kawangware
stage 2 through which he connects
men and women looking for a relationship. Thus far, he has been so
successful that most of his connections have ended up getting married.
He has always been a natural talent as a mediator in relationships for his fellow students.
When I was in school, my fellow students used to ask me to talk
to their boyfriends or girlfriends after they had disagreed and I used to
help solve their problems and get
them back together said Awilo.
Although he had put his talent to rest after high school, his
former school mate called LoiVoi,
re-invigorated his talent when
Voirefered another friend to Otieno.
Voi introduced him to a man

called Victor Macharia who had

been dating women but had not
found one to settle down with despite him being gainfully employed.
At the time, Otieno was roasting maize for sell to make a living.
Macharia asked him if he could hire
him to find him a woman from Kitui
and who is ready for marriage. Macharia was willing to pay for everything,
including investigation costs. Otieno successfully did everything that
was asked of him and thats when he
realized the potential for his talent.
I realized that I can still do
what I used to do in school and earn
money to make a living, said Awilo.
He then started to do research
on his unique field by interacting
with as many single people as possible to try and find out their problems
and reasons behind being single.
His research showed that a lot
of people had the same problems
when it came to relationships, whether in marriage or otherwise. Specif-

ically, he found that a lot of people

wanted to get into a relationship or
get married, but could not find the
right partner, or could not reconcile
the problems in their relationships.
He noticed that women tended to
focus a lot of their energy in a relationship on emotions, rather than reason.
He explains that, When women find someone they love, they decide to settle down without thinking
about the type of person they may
be or the long term consequences.
On the other hand, he found
that the main problem with men is
that they dont place value in the
importance of the effort and communication required in a relationship.
Men pretend to be busy all the
time, sometimes ignore calls, and often answer with what do you want?
They fail to realize that their partners
may be simply missing them and calling just to hear their voice said Otieno.
According to Otieno, these
two main differences between

men and women within relationships

cause
disagreements.
He also discovered something that was specific to slums that
causes relationship problems and
the high number of single parents.
I noticed that a lot of people in relationships within the slums
grew up together and know too much
about their partners past, he said.
This probably allows for disrespect which for instance may cause the
woman might not obey his man and
the man might fail to pay the dowry.
This problem also extends
to in-laws who might not respect
each other based on their knowledge of their extended familys past.
His research and gift of diplomacy has so far granted him
another six successful matches in both slums and estates.
These relationships have been
so successful that most the partners
he has worked with are now married.
However, he says that he has

only been successful when a man

requests him for his services because for him, womens requests
are far more challenging to fulfill.
He says that a lot of women will request him for a man who
can take them out to bars but still
be ready for marriage, which according to him, shows that the
woman is not ready to be a wife.
Otienos dating service requires
clients to cater for research, labor and
transport because not only does it take
a lot of searching to find the right person, but his work also requires travelling to different parts of the country and
at times, even outside of the country.
His parting advice is that men
and women should realize that the
most important thing in any relationship is to value the other person. He
adds that men should treat women
equally if they want their women to
respect them as their husbands, saying that this is the most important
thing that women need from men.

NYS introduces SACCO for slum Youth

By Brian Okinda

he National Youth Service (NYS) recently

rolled out an initiative
to have their youth workers save
money through their own Savings and Credit Society (Sacco).
NYS is a slum upgrading initiative under the Ministry of Devolution and National Planning that
operates in Nairobi slums by hiring
slum youth to engage in development
activities such as cleaning of drainage systems, sewer lines, garbage
collection and construction of toilets
and clinics among other activities.
The youth workers form cohorts in their respective communi-

ties and save together in a group.

The Sacco initiative, which has
been positively welcomed by most
of the youth workers, was officially launched in Kibera where the
slum upgrading project started.
NYS
has
also
extended its initiatives to other slums
such as Mathare, Korogocho and
Mukuru Kwa Njenga offering
the same opportunities to youth.
The youth are paid ksh.471
daily and the money is sent to them
at the end of every week through mobile banking. From this pay, ksh.141
is remitted to their individual Sacco.
The youth workers, who are
generally in a group of ten, will soon
be able to access loans from the
Sacco and perhaps start businesses
or use that money for other needs.

Since the initiation of the

NYS project, youth from Nairobi
slums have benefited from NYSs
initiatives in more than one way.
Wycliffe Otieno, one of the
youth deployed, attests to the fact
that NYS has given him a reason to
wake up in the morning and smile."
Most youth, including me, were
on the verge of getting into drugs
but the project keeps us busy and assures us of weekly income, he said.
"I hope the contract will be renewed so that I can start and run my
own business within my residential
area from my savings," he added.
Crime has also been reduced
and most youth have stopped taking drugs saying they have now
left it for their elders in the village.
The youths who have signed

Mathare Slum Network links

diverse groups in Mathare
By Felix Omondi
On June 19th, representatives
from youth groups across Mathare
met at the Shining Hope for Communitys (SHOFCO) hall for a landmark
meeting to create a new network,
The Mathare Slum Network (MSN).
The initiatives objective is to
bring together groups from diverse
geographical locations of Mathare
to mobilize resources collectively
and share ideas. MSN will also form
a much needed link to promote prudent and sustainable management
of the communitys economic, environmental and human resources.
MSN comes at a much needed time when most youth groups in
Mathare are experiencing problems
ranging from leadership wrangles to
lack of member participation to failure
in receiving youth funds and loans.
Kevin Ashihundu, the youth
coordinator at SHOFCO in Mathare,
who is also MSNs manager said

that there is a greater need for youth

groups in Mathare to come together
to foster greater economic growth.
"I believe that we should create a
networking platform among the local groups that is going to initiate
greater economic growth and promote social responsibility among
the groups, said Ashihundu.
Sustaining the network
During the meeting, the present members raised concern about
the sustainability of MSN since other youth networking groups had been
formed in the past but failed soon afterwards. It was therefore agreed that
an oversight committee be formed to
oversee the running of the network.
There was also another heated debate on what the components
of the groups leadership would entail. As a solution, they agreed on an
organizational structure consisting

of a chairman at the top, followed

by an assistant chairman, a coordinator and a secretary. Elections for
these positions have been scheduled for the next meeting which will
take place sometime in mid-August.
The proposed responsibilities of
the committee entail making sure that
unregistered groups are registered and
issued with certificates, helping groups
attain the required standards to qualify
for youth loans and funds and training
members on leadership, financial information and management. The committee will also have the task of trying
to solve or act as mediators for some
of the problems that groups may face.
In addition, the committee, through its duties, should ensure the evaluation of groups
performance and follow up on implementation of feedback. Overall, MSN is expected to create one
voice for youth groups in Mathare.

a second three-month-contract will

earn a minimum of sh39600 each
at the end of the contract when
working on official days only.
However most of the youths,
more so the young women engage in extra duties during weekends to boost their earnings.
The launch of the project has
not only positively impacted slum
youth, but has also created huge profits to mobile money companies and
to mobile money dealers within the
slums as all NYS cohorts receive their
wages through the mobile phones.
"I am always sure of my money at the end of every Friday and
latest Saturday morning," said Maureen Omollo, a NYS youth worker.
The initiation of the project
has also educated the youth on sev-

eral values that can enhance them as

individuals in society, and increase
their work-related skills. After regular
working hours that end at 4:00pm daily, the participants are trained on values of obedience, discipline, patriotism, positive thinking and teamwork.
Most youth have also been trained
on skills such as construction of police
posts, residential houses, toilets and
clinics. This has opened up more opportunities for young and unemployed.
Michael Otieno, a youth leader in Kibera, says that loans will
only be advanced to people who
have clear objectives and those pindividuals who can demonstrate
their ability to repay back the loan.

Ghetto Mirror | 6

Society

ISSUE:18
JULY 2015

Topical stories on
daily happenings
in our society.

Photographer makes it through thick and thin

By Sylvester Oluoch
When Peter Warieda started
door-to-door photography in May,
2004 while still a high school student, he had no idea that a decade
later, he would become the inspiration and role model to the young
generation coming up in the informal settlement of Soweto in Kayole.
When he started, he would
make about Ksh. 300 per month,
but he was driven more by his
passion for photography, not the
meager profits he was making.
Warieda has now found success in the Photo and Printing business, and is the proud owner of
Rossy Photo Studios, in Kayole. He
offers services inphotography, photo framing, branding (t-shirts, caps,
business cards among others), and
large format printing like banners.
His shop is strategically located
within Soweto slum, a five minute
walk from the main road, and serves
the entire population of Kayole.
Warieda, who comes from a
humble religious background, was
persuaded by his mother to get involved in an income generating activity to keep him busy and prevent him
from falling into the vices that come
from idleness in a slum. A former
student of Chulaimbo Boys (two km

bicycle which he would use to move

around when his business was mobile.
He continued to save more money and secured a small room for his
business and later relocated to a bigger
building where he is operating today.

Customer relations

from Maseno School, along the Kisumu-Busia highway), he is now a mentor and a friend to many youth who
benefit from him in different ways.
The first rule in the rule book
of good management is learning the
art of knowing how and when to delegate. You can do anything, but not
everything. If you want your business to grow, you need to start delegating. If you have to do it right, you
dont have to do it yourself and thats

why I have team of three employees with me, said Warieda smiling.
Warieda holds a one year Certificate in Machine Printing and three
years Diploma in Printing Technology from Kenya Polytechnic University. Before getting his formal education in printing, he ventured into
the business with a family owned
camera and now has his own machines. From the little savings that
he made, he was able to purchase a

The business, which is open

from 8:00 am 8:00 pm on a daily basis, enjoys a good customer relationship as he put it, There is no greater
satisfaction that an entrepreneur can
enjoy more than when a customer tells
you they love your services and they
cant hesitate to refer new clients. He
attributes the loyalty he now gets from
these very same clients. The business
booms during weekends and holidays
but the super sales come in December.
Although the business has
good returns, he still faces challenges. The biggest one is insecurity, which he has had to deal with a
number of times. Another challenge
is that of uncollected photos when
customers leave their already printed photos behind and never return
for them which causes some losses.
To this, he says, Entrepreneurship is all about risking, trip-

ping and picking yourself up. One

should not fear failure though
you should not seek it out either.
The business benefits the informal residents of Soweto slum as
Warieda charges subsidized prices,
making his services more accessible
and affordable to the poor community. Although competition is stiff in the
market, Warieda enjoys a competitive
advantage as most of the competitors are his trainees, I train them,
so they cant beat the trainer, he
says while laughing, as most of them
still come for technical assistance.
I am willing to train young
minds who want to venture in this
industry, says Warieda. Youth
should be passionate and determined in what they do and love it.
The entrepreneur is determined to keep growing and says
that, In five years, I want to establish a leading out-door advertising
firm in East Africa, which will be
aided by the skills I have acquired
in this field of printing technology.
He is also passionate about giving
back to the community that raised him
by participating in charitable activities like distributing sanitary towels to
schools within Kayole as well as organizing and sponsoring beauty contests
within the slum to encourage youth
know and exploit their hidden talents.

Odingas daughter helps women and youth register for national IDs
By Vincent Oreje
Rosemary Odinga launched a
campaign to ensure that her father,
the former Prime Minister Hon. Raila
Amollo Odinga, secures his chances
of becoming Kenyas fifth president.
The campaigns mission is to
encourage all residents above 18
years to get their National Identification cards to be eligible to
come 2017 general elections.
Odinga is also believed to be
preparing to vie for the Kibra Constituency seat in the 2017 general
elections. This was after she hint-

ed at the possibility of her candidature on June 14 when she accompanied her father at a fundraiser
held in Kiberas Kamkunji grounds.
It was also during the fundraiser that she asked local chiefs
to recommend to their constituents that they register for IDs.
For a long time, applying for
the ID cards had been hectic. Residents who lacked basic education
were, in the past, not getting their IDs.
Dennis Mugara who lost his parents
while still in class two has applied
for national IDs twice but failed for
lack of documents, but is optimistic
he might get his ID this time round.

I have visited DC since last

year from to apply for my ID card
but every time I came they declined, demanding for my parents
death certificates, Mugara said.
I am hopeful that this time round
I might get my ID, he added.
Speaking to residents during
the fundraiser, Odinga said that
she had already held talks with the
Registrations of Persons office on
behalf of Kibra and Langata Constituencies and they had agreed to
ignore some of the strict rules that
have, for a long time, hindered residents from getting theirID cards.
She also added that she will

monitor the registration process

in person since there are individuals at Nyayo House who have
refused to register the residents.
It is to my notice that some officials at the Nyayo house could not
register Kibera residents and I promise to personally monitor the process
for the youth to have the national IDs,
she saidduring the launch of ID registration at Kamkunji grounds Kibera.
Odinga believes that giving
Kenyans a chance to participate in
nation building will help youth feel
they are important to their country and
keep them from turning to desperate
measures, such as agents of terrorism.

The ID deficiency is damaging

to the country, making it difficult for
youth to contribute to the economy.
Without an ID they cannot access
government funds such as the Uwezo;
money meant for youth and women.
As a way of building the youth
effort for change, Odingas move has
been welcomed among both residents
and local leaders. It is viewed as a step
towards changing national leadership.
Regardless of her intention to
run in the 2017 elections, her registration campaign has been a positive step for the country, encouraging Kibera residents to participate
equally in the democratic process.

Slum boy develops a problem-solving innovation

By Winnie Otieno
They say necessity is the
mother of invention and no other person understands this saying better than Andy Wanga, a
20-year-old boy from Kibera slum.
Wanga has innovated a pre-existing technology by sensitizing it to local
needs, and specifically to slum needs.
A lot of people in Kenya use a coil water heater to
heat water, but it is not safe.
Because the coil is exposed, it is
a strong safety hazard and does, in fact,
end up electrocuting a lot of people.
Additionally, since electricity lines are dangerous in the slum,
the coil also has a high chance
of exploding and causing fires.
Wanga has tackled this problem through his innovation. Using a

conventional jerican, he has enclosed done before and that it was feasible.
the coil into the water can. Much like
I decided to pursue my idea
electric kettles, the improved and en- after I realized how cheap and easy
closed water heatit is to get the necer greatly reduces
essary raw mateI believe there are
the risk of the coil
rials, right from
electrocuting
its
the slum he said.
several inventions,
user or exploding.
However, it
His idea was innovations and sucwas not easy getting
born while he was
started as he had
cessful businesses
still in high school
to deal with a lot
in response a science waiting to be discovof doubt from his
and
engineering ered. People should
peers, school mates
fairthat was runand even some of
ning a competition not just sit and wait
his teachers who
to have students de- for government jobs
downplayed
the
velop a solution to a
practicality and feawhen they can cre- sibility of his idea.
problem that could
benefit the society.
He
wasnt
ate their own
After talking
discouraged though
to his friends and doAndy Wanga and begancollecting
ing research on the
his materials which
internet, he realized
include a jerican,
that it was something that had not been a coil heater,glue, screws, and a lid.

His breakthroughcame through

when he finally created his design from
scratch and it functioned properly.
Wangas
innovation
put
him in the best category at the
national level for the science
and
engineering
competition.
The process
Wanga explains the process,
After collecting the materials,
wash the jerican thoroughly and
cut a small hole at the bottom with
enough space for the coil to enter.
Once the heater is inside,
take the lid and the grey glue, cover the hole with the cans top, then
spread the glue and let it dry in
the sun for about 10 to 20 minutes
and you are done with the heater.
Wanga is proud that he fol-

lowed through with his idea because

it has solved an important problem in society and that it is cheap
and affordable to make and to buy.
He attests to its usability in
saying, I personally must admit
that I have benefited from this innovation because I boil my bath
water and also make tea with it.
Wanga now challenges his fellow youth and other unemployed
people to be creative in life and try
to follow through on their ideas.
I believe there are several inventions, innovations and successful businesses waiting to be discovered. People should not just sit and
wait for government jobs when they
can create their own he advises.
He is optimistic that with his
contribution, he will help people to
cut on fuel consumption, especially
the slum residents who depend largely
on stoves, wood, and charcoal to cook.

Health

ISSUE:19
JULY 2015

Ghetto Mirror | 7

A once mobile
clinic offers
free treatments

Free health services uplift Soweto residents

Medical practioners from the Nairobi Evangelical Medical Centre pause for a photo outside the dispensary in SOWETO slum in Kayole. The dispensary was founded to provide
free health services to residents after the 2007/08 Post Election Violence.

ed on the side of the road, it is especially accessible in emergency cases.

When it was first launched, the
centre was mobile: it moved from place
to place, serving slums as far as Mukuru Kayaba, Mathare and even Kibera.
At present, the centre primarily
serves the residents of Kayole with
outpatient records showing a high
of up to 85 patients per day due to
the amazing free services it offers.
The institution employs qualified practitioners and nurses, and
offers free family planning, counseling, immunization, deworming for
children below the age seven, and
free treatment for diagnosed diseases.
Patients from Soweto slums
benefit as their charges are waived
and we also offer referrals to Mama
Lucy Kibaki Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital for cases that
we cannot handle, adds Ngaruiya.
We are praying that Nairobi Evangelical Medical Centre
lasts long and grows big to offer
us more services, expresses Janet Kerubo, a resident from Soweto,

Photo: Sylvester Oluoch

By Sylvester Oluoch

he Nairobi Evangelical
Medical Centre is giving the hope of health
for residents of Soweto slum in
Kayole, and as a result to the whole

of Kayole and its surroundings.

According to the current administrator, Francis Ngaruiya, the centre started back in 2012 with a small
team whose slogan was Preaching Peace, Healing Humanity.
It started by helping the
Post-Election Violence (PEV) victims

Business

who were struggling by providing

them with tents, water, food, medicines, blankets and offering counseling to the peers, says Ngaruiya
The centres strategic location in
the heart of Kayole gives it a competitive advantage against other medical
facilities within the area. Also situat-

Improved medication
She also added that the massive
services offered by the centre have not
only improved the health standards of
the residents, but have also cut down
their overall cost of living as they pay
absolutely nothing for healthcare.
The centre, in an effort to extend

its services to the community, has

incorporated the Baraka Childrens
Home and Flomina Childrens Home,
offering free treatment to the children
and the entire staff of each entity.
Loyce Nduta, the centres director, reports that they have extended their services to the community
to first ensure that the health of every child is attended to and also to
provide casual jobs to residents to
help reduce the number of idlers.
True to their slogan Preaching
Peace, Healing Community, the centre gives casual labor work to youth
within the community, with an aim to
reduce the crime level. Youth also attend morning devotion, which is conducted at the centre each morning to
give them an opportunity to reform.
The centre is a beneficiary of the
Mission for Essential Drugs (MEDs).
Thus, it gets drugs at a subsidized
price, allowing it to be fully stocked
and ready to meet the needs of patients.
We would like to reach as
many people as possible as we are
ready to serve them [] We believe
service to humanity is a service to
God as success is not based on what
you have but how many peoples lives
you have impacted, says Ngaruiya. The little we have we share
with the community, Nduta added.
Ngaruiya shares that moving forward, the centre plans to
extend its services to other slums
around Nairobi, with Kibera and
Korogocho units in the pipeline.

Timber sales is fast

growing despite
global warming

Deforestation effects on timber businesses

from her previous job, which she
used to order her first load of timber.
Her stock is typically brought
n estimated 1.8 million from the Rift Valley, Nyahururu,
acres (7.3 million hect- and Kisii, making it relatively easy
ares) of forest are cut to transport her goods to Nairobi.
But the declining forest cover in
down each year. These forests, that are
roughly the size of Panama, (a country Kenya has forced Wambui to look further afield
in Central Amerto fill her
ica) are lost each
Effects of Deforestation
customyear, reports the
ers deUnited Nations,
Deforestation is considered to be one
mands.
Food and Agriof the contributing factors to global climate
She
culture Organizachange.
has
started
tions (UNFAO).
The number one effect of deforto order
Mary Wamestation is its impact on the global carbon
her stock
bui (not her real
cycle. Deforestation is the second largest
f r o m
name)
ventured
human-caused source of carbon dioxide as
Malawi,
which causes nearly a billion tons of carbon
into
the
timwhere is it
to
be
releases
into
the
atmosphere
yearly.
ber-selling busimore exThis represents between 6-17% of
ness in the year
total carbon dioxide gas released each year.
pensive to
1999 as a way of
Other effects of deforestation include:
p u r ch a se
earning a living
loss of spieces, especially those that live in
and transfor herself and
forests, soil erosion; tree roots anchor the
port.
In
her six children.
soil, without which the soil can easily be
M
a
l
a
w
i,
For
years,
blown or washed away causing problems to
8
tones
she was able to
vegetation growth.
of timber
make a decent
Water cycles will also be affected.
goes for
profit from her
When it rains, trees absorb water and
Ksh.300,
sales, but derelease vapour during dry times that cause
000 and
forestation
and
it to rain.
a trailer
industry
changfor transes have been
port costs
making it more
one
million
shillings.
difficult
to
survive. over
Once the 8 tones is sold, Wambui
Working in the timber industry
requires large amounts of investment. expects to make around Ksh. 40,000
Wambui was able to save 100,000 of profit. But with higher input costs,

By Erick Ouma

A worker at Njokis Timber Yard in Kawangware removes

wood purchased by a customer from the timber yard. Timber businesses are threatened by massive deforestation
Photo: Erick Ouma.

Mary is making less than she used to.

She adds that she faces other
stresses such as payment of value
added tax, failure of payment after
delivery, renewal of business license
yearly which costs Ksh.15, 000.
Along
with
deforestation,
these factors make it more and
more difficult to run a timber business. The business has deteriorated
over the past year, says Wambui.
Wambuis business is not the
only one suffering from rapid deforestation. Globally, over half of
the worlds forests have been destroyed in the last 10,000 or so years.
The majority of the loss
has occurred in just the last
50 years, due to a massive increase in the human population.
The incredible scale of this
loss has led to significant ecological changes including; large scale
extinction events, desertification,
climatic changes, and erosion of
top soil, flooding, famine, disease outbreak and insect plagues.
Forests are usually cleared to
make the land more available for
housing, construction and urbanization, while the harvested timber
is used to create commercial items
such as paper, furniture, and palm oil.
While this practice of clearing
and cutting down forests is harmful to the environment, Wambuis
business, as well as her six children
and four employees, depend on it.

Ghetto Mirror | 8

ISSUE:19
JULY 2015

Southern by-pass becoming a highway of death

...as more lives continue to be lost
The road was constructed by
the Kenyan government through
partnership with a Chinese company called China Road and Bridge
Corporation. It was built to decongest the Central Business District
(CBD) and prevent long distance
trucks from accessing the CBD.
The highway bypass stretches
from Mombasa Road near Ole Sereni hotel passing through Langata
and Ngong all the way to theNairobi- Nakuru highway in Kikuyu town.
At first, it was dream come true
for the residents who thought they
could easily access the road as compared to earlier days when they had to
walk for miles to access the main road.
School children

Langata Road, Southern Bypass

By Kevin Ochieng
It is 10:30 on a Monday morning in Raila village in Kibera slum,
residents are going about with their
daily life activities. The National
Youth Service (NYS) workers are
burning garbage near the roadside
while some men are relaxing on the

Photo | Courtersy

rail guards of the busy southern bypass that divides the village in half.
Rush hours
During rush hour, the bypass
is a bee of activities as motorists fill

the road making it one of the busiest newly created highways in Nairobi County. Crossing it is akin to
crossing the insanely busy Jogoo
Road, which can amount to suicide.
Residents
lifestyle
have
changed since the completion of
the bypass as accidents are becoming a reality for many dwellers.

School children are the major

victims of the road accidentsthat occur
as often as every two weeks. Women
also suffer from these accidents since
they have to cross the road to access
the water points located in the slum.
This has made their lives miserable because they have to cross the
road with their filled water cans and
risk getting hit by reckless motorists.
Ken Nyongesa, who sells mandazi along the side of the road says,
Accidents occur here almost once a
week, with quite a number being fatal.
Though the road has an underpass for pedestrians, and big sign
in red that says, BE SAFE USE
UNDERPASS DO NOT CROSS

THE ROAD, most pedestrians

seem to ignore both sign and the apparent danger of crossing the road.
Maasai herdsmen are also often be seen shepherding their cattle alongside the road which distracts motorists as the cattle tend
to walk in the middle of the road.
Another resident who gave his
name as Felix noted that a woman was
knocked down while attempting to
cross the road and died on her way to
hospital.Felix believes that if pedestriansused the correct underpass to cross
the road, a lot of lives would be saved.
Most accidents are hit and run
incidents and some motorists do not
even bother stopping after committing
an offence. The motoristsprobably
fear for their lives and their vehicles
safety since residents might resort
to stoning the cars or burning them
in retaliation for causing accidents.
Recently, a woman was knocked
down by a car that did not stop after hitting her. However, the driver
returned and said that she had not
stopped because she feared for her life.
She later took responsibility of paying
for the victims medical bill who was
admitted at St. Mary Mission Hospital. Unfortunately, the victim died.
Residents
are
calling
upon the government to erect
bumps on the highway as a way
of
controlling
speeding
cars.
Schools in the area are also creating awareness among their pupils
on the importance of using the underpass for pedestrians. Students who
defy the instructions arepunished.

Slum youth earn through garbage collection

Photo | Courtesy

By Eunice Otieno
In the village of Lindi, Kibera, a
group of youth now commonly known
as Mashujaa group, has decided to
eke out a living as garbage collectors. The initiative was established
with the aim of engaging youth in
useful activities and to prevent them

Ghetto
Mirror

from being idle and getting involved

in dangerous irresponsible behavior.
Hamisi Mwaka, one of the garbage collectors said that he gathered
the group of young men who had finished school, but had no jobs. Together, they started to collect garbage from
house to house to make some money.
The group distributes polythene garbage bags to residents who

are willing to pay them money to

collect and dump their trash, hence
making the environment clean.
We walk door to door giving
out the bags to interested people who
then pay us Ksh.30 for the bags and
Ksh.70 when we go back to collect the
bags full of garbage, said Peter Njuguna one of the garbage collectors.
To make some extra money, the

group members sort out the garbage

at a central point to look for valuable things they can sell before they
dump the garbage at the collection
centre at DC grounds in Kibera from
where it is finally transported by the
city authorities to Dandora dump site.
They have regular meetings
every Saturdays at 4 p.m. at StaraDarajani in Kibera. So far, the budding
enterprise has five sub-groups in Kianda, Gatwekera, Lindi, Mashimoni
and Laini Saba within Kibera. Each of
the five groups contributes 100 Kenya shillings every week on Saturday
to pay for the DC ground where the
garbage is temporarily stored. In addition to making a living for themselves,
Mashujaa group has also provided a
much needed service to the community.
Mildred Akinyi, a resident of
Kisumu Ndogo village attests to this
saying, Before Mashujaa group started collecting garbage, it was a difficult task for me to dispose the garbage
as I had to travel long distances.
Akinyi adds that, There was
litter everywhere making the area
filthy for living. Visitors too were
scared to visit. The group has enabled
us have a clean environment. They
deserve even more than we give.
Mwaka explains how the group

works, We make sure that we go round

to every house that has our bags and if
anyone is not able to pay for that round,
he or she has to pay double next time.
According to Mwaka, every Saturday each member collects Ksh.1000
and pays Ksh. 200 to the group. Of
this money, Ksh.100 goes to savings,
Ksh.50 is set aside for emergency
and the remaining Ksh.50 is for buying bags. Each group member gets
to keep Ksh.800 for their own use.
Mashujaa group faces some
problems in this line of work. One of
this problems is that some residents
are not willing to pay for the garbage
collection service yet they use other peoples bags and when the time
comes for collection they refuse to pay
or help those who ordered the bags.
Another problem is that some
places in slums are so squeezed that
if we push the carts towards them
the garbage spills to the ground and
we have to pick it up again. Sometimes we conflict with street boys who
might pick up some of the good things
we wanted to sell, says Mwaka.
Despite
these
challenges,
Mashujaa group sets a good example of how youth in the slum can
help themselves while doing something good for their community.

The Ghetto Mirror is a monthly publication published and distributed 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 the informal settlements. All the work that goes into production of this newspaper is done by youths
from the slums. Correspondence should be addressed to ghettomirror@shininghopeforcommunities.org. You can also visit our
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