Slums diary 11th February 2008

Mathare/IDP’S
Kenyans have for the past one month joined hands together to help their fellow displaced countrymen camping at different sites around the nation following the post polls chaos.
And as Kenyan’s continue to practice their generosity, the slums diary has established that a group called ‘Mama and Dada’ has been visiting a chief’s camp in Huruma where some displaced persons have being hosted, with their own selfish motives.
The group is said to have been making visits to the camp once in a while asking the donors at the site to give them some donations on behalf of the sick and the old who are unable to fight and push over for food.
Sources privy to the slums diary confirmed that the group comprising of three men and three ladies leaves with the donations in a 504 Peugeot to an unknown destination instead of giving it to the old within the camp as claimed initially.
Callystuss Mutuku

Soweto/ Education
Needy children in Soweto, Kamae and neighboring environs are going to receive exercise books in the course of this week.
The books are to be donated by Community Pope John the 23rd Organization through the Rainbow Project which deals with Educational matters.
The Volunteers of the organization have already visited all the City Council and some private primary schools within Nairobi’s Kahawa West area promising to deliver the books for distribution to all the pupils under their sponsorship.
An interview with Head teachers of some schools in Kahawa west, informed Nicholas Wamae, a Slums Diary reporter based in Soweto that the Free Primary Education Program has not yet dispatched its kitty to schools such as Mahiga, Kahawa, and Kiwanja primary.
The free primary education program caters for books among other requirements.
Nicholas Wamae

Embakasi/Peace and reconcilliation
The post Election situation in our country has elicited different reactions across the country.
A week ago at Christ the King Catholic Church in Embakasi, the youth group entertained the congregation with a play whose aim was to highlight the possible causes of electoral violence.
The performance moved the audience leading one of the members to organize a similar performance at the UN offices in Nairobi’s Gigiri area.
According to the youth group’s secretary, at Gigiri dignitaries who included the former UN secretary Koffi Anan were very impressed
The youth has decided to organize a system of plays to educate Kenyans on reconciliation process.
Lucy Kilonzo

Embakasi/Ash Wednesday
The faithful at Christ the King Catholic church on Wednesday evening last week attended the mass to mark the beginning of the forty days Lenten period in the Catholic Church’s calendar.
The mass was presided over by Fr. John Joe the parish priest called on the congregation to sacrifice always and to emulate Jesus Christ a role model who sacrificed Himself for the sake of humanity.
At the same time Fr. John Joe urged all to maintain peace and mostly pray for our country a successful reconciliation and healing.
Elizabeth Nduva

Dandora/Water shortage
It has not been business as usual as taps has gone dry in Dandora.
From Friday morning last week, most parts of the expansive Dandora area experienced an unprecedented acute water shortage.
Due to the water shortage, business people in the area who rely exclusively on water for operation, like hoteliers had to dig deep into their pockets to get the basic commodity.
Others like Mama Eunice Odweyo, who earns her living from washing clothes for other people at a fee, counted losses.
Speaking to the Slums Diary, Mama Eunice said that the condition of dry taps that engulfed the area has totally paralyzed her daily source of income.
Bernard Adera

Dandora/Education
Classes in some parts of Dandora still remain empty almost a month after the official opening date as students fail to report.
This year’s form one admissions appears to be suffering a major hitch.
Form one students are yet to report in most schools in Dandora and Kayole areas.
A spot-check by the slums diary in parts of Dandora and Kayole revealed that classes reserved for the new form one students remained totally empty, as other schools record dismal admission for the whole of last week.
School administrators linked the hitch to the political crisis that the country is experiencing.
A Dandora parent Mr. William Odhiambo on his part told the slums diary, that he is unable to admit his two children in form one, because they traveled upcountry and are unable to come back because of the hiked bus fare.
Bernard Adera.

Baba Dogo/Death
On Thursday last week a middle aged man by the name Duncan were fell of from the roof of a building and died instantly.
The deceased is said to have slipped from a roof top where he is reported to have been setting a Television aerial.
Neighbors say that they just heard a loud bang and there was screaming all over, as good Samaritans tried to rescue him.
The situation was already out of hand and blood was profusely coming from his nose and mouth.
He was positively identified and the family members notified immediately.
They later on called the police to the scene. His body was taken to a city mortuary.
Kevin Odhiambo

Korogocho/ lent and alms giving
Christians especially those living in the slums have been advised to give more to the poor during this Lent Period.
Speaking during Ash Wednesday celebrations last week at St John Catholic Church in Korogocho, The Priest-In-Charge Father Daniel Moschetti said that the church calls upon Christians in spite of their poverty levels to fast and give more to the poor the sick and the abandoned.
He announced that his parish will accept monetary and material offerings and give the same to the poor whom he observed have been terribly impoverished by the on going post election misunderstandings.
During the well-attended mass, about three hundred Christians who turned up prayed for the country observing that without truth and justice, the country risked plunging into anarchy.
Quoting widely from this year’s Lenten campaign theme, ‘With a New Heart and Spirit’, speaker after speaker agreed that this year’s Lenten Campaign has come at the right time when the country is thirsting for peace and reconciliation.
Father Daniel said that every Christian particularly those living in the slums must develop a new heart and spirit full of love and care for our neighbors irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds.
The themes of this year’s Lenten Campaign have been keenly developed to help Kenyans rebuild the oneness after the wanton destruction of property and loss of life following the just concluded general election. The booklet seeks to address issues of transparency and accountability, youth empowerment, climate change, gender and reconciliation.
Oluoch Ogola

Korogocho/Civic Education
Representatives of different parishes based in the slums of Nairobi recently met at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Kangemi under the umbrella of Kutoka (Exodus) Network of Slums to reflect on how the violence has affected slums and come up with realistic way forward.
Experiences from about twenty slums represented indicated that most of the looting took place because those perceived to be poor turned against those perceived to be reach.
Hatred evidently motivated the wanton destruction of property, each group of criminals targeting people of specific ethnic communities or economic class almost brought everything to a stand still.
As a result, speakers at the forum advised parishes to inculcate cultural studies as a cross cutting issue in their civic education programmes.
The meeting noted that most cultures across the Kenyan society encouraged respect and protection for women and children besides advocating for harmonious relationship among people of different ethnic communities.
One speaker observed that if all revisited their cultural practices, cases of turning against each other will be a thing of the past in Kenya.
Oluoch Ogola