Site Visits

1. LOCATION: Dagoretti Constituency

HOST: KARIKA - The Kenyan Aged Require Information, Knowledge and Advancement

Background:

Dagorreti Constituency is one of the electoralconstituencies of NairobiProvince in Kenya. It is in the western suburbs of Nairobi. . The constituency has an area of 39 km². It has a total population of about 250,000 people and about 5 informal settlements.

The main issues in these settlements are;

  • Security of tenure.
  • Lack of adequate housing
  • Poverty and youth unemployment
  • Lack of access to adequate health facilities and HIV/ AIDS
  • Inadequate provision of water and sanitation services.
  • Environmental degradation
  • Inadequate educational facilities especially for the vulnerable

Host Organization

TheKenyan Aged Require Information, Knowledge and Advancement (KARIKA) is an organization for the aged and those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. It was established in 2002 and registered in 2003.It addresses issues relating to the right to health especially for the poor and vulnerable with a focus on those affected by HIV for whom there is a home based care service. Karikaalso serves the aged and provideseducation and care to orphanswho are being looked after by these aged people and provides food as well. It engages in awarenessraising and information dissemination. Its membership consists exclusively of the residents of the area who are affected by these problems.

2. LOCATION: Westlands Constituency

HOST: Kibagare Haki Zetu

BACKGROUND:

Westlands is one of the eight constituencies of NairobiProvince. It is on the western and northwestern side of Nairobi. The constituency has an area of 98 km². It has a population of about 140,000. Westlands is one of the most affluent areas of Nairobi with very few informal(peoples’) settlements

The main economic and social rights issues in these settlements/ slumsinclude;

  • Lack of security of tenure.
  • Constant evictions.
  • Lack of adequate water and sanitation services for those in informal settlements
  • Lack of adeqaute health, sanitation and educational facilities for those in informal settlements.
  • Environmental neglect

Host Organization

Kibagare Haki Zetu was started in the year 2006. The word Haki is a Swahili word meaning rights. Its main objective is to help the residents of the Kibagare informal settlements to unite to resist forced evictions as well as to engage in daily savings to uplift their livelihood.. The group has 310 registered members. It has managed to mobilize the community (which is surrounded on the four sides by some of the most expensive residential housing) to resist all attempts to evict them. Currently the residents are undertaking targeted developments as a way of asserting their ownership of the area and are fighting to have the land officially allocated to them. Kibagare Haki Zetu has adopted a human rights based approach in their advocacy work in addition to provision of basic services such aswater and sanitation facilities to its members.

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