Issues and problems in the Kibera Slum

Kibera is located on government land. It is known as ”illegal settlement” and not included in the city plans and budgets for the public services. The settlement is 7 km from the Central business district and is composed of 12 Villages, each varying in population and size, topography, culture, ethnicity and religious make up.

This densely populated settlement is plagued by the same social health, economic and environmental problems as the slums. Structures in Kibera are built randomly with little space available. Few trees and plants can be seen in Kibera. People do not have physical addresses and very few have post box number.

The housing units comprise one small room, mud-walled, with an iron roof. Most of these houses have earth floor and un-plastered walls. Roads are a big problem to the residents especially when there is a sick person that should be taken hospital because roads are too narrow for cars to pass through. When the fire breaks out in the slum, it is always difficult for the fire fighters to find their way to the scene. Open canals and trenches characterise Kibera's drainage system. Garbage and used water follow the same channel and once the garbage accumulates, the canals get blocked. Since Kibera is a squalid residential area, this kind of system is usually only a few yards away from the houses. This stagnant, smelly water and sludge that surrounds most houses breeds to mosquitoes, which lead to many diseases. In addition to lacking a drainage system, Kibera's residents still suffer from poor access to clean water, sanitation, education, health care and electricity. Above all, the residents suffer psychologically from the fact that the structures are temporary.

Finally, people infected by HIV are a growing problem. According to MSF, at least 15% of the Kibera inhabitants are infected but the rate could be much higher because some parts of the population, such as children up to 1 year, are not tested. Most infected people are youths, parents, and obviously young children.
Families suffer from it a lot because the children often contribute to the slow, long deterioration of their parents, without been able to do anything. They can also been infected themselves, and like their parents they don’t receive any treatment.

Due to these problems and challenges, youths have come together to start SHOFCO.