Focus on World AIDS Day

As most of you already know, today is World AIDS Day. Should December 1st be a somber occasion, marked by remembrance for the millions already lost and mindfulness of the challenges still ahead? Or should it be a day to commend and promote the progress made by extraordinary individuals and initiatives around the world? I agree with both approaches, and I hope I’ve reflected that in this week’s blog.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic was transformed by the development of PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child transmission) of HIV. However, more than half of the world’s pregnant HIV-positive women are still not receiving the treatment they need to ensure that their babies are born negative. UNICEF is stepping up its efforts to ensure an “AIDS-free generation” in Kenya by distributing packs of AIDS drugs to every HIV-positive pregnant woman. Read more about the struggle to provide PMTCT in the developing world here, and watch a video of the launch of a PMTCT program in Kisumu, Kenya here:



How do you tell a child that he or she is HIV-positive? And what are the consequences of not telling them, or disclosing their status in an insensitive way? Human Rights Watch has conducted research in Kenya about the importance of disclosing age-appropriate information to children about their HIV status. Their observations and recommendations can be found here.

A few days ago, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for the arrest of homosexuals, raising alarm among many, including HIV/AIDS activists. Will Raila’s remarks drive the Kenyan gay community even further underground, and thus jeopardize crucial efforts to prevent HIV transmission among homosexuals? Read more here.

Since 1989, Professor Elizabeth Ngugi has conducted outreach to young female sex workers in the slums of Nairobi. Thanks to her efforts, more than six hundred sex workers have received the assistance and training needed to launch new careers and lead healthier lives. Watch a profile of Professor Ngugi, in an installment of IRIN’s “Heroes of HIV” series.

HIV-positive youth in the Mathare slum of Nairobi have written and produced their own newsletter, which aims to “inform, share their life experiences, create awareness, and help reduce stigma related to HIV/AIDS.” Read “Eneza Ujumbe: The Voices of Mathare Youth” here.

Urban Sprawl, M-Pesa, A Life-Saving Vaccine, and More!

I apologize for the delay in this latest blog. So much is always happening in Kenya and beyond, so here’s a list of interesting links.

Earlier this week UN-Habitat released its report "State of African Cities 2010," and once again sounded the alarm regarding the rapid growth of the continent’s urban areas. In particular, the population of Nairobi is projected to grow nearly 50 percent over the coming decade. Will the newly urbanized Africa be comprised of "oceans of poverty [and] islands of wealth," as the UN warns?

"Hidden Cities – Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities in Urban Settings," another newly released report by UN-Habitat and WHO, outlines the "feminization" of poverty in cities and urban areas. For example, women living in cities are nearly twice as likely to contract HIV than rural women are, and women in densely populated areas have a 1.5 times higher rate of HIV than men. Read the report here, and take their mini-quiz about Urbanization and Health—I know that I learned a lot!

While I’ve previously paid tribute to Kenyan matatus, there is no doubt that they are often poorly driven and maintained. Road accidents in Africa and the developing world as a whole are at unacceptably high levels, but inconsistent efforts and lack of prioritization by national governments have hampered efforts to reduce the death toll. A BBC reporter visited some of the most dangerous roads in Kenya to learn more in this radio documentary.

Also earlier this week, the world was stunned by Pope Benedict’s statement that the use of condoms is acceptable in certain circumstances. Africa is home to more than 150 million Catholics, and is also the center of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Read more about reactions on the continent to the Pope’s momentous declaration here.

In a previous blog, I linked to a photo gallery of daily life in Dadaab, northern Kenya, in the world’s largest refugee camp. While the refugee camp has become a familiar concept to many Westerners, more than half of the world’s refugees currently live in urban areas, such as Nairobi. This blog post by the Women’s Refugee Commission spotlights the ingenuity needed by female refugees in the Nairobi slums to make ends meet, in the face of possible exploitation, abuse, and arrest.

Since 2007, Kenya has been a global leader in mobile phone-based banking. Why is “M-Pesa” such a resounding success in Kenya, and why is the so-called developed world so slow to catch on? Read more and watch a short video here:



A vaccine for meningitis, which kills thousands every year in Africa, will be offered in several countries, including Kenya, starting on Dec. 6. Learn more about why people are lining up for this life-saving jab here.

Welcome to Lagos

This documentary by the BBC looks at slum life in Lagos, Nigera. The documentary "celebrates the resilience, resourcefulness and energy of Lagos's 16 million inhabitants, and shows how successfully many of its slum dwellers are adapting to the realities of the world's increasingly extreme urban future." It's a nice departure from the bleak picture painted by most documentaries about life in slums.

Parts 1 and 2 below (there are 6 parts total):

Sponsorship Program Parents Meeting

Two weekends ago, Moi, our Sponsorship Coordinator, organized a meeting with all of the parents and children in the program. The theme of the meeting was the role of parents in their child's lives, as Moi felt that many parents in the program were not fulfilling their parental responsibilities. The meeting also provided a forum for the parents to raise any issues or concerns about the program.

Lunch was provided and there were a series of speakers including Becky, our Girls Counselor, a teacher from Ayany Primary School, which some of our students attend, and Moi. Each of the speakers stressed the importance of being actively involved in the lives of their children every day. This can be a challenge for parents who are struggling with their health, working long hours, and dealing with economic hardship. Becky discussed the effects on the psychological and emotional well-being of children when parents are too busy to spend time with them. The teacher spoke about the need for parents to attend school and meet with teachers so that they are aware of how they can supplement their child's education at home. Moi spoke about his job as Sponsorship Coordinator and how much time he spends catering to the needs of the children but that ultimately, he is not the parent of every child in the program and they all need to play their part as well.

The parents were all really receptive to the speakers and had a lot to contribute about what they hoped to achieve as parents and as participants in the program. Many of them expressed gratitude to the program for the support. One of the mothers who received a business loan spoke about the progress that her business has made and how she is moving toward being able to provide for her children without outside help. One of the fathers, who works long hours and is often not home, agreed that he felt it was not fair for the parents to accept help from the program and not hold up their end of their responsibility to their children.

The parents and speakers were all really pleased with the outcome of the meeting and we hope to have them on a regular basis from now on.

Counselors October Report

Click here to read the Uweza counselors report about their work during October.

Suffering Blamelessly: Focus on Climate Change in Africa

There is a lot of press about climate change, but perhaps not enough focusing on its most awful irony: people who have the smallest “carbon footprint” and thus have done the least to cause global warming—poor Africans—will likely be the most affected. The impact of climate change is already being felt in Africa, from ever-worsening public health to increasing armed conflicts between groups fighting over scarce resources. In this blog, I’ve put together some links about how climate change is worsening the already dire situation of Africa’s poorest, including many in rural and urban Kenya.

A good overview of climate change in the developing world can be found at the UN Habitat website. As UN Habitat reminds us, millions of urban poor in the developing world “live in potential death traps: huge, densely populated slums located on fault lines or in flood-prone areas.” Climate change renders these people even more vulnerable to disaster. And as climate change makes rural life more and more untenable, those slums are likely to swell even further with migrants from the countryside.

The rise in the world’s temperatures is also driving an increase in the spread of malaria, both in the slums (including Kibera) and in rural areas where mosquitoes were previously not a problem. The highlands around Mount Kenya are traditionally known for their cool temperatures and correspondingly low rates of malaria. But with global warming on the rise, malaria has become a major public health issue there. Watch this video to learn more.

The Mau Forest is Kenya’s most important water catchment area. Its degradation by irregular settlements, logging and charcoal burning, and increased agriculture is likely to cause an unprecedented water crisis and render the environment unable to absorb climate change. The exploitation of the Mau Forest has become a hot-button political issue in Kenya, with controversial evictions of “illegal” settlers. Read more about the importance and complexities of the Mau Forest here.

The north of Kenya is populated by semi-nomadic tribes who depend on Lake Turkana for survival. As a result of climate change, the lake has receded and droughts have become more regular. This scarcity of resources has pitted tribe against tribe in armed conflicts along the Kenya/Ethiopia border. Watch this video to learn about how climate change is driving war and displacement in northern Kenya.

And what is being done to help the poor “adapt” to the reality of a world 4 degrees warmer? The richest countries’ lack of commitment to helping the most vulnerable is a sadly familiar story, as described here. Civil society groups, such as the NGO Practical Action, are hoping to stimulate engagement in the developed world and promote inclusion of vulnerable groups in strategy formation for climate change adaptation. Read their briefing paper here.

Five New Girls Added to the Uweza Sponsorship Program

Vivian (pictured here) and four other girls from Kibera have been accepted into our Sponsorship Program and are in need of sponsors to support their education and health care for their families. Sponsorships require a payment of $75 for start-up costs including two sets of uniforms, school supplies, and school enrollment fees. After this initial fee, sponsorships are $20/month.

Visit our website: http://uweza.org/sponsorship/ to learn more about the girls and about our Sponsorship Program.

Kenya and Kibera Current Issues Series--All Video Special!

There is no shortage of videos online about life in Nairobi and Kibera, but many of them have a simplistic, fatalistic tone. As I’ve written before, I hate this reductive take on Africa; I support Uweza because it recognizes and promotes ability and opportunity. This week, I’ve collected informational (and fun) videos about projects in Nairobi which build the local economy, media, and artistic scene.

Voice of Kibera is an online interactive forum which encourages sharing of information. Residents send in text messages with information about happenings in their neighborhood, and the Voice of Kibera web team adds the new information to a handy online map.

Beyond the dissemination of information, Voice of Kibera hopes that it will be a tool and vehicle for greater respect and understanding among the tribes and groups in Kibera. You can watch an interview with a staff member below and learn more here.



Few visitors to Kenya leave without being impressed by the ubiquitous matatus (minibuses). Crowded, noisy, driven at hair-raising speeds—matatus aren’t just a mode of transport, they’re a veritable cultural experience! And with their vibrant colors and topical themes, they’re also a local form of artistic expression. The New York Times recently posted a brief article with two videos about matatus. See one of the videos below and read the full article here.


Other Kenyans are employing a different mode of creative expression—performance art—to enrich themselves both artistically and financially. The Sarakasi Trust trains at-risk youths from the Nairoibi slums in dance and acrobatics, helping to instill greater self-worth and providing a tangible skill to improve their livelihoods. Hear the dancers’ stories and watch their awe-inspiring moves here.

And more innovative artists: Jewelry makers in Kibera are benefitting their wallets—and the local environment—by using bones discarded by local butchers in their designs. Learn more in this news clip.

Lastly, these adorable and talented children are concerned about sustainable use of the massive amounts of garbage in the slums—so concerned that they’ve written and performed a rap song to tell us that “Trash is cash!” Watch their music video here.

New Under 8 Soccer Team

A few weeks ago, we started an Under 8 soccer team from a few of our most soccer players. These boys have been playing with the Uweza team, showing up to every practice and match since 2007 when our program was just one coach, a few balls, and a few cones. They have been playing on the Under 10 team but because they were so young, they didn't have the chance to really play and participate.

We noticed their dedication and decided to create a new team especially for them, with their own coach and gear. More boys started coming and the Under 8 team is now up to 10-15 players. Hopefully, we can recruit as many as 30 players and we can start enrolling them in tournaments, giving them soccer shoes and shorts, and getting them a lot more playing time and attention.

They have been having so much fun at practice and have smiles on their faces the entire time.






More photos of the team have been posted on the website: http://uweza.org/framephoto.html.

More Technology, African Human Rights Day, and A Music Video

Hello to all Uweza supporters—I hope you have enjoyed my blogs so far! I have so much fun researching and writing them.

To continue on last week’s technology theme: I can’t believe that I forgot to include the endlessly interesting website AfriGadget, which spotlights technological innovation throughout Africa. AfriGadget recently profiled Gabriel Nderitu, who is building an airplane from scratch in the backyard of his Nairobi home. Learn more about “solving everyday problems with African ingenuity” here.

A blog in the New York Times highlights the vital role of motorcycles in delivering health care services in Africa, where poor or non-existent roads make the piki piki the most viable mode of transport to rural villages. If maintained properly, the motorcycle can be a powerful vehicle (both literally and figuratively!) in the provision of health care. As the article asks, “Where else can you find a low-tech investment in health care that increases patient coverage by nearly 600 percent?” Read more here.

At Dandora dumpsite in Nairobi, 2,000 tons of trash are dumped every day, and Josephat, a child from a nearby slum, rifles through the garbage to find materials like plastic and metal to sell. Watch this video of Josephat to learn about his daily life at the dumpsite and hear his dreams for the future.

October 21st (yesterday) was African Human Rights Day, which reminds me that Kenya is home to Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee settlement. The humanitarian crisis in Dadaab continues to escalate, with more refugees flooding in every day. Check out this photo slideshow on life in Dadaab.

On the lighter side: have you ever encountered people who think that Africa is a country? That it is home to one culture, one people, one language, etc.? If so, show them this very cool map, which conveys the massive size and diversity of the African continent.

And to end on a happy note: this catchy song and music video (by Marlaw, a Tanzanian singer) addresses a very Kenyan problem: traffic jams! The video is filmed partly in Nairobi and features the matatus, taxis, and cars that fill up the city streets all day, every day. Enjoy the song here: