19
The standard of living in Kibera is incredibly hard, as mentioned by the residents (pg 21). There are reams and reams of statistics and quantitative data on population growth and other more particular subjects. However, looking in detail at the way an average resident lives, gives qualitative detail which the quantitative data doesn’t. Sanitation: There are various reports of how many people share a toilet, some have suggested up to 1000 per toilet, while others say 10. Often slum dwellers create small-communal toilets which they share; they are sometimes available to many others on a pay-as-you-go system, usually paying about $0.01-$0.03 per time. They are locked up securely after each use to prevent others using the facility. The toilet is a whole in the floor leading to a cesspit below. Every time a cesspit gets filled, a new toilet has to be built, and the previous one is emptied (usually by young boys who take the defecation to the river). Some permanent toilets have been built for communal use in Kibera (funded by NGO’s), however, these toilets do charge $0.03 per time. Architecture of slums Slum dwellings range in size. And often filled to maxicapacity to generincome. Some are ger and advertise themselves as tels’,
vastly are mum ate big‘ho-
while others are tiny, as small as 7’x7’, which are used by a family to cook, eat and sleep. If one looks down on Kibera from above, it looks like a patchwork-quilt of iron and cardboard. Most of the dwellings consist of sloping, corrugated iron roofs to drain any rain water, mud-brick and mudplaster walls which is re-enforced by wattle (very wonky, thin sticks) as studs and supporting beams at the corners of the building. Quite often there are bits of open wall that has been damaged, or by the material coming loose, this is hastily corrected with polythene bags or any other covering material available. For washing-lines, the slum dwellers attach any kind of cord over roads or paths to other dwellings or to a stump. The informal dwellings are generally in compounds with 10 or more oneroom dwellings in each, these compounds have rudimentary fences erected marking a boundary. In Kibera and many other slums, there is a big problem with privacy. As the majority of the dwellings comprise of one room, whole families are forced to share with one another. This means that 5 or more children can be sharing with their parents, and even single, young men can be sharing a bed with each other because of the cramped conditions. Most of the dwellings have a single bed, which two people usually occupy. Lots of slum-dwellers split the interior space in half with a cloth sheet, to divide the sleeping and the cooking area: The same room is used for both depending on the financial status of the family. Slum-dwellers re-define the application of multi-functional space, they adapt and overcome to what they need in order to live. 18
20
e , we us , s i o d e y what w t and unluck o s , s t ve toile e out at nigh ody’s human a h t ’ n r o ...We d ight. If you a that’s someb s, that’s g n i s p s n la d are col them out at our head, an erty and stre s e s u o “Our h gs and throw landing on y allenges, pov (BBC, 2005) llers livch ba ra ng m-dwe u paper feel somethi e. It’s full of dent in Kibe l s m si er ll t fro you wi ife is tough h Aloo John, re ment protes ibaki L n K .” r . e i e r e a v t e s w o h a w out They nt M nti-g . b e a e a d f i p l o l s o t a e h r o s nt of P n’t have any BC, what i ems to be a l e m n r e se e do gov d.” (B w e e , h n t e w . There . . o p s . n ibera .right bout u ing hap ing in K one cares a oor people.. re, but noth “No ut p ings befo o b a e h ot car lot of t a s does n u omised r p d a h the ) 5 0 community 20 raise money for birthday parties and social events. On the other hand, it is also explained that in another village within Kibera, neighbours are too busy to see each other, and do not have the same relationship that other compounds share with one another.
For example, a very poor family can be using the same room for cooking and sleeping 8 people in a
12’x12’ or smaller
space. At night the slum will transform into a sleeping space as the furniture is moved aside. The wealthier the family, the more likely these conditions will be improved. (Bodewes, 2005) Structurally, the buildings are built with little or no knowledge of construction thus creating weak structures. Furthermore, the ground on which the dwellings are built usually comprises of rubbish and refuse, as a result, when the slum floods many of these buildings collapse and sometimes damage surrounding buildings. Community Many people living in the slums value relationships immensely, they often make expensive trips seeing relatives living in the country. To that end, a community spirit is a un-tangible asset that Kibera has. In the compounds, this is very strong, even with neighbours with traditionally corrosive ethnic backgrounds. In Parish Transformation in Urban Slums (2005), it is explained that
Relocating Kibera In September 2009, the Kenyan government who technically own the land in Kibera announced that all 1 million people in the slum would be relocated over a 5 year plan (BBC, 2009), which in all likelihood will take much longer than that. Apartment blocks have been built to re-house the evicted slum-dwellers who will now have to pay $10 per month. Doing this will benefit the government by releasing sellable land onto the property market to bring in income, however, it will destroy strong community bonds that have been building up for generations. Due to this fact, 80 members of Kibera have contested the planned demolition: Ibrahim Diaby, a Nubian elder, says improvements should be made to the existing housing in the slum instead. “It’s a question of natural
We’ve lived in Kibera long before Nairobi was Nairobi, long before Kenya was Kenya.” (BBC, 2009).
justice.
Unfortunately, this
21