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Local NGO combats insufficient sanitation in Kibera

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Kibera, the largest informal settlement in East Africa, rests five kilometres from Nairobi’s city centre and houses more than a quarter of the capital’s population. Defined by its uncertain land tenure, inferior infrastructure and low incomes, it is no secret that this densely populated area suffers from dangerously low levels of sanitation services. According to an Impact Assessment Report conducted by Jean Africa Consultants (JAC), there is one pit latrine for every 50 to 500 community members living in Kibera. Often times, the location of a pit latrine makes it inaccessible for waste collection and after it overflows with excrement, it is abandoned. This results in the increased use of “flying toilets,” a plastic bag used for defecation that is tossed as far away as possible. In Kibera’s Silanga Village, a survey conducted for the previous assessment report found that more than 50% of respondents admitted to throwing their waste using the “flying toilet” approach. The lack of
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Bio-gas lighting at Kayaba Ushirika wa Usafi na Maendeleo (Kuum B); Mukuru Settlement

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  KUUM B Biocentre   Household air pollution is high due to burning of traditional fuels (kerosene and  charcoal) for cooking and lighting having adverse health impacts.  Use of these fuels produces high levels of smoke around the home with health-damaging pollutants.  These pollutants can lead to a wide range of child and adult diseases like  acute and chronic respiratory conditions (e.g. pneumonia), lung cancer, stroke and cataract. Residents in the informal settlement are the ones mostly affected by these conditions. Umande Trust through funding from Wimma Liikuttaa has been able  to maximize on the bio gas utilization from the KUUM B bio centre by installing 4, one burner stoves and biogas lamps in the four rental rooms. The biogas burner ensures the tenants have their privacy as they cook their meals and importantly improve the health of women and children.  The residents have been able to save on the cost of buying paraffin and paying electricity bills. The
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Voices of the Caretakers: Joseph

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Upon entering the Starra Bio Centre, one would assume that this centre is just the same as all of the others neighboring it in Kibera. But once you walk past the circular centre itself, you are greeted by a large tent filled with plants, a greenhouse. This is where Joseph has worked for the past two years, and like his coworkers at other centres, Joseph spends most of his day cleaning and collecting pay. But he also has an extra job, tending to the greenhouse, planting, sowing, and harvesting the tomatoes and green peppers they sell there. Joseph enjoys earnings  living this way and says that it is a much fairer job than his previous one as a servant. He also says there are many challenges to his job. He often has to deal with abusive customers who refuse to pay after using the bio centre. Joseph says that he does not want to fight these thugs and often has to let them go without paying. Another challenge Joseph faces is the water scarcity in the area, and finds it frustrating that wat
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