Mathare

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As Mathare are a number of slums in Nairobi , Kenya , called, in which an estimated half a million people live. The area is five kilometers northeast of the city center.

The largest slums in Nairobi
Map of Nairobi with districts
Aerial view of Mathare

description

The living conditions in the slum Mathare are extremely poor; in 2006 more than half of the residents were under 20 years old. In addition to the high infant mortality rate, the risk of mothers dying as a result of childbirth is very high. Although primary schools have been free of charge in Kenya since 2003, the rate of illiteracy among the residents of Mathare Valley is unusually high. The children usually have to contribute to the family's livelihood, for example by collecting and selling rubbish, or they are AIDS orphans and have to look after younger siblings.

The core slum is located in the Mathare Valley, a valley about 300 meters wide and two kilometers long. Around 180,000 people live in this area in tightly packed windowless huts. The huts (or rather crates) are made of corrugated iron or wood and measure an average of two by two meters, and usually around ten people live in them. There are no paved roads and no infrastructure in the slum. H. no water or power lines and no sewage. During the rainy season, the dwellings sink into dirt and mud. Often times, not only the dwellings are torn away by the floods, but also residents and especially children. The risk of disease outbreaks is high during this time.

At the very edge of the slum, the poorest of the poor live in dwellings made of cardboard boxes. The residents of Mathares lead a life under the most difficult of circumstances. This can also be read from the following statistical statements: The most common causes of death are AIDS and murder. There are almost no grown men. The main cause of the emergence of this slum and its high population density is rural exodus . In recent years, however, the causes can also be seen increasingly in the consequences of globalization .

The Mathare River, one of the many tributaries of the Nairobi River , runs through the valley in which Mathare is located . On the river, which always carries feces with it, there are primitive distilleries that sell a drink that is dangerous to health (Chang'aa). Chang'aa, also called "kumi kumi" (kumi = ten), is made from corn or millet and, in addition to potable ethanol, consists of up to 80% methanol . Consuming it can lead to blindness and death. The number of blindness caused by the consumption of the spirit made from methanol is very high.

crime

There is a high crime rate in Mathare Valley, the area is ruled by gangs (similar to the South American favelas ). These gangs not only regularly demand protection money from the flatmates, but also rent for the slum dwellings. Even for the use of the few existing toilets, a "fee" goes to criminal gangs. In November 2006 there was destruction in Mathare through gang fighting between the two forbidden groups, the Mungiki and the "Taliban" (not to be confused with the Islamist Taliban ). Illegal distillers called on the Taliban for help when the Mungiki wanted to raise the "tax" they were charging for Chang'aa. Hundreds of houses were burned down and at least ten people were killed in the fighting between the two rival groups. On June 5, 2007, members of the Mungiki gang murdered two police officers. That same night, 22 people were killed in a police operation and around 100 people were arrested.

In the Kenyan press the Mungiki (translated: "one people") were already called the " Cosa Nostra Kenya".

Social projects

Foreign aid projects and aid organizations have been involved in Mathare Valley for many years . In 1970 Angela Mai initiated a cooperatively organized company under the auspices of the NCCK (National Christian Council of Kenya), in which selected needy people, under the guidance of a development worker, learned manual skills for the production of high-quality teaching materials and educationally valuable toys in various working techniques ("Furaha Toys") ). The project was supported by donations and the sale of the manufactured products (mainly wooden toys). Churches of all denominations have also been trying for decades to alleviate the plight of women and their children in Mathare Valley with various aid projects. Continuous work is very difficult because of gang crime. Nevertheless, numerous evangelical groups are in competition there with their aid projects, which are often accompanied by missionary activities.

The “Maji Mazuri” (clean water) project was launched by Kenyan Wanjiku Kironyo in 1987 and has since made a significant contribution to improving living conditions. There are now several schools in which the children receive regular meals, an orphanage for disabled children and numerous education and training programs for young people. In addition, women can receive small loans to take the plunge into self-employment and find a way out of poverty. The youth group of “Maji Mazuri” opened an internet café in March 2007 on the outskirts of Mathare Valley, which is supposed to be self-supporting.

The organization German Doctors (formerly "Doctors for Developing Countries") has been operating an outpatient clinic in the heart of Mathare Valley since 1997, in which up to 400 patients are treated free of charge every day. It is estimated that two thirds of all adult residents are HIV positive. Therefore, the proportion of these patients is also very high in outpatient medical care. In addition, up to 600 patients and orphaned children are provided with a warm meal every day. They are supported by interpreters, laboratory assistants and nurses who themselves run a social center on site. The medical base is called "Baraka", a Swahili word that means "blessing".

The "PROSYR" project of the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) has existed since 2001 with various measures to improve the living conditions of children. GTZ is working here with the Kenyan government and with local initiatives whose competencies are to be strengthened. At the same time, efforts are made to network aid and community projects.

The Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) , founded in 1987 by Bob Munro in Mathare, received greater attention at home and abroad , a social project that tries to give young people a perspective through football and at the same time to encourage them to volunteer in their community. This includes clean-up work to improve the hygienic conditions in the slum. The Mathare-based professional team of the first Kenyan football league, Mathare United , emerged from MYSA .

In 2008 the University of Trier, FB VI in cooperation with MYSA, CARE International and the German Embassy Nairobi successfully carried out the project "The Role of Sports in Community Empowerment and Development". The aim of the project was to use the universal language sport as an instrument of development cooperation and to integrate especially young people from the slum population from Mathare. The project was realized through 7 fields of work (1. Sports and Peace - Post Election Violence, 2. Sports and the Vision of Governance by Youth, 3. Sports and its Role in Fighting Crime, 4. Sports and Health, 5. Sports and Environment , 6. Sports and School, 7. Sports and Girls Integration).

In 2004, the Kenyan artist Jacob Ezigbo, who himself comes from Mathare, started his social project Watoto Wa Kwetu (Swahili, in German 'children from the neighborhood'). In the creative courses, the slum children become aware of their uniqueness and their artistic abilities. The Austrian association SlumKinderKunst has been supporting this art project since September 2, 2009. The children also have the opportunity to present what they have learned in the art courses in drawing, writing, video films and dancing in Nairobi at exhibitions and at festivals.

A photo project ("Shootback: Photos by Kids from the Nairobi Slums ") and a video project ( Shoot Back! ) Were carried out in Mathare (see literature / web links). In both projects, residents of the slum were given photo and video cameras and asked to document their own lives. The “Mwelu Foundation”, founded by Julius Mwelu, who grew up in the Mathare Valley himself (see web links), emerged from the photo project.

See also

literature

  • Eike Uhlich: Letters from two worlds, [3] BoD, Norderstedt 2001 ISBN 978-3-8311-2213-4
  • Lana Wong: Shootback: Photos by Kids from the Nairobi Slums . Booth-Clibborn Editions 2002, ISBN 1-86154-132-5
  • Andrew Hake, Marc Howard Ross: "Local Problems and Policies: a Case Study": "Mathare Valley: a Case of the Transitional Urban Sector", International Social Work, Vol. 3, 49–62 (1969) PDF (subject to a fee)
  • The Role of Sports in Community Empowerment (University of Trier Library)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Akzente 4/2006, p. 39, via archive link ( Memento of the original from October 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Access: May 5, 2007) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www2.gtz.de
  2. ↑ Gettleman, Jeffrey: Chased by Gang Violence, Residents Flee Kenyan slum, New York Times November 1, 2006
  3. ^ "Police in Kenya Kill 22 in Gun Battles Over Sect," The New York Times, Associated Press release, June 7, 2007
  4. ↑ Mark Paterson: Meet the Mungiki, Kenya's Cosa Nostra, The First Post, July 9, 2007, archive link ( memento of the original from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Background information: Gray Phombeah: Profile: Kenya's secretive Mungiki sect, February 11, 2003, BBC News, [1] , Audio: [2] ( RAM ; 0 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.thefirstpost.co.uk
  5. ^ The German Doctors in Nairobi
  6. ↑ A life without dignity, in: akzente 4/06, p. 39
  7. ↑ GTZ project description
  8. ^ Johannes Michael Nebe et al .: The Role of Sports in Community Empowerment and Development. Johannes Michael Nebe, Nicolas Kraff, Matthias Philippi, Mathias Strauch, Manon Leners, 2008, accessed on October 27, 2018 (English).

Coordinates: 1 ° 16 ′  S , 36 ° 52 ′  E