Last Wednesday was a typical July day with one difference. The partial lifting of coronavirus travel restrictions meant that we could visit the children of Korogocho for the first time in months. Working closely with Korogocho Youth F.C. under the leadership of former Kenya National Team Football Manager Stanley Okumbi, we were able to deliver badly needed girls & boys underwear, clothes, essential sanitary pads and face-masks. In one of the largest slum neighbourhoods of Nairobi known locally as ‘Koch’, this was a good day.
Originally settled in the 1960’s on government owned land and roughly the size of Rio de Los Angeles State Park, Koch is today home to as many as 200,000 people. Everyday survival in this slum next door to one of Nairobi’s largest rubbish dumps was a daily struggle long before the coronavirus crisis. A lack of piped fresh water, no central sewer system and chronic overcrowding all meant that the local population already suffered from poor health. The lack of infrastructure has also led to drug & alcohol abuse not to mention sky-high crime and domestic violence.
According to a pre-coronavirus study over 58% of the local population have experienced stealing on a daily basis. On top of this the increase in instances of gender violence is much greater than the national figure of 13%. In DCI, we expect these rates to worsen as the continuing spread of Covid19 and lack of government support means that even sourcing enough food for the week has become a serious challenge. Against this very difficult backdrop, we visited Koch last week.
Our dedication to helping improve the lives of the thousands of children who call the area home will continue long after the pandemic is over. In the meantime, together with our local partners Destiny Shapers, we will continue delivering the necessary food, clothes and medical items that the local children depend on to survive and stay healthy. Above all, we will continue our mission to create a haven of hope in the Korogocho slum for this generation and the next.
To find out how you can help, please see the project page.