Kibera: Life in Africa's Second Largest Slum

Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the second largest urban slum in Africa. According to AMREF, the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census reports Kibera's population as 170,070; but unofficial estimates place the population figure closer to 1 million.

The following description of conditions in Kibera was reported by Kibera UK: The average size of a shack in this area is 12ft x 12ft built with mud walls, screened with concrete, a corrugated tin roof, dirt or concrete floor. Conditions in Kibera are extremely poor, and most of its residents lack access to basic services, including electricity and running water. Only about 20% of Kibera has electricity. Until recently Kibera had no water and it had to be collected from the Nairobi dam. The dam water is not clean and causes typhoid and cholera. In most of Kibera there are no toilet facilities. One latrine (hole in the ground) is shared by up to 50 shacks. Once full, young boys are employed to empty – they take the contents to the river.

The immensity of the slum is beyond description. The conditions are brutal. Many people born there will never know an existence beyond the vast tracts of mud walled housing that cover the neighborhood’s gently sloping hills, yet the residents that I had the pleasure of meeting were hopeful. They longed for an opportunity to forge a different life and to see conditions in the place they called home improved.

Some of the organizations working to empower the people of Kibera by providing water, sanitation, electricity, healthcare, and employment include UN Habitat (http://www.unhabitat.org), ONE (http://www.one.org/), AMREF (http://www.amref.org/), and The Big Issue - Kenya (http://www.thebigissuekenya.com/).

The pictures below were taken during a visit to Kibera in 2006.