covid19 in slum
COVID-19 reached Mathare-Valley
Throu the crise of COVID-19 we all learnd how important it is to access to toilettes and waterstations.
Imagine the idea of the corona Virus or Covid-19 attacking slum areas, Mathare, Kibera, Korokocho
and many other slums that we have in Nairobi Kenya. We leave in Mathare slum, located just along
juja road opposite to Moi Air base.
The slum by itself holds at least more than 700,000 people in it. All of whom 70% are jobless and the rest are neither working on cheap labour or are self-employed with
a minimum wage of less than 100 dollars. Having the thought of that,
the prople of mathare 80% are those who are hand to mouth survival
which really will be devastating once the lockdown has come. And hence
the lockdown came. Families are now stranded and there is literally no money or food to help them sustain their livelihoods or even make empty stomachs full. Children are now out of school and there is just a lot of
mouth to feed all together.The pandemic has and is still rissing, the
government has tried its best to combat it by lowering the tax values, this however does not influence much the common and normal mwananchi. Even when
the government is trying to decrease the social gatherings, the social distancing could never work in
the slum.
PROBLEM STATTEMENT
Social distancing being a great issue in the slum, and the government doing little bout helping with
provision of either masks or hand washing stations, some of Us youths who are still living in the slum
ouyght to make it our fight too. To helping our mothers and sissters, our fathers and brother in escaping this deadly pandemic and still live our normal lives. Poverty has not become another topic, it has become a great concern now. These people cant afford a hand sannitizer, or a mask for tha matter. If infacrt they can afford? Then they have to choose to either buy the mask or buy food to sustain his or her family.
IDEA
• Create Hand washing Stations
• Get Masks
• Food and water Supply Door to Door
• Wall Murals or Paintings for awareness across the slums
•
Create Short Films for AwarenessWe were initially doing Clean ups in
the slum as a very small Youth group and we later formed an
organisation called African Child Hope Foundation. Which we got a
patnership with a global organistion to help us make the clean up
consistent by provision of clean up materials and resources as well
as motivation fee for the people doing the garbage collection. This
helped improve the ideas and which we made the fight ours to battle
on Corona Virus.
EXECUTION
We had no money to start the implementation, we however shared the idea to other organisation in
the slum, which one of them was able to make our dreams come trtue, with as much help as from
their
own friends, we got a small funding to execute idea number 2- Free
Masks.This Idea broke the internet, and we got to be featured on
National media channels on news of
youths fighting covid 19 by
works of charity. Our second Idea was on Wall Murals, so far we have
done at least 2 Murals. The murals are to help crete awareness and
motivate the youths in the slum to also make murals like these and to
help activate this awareness more. Door to Door delivery was a
challenge as we did not yet get enough funding to help make it work
and impactful. We did short films however to help encourage the people
in the slums that the virus can be stoppable.
SUMMERY
We have so far reached at least 1500 men women and youths and we are hoping to double the
number through the help of wishers. To help tailor more masks get to more families for food
delivery to bring water to their homes and to help them wash their hands regularly. The campaign
will run as far as the fighting of the virus continues.
.