Kibera Slum in Nairobi
“With over one billion poor people living without adequate shelter and basic services in slums and squatter settlements, the challenge of the urban millennium is to improve the living environment of the poor … we must all dedicate ourselves to the task of ensuring that, one day, we will live in a world of cities without slums,” – Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UNCHS (United Nations Center for Human Settlements – Habitat).
It is estimated that more than 1 billion people around the world live in slums. By 2030, the world’s slum populations could rise to 2 billion if no action is taken. The markets in their slums sell sour milk, tainted chicken, and spoiled meat. Most have never tasted fresh water and many suffer from starvation and the ravages of diseases, such as AIDS and malaria. According to Dr. Tibaijuka of UNCHS, slum-dwellers not only live in misery, but their plight often goes unnoticed as the traditional focus tends to be on the rural poor living in developing countries.
Beirut Slum
The definition of a slum or sqautter settlement varies greatly from country to country, however they all have several things in common. Slums are considered to be a residential area in an urban geographic area that is inhabited by the extremely poor who have no tenured land of their own. These people end up squatting on vacant land, which is either private or public land.
Mumbia Slums - Aerial View
For the poor, urban areas have always provided a means of improving quality of life, as well as being in close proximity to better jobs and incomes. Deteriorating conditions for those who live a rural lifestyle and the promise of a better life have prompted millions of rural inhabitants to migrate to cities.
Kibera Slum, Africa
However, one of the first problems that must be faced is the question of adequate housing. With little money, education, and few marketable skills, the only option available to many urban migrants is to illegally build shelter on a vacant piece of land. This problem is compounded by the uncaring attitudes of various government agencies, who view the development of squatter settlements as something that needs to be eradicated.
Tbilisi Slum near Kipshedse Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
Because of their illegal status, public services within these areas are less than adequate or don’t exist at all. A water supply, electricity, sanitation, roads and drainage; schools, health centers and market places can all be absent in these communities or operate at a minimum level.
Slums of Mumbai, India
Often, water supply to individual households is unavailable. In some cases, public water pipes may be provided, but often these pipes become laden with excrement and refuse.This fetid water is what people use to drink and bathe in.
Similar arrangements may be made for electricity, drainage, and toilet facilities. There is very little dependence on public authorities. As a result, these areas become a breeding ground for germs and disease. Inhabitants live in squalor. Kibera Slum in Nairobi, Africa, is one example of a slum that operates without any kind of public garbage disposal. Inhabitants literally live on top of their trash.
A “squatter” (in The Concise Oxford Dictionary) is a person who settles public land without title; a person who takes unauthorized possession of unoccupied premises.
Therefore, a residential area occupied by squatters becomes a squatter settlement. But the narrow generalization, especially of settlement type is evident: everything from a brick-and-concrete multistoried house to a “occupied” cardboard carton become “squatter settlements”.
Encyclopedia Britannica defines a slum as “…residential areas that are physically and socially deteriorated and in which satisfactory family life is impossible. Bad housing is a major index of slum conditions. By bad housing is meant dwellings that have inadequate light, air,toilet, and bathing facilities; that are in bad repair and improperly heated; that do not afford opportunity for family privacy; that are subject to fire hazard and that overcrowd the land, leaving no space for recreational use…..”
A few words on some of the world’s biggest slums:
Dhobi Ghat Slum in Mumbai
DHARAVI SLUM IN MUMBAI, INDIA
Dharavi is a slum that spreads out over parts of the Sion, Bandra, Kurla, and Kalina suburbs of Mumbai, India. Situated in the heart of the world’s third largest city, it occupies an area of 500 acres and has a population of between 600,000 and 1 million people. It continues to grow each day. Dharavi exports goods around the world, and the total turnover of these exported goods is estimated to be more than $650 million US dollars each year.
The re-development of asia’s largest slum has stalled due to the global economic financial crisis.
ORANGI TOWN, PAKISTAN
Asia’s largest slum is located in the northwestern part of Karachi (Pakistan). Its inhabitants are from a number of different ethnic groups. The population of Orangi Town was estimated to be more than 720,000 at the 1998 census.
Man cooking in Kibera Slum, Africa.
Man cooking in Kibera Slum, Africa.
KIBERA SLUM, NAIROBI, AFRICA
Kibera can’t be found on a map, yet at least 550,000 Nairobians – one out of every five – call this area home. Kibera is home to 60 percent of Nairobi’s populations. Kibera does not receive public services, including public waste collection. In some parts, shelter has literally been built on trash. The waste includes excrement, which fills the muddy streets and contaminates the water. The health hazards arising from the garbage are evident as soon as you enter the slum. Infectious diseases are on the rise and malaria is a huge concern at the moment. No one is sure exactly how many people live in Kibera. It is estimated that there are 750,000 people in one square mile. It is one of the most crowded places on earth.
Slums of Rio de Janeiro
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
A shanty town in Brazil is called a fevela. These crowded shanty towns differ slightly from slums in terms of origin and location. Slums are created from rural migrants coming into the city. Shanty towns occur when large groups of people become displaced.
Many favelas have electricity these days, but these areas are virtually inaccessible to vehicles. They consist of irregularly self-constructed housing that are illegally occupied and often built one on top of another. They consist of an ad hoc network of stairways, sidewalks, and simple tracks which allow passage through them. Many of them are built haphazardly on hills that overlook the city’s prosperous neighborhoods. The gap between poverty and wealth has never been so well-illustrated.
There were approximately 300 favelas in Rio de Janeiro in 1969. That number has doubled since then. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are home to some of the biggest favelas in Brazil.
The 2008 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire has brought the day-to-day misery of slum-living to our doors, but is the world ready to do something about it? This remains to be seen. One thing is for certain, something must be done.
Slum Living
How you can help:
Contact UNHABITAT – For a Better Urban Future to find out how you can help to stem this growing crisis.
Habitat for Humanity’s has a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. You can help Habitat realize that vision on a Global Village trip. Global Village seeks and mobilizes volunteers for a life-transforming experience, both for the volunteers and for the families whose homes they help build. Global Village provides a platform for volunteers to travel across international borders and work in communities outside their homelands.
Global Village Destinations in the Asia-Pacific region. Come and build in … Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and many other locations in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
These photos are courtesy of the photographers on Flickr who have released their images through a Creative-Commons lisence.
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Thanks for sharing this, Carrie.
Made me think of an article read some time ago. The author wrote that many of the people living in the favelas in Rio had never even been to the beach. Have you seen City of God by the way? A great movie that tells the story of two boys growing up in the slums of Rio in the 60's.
Hi Erica,
Now that\\'s interesting and also a little sad. I spent a month in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uraguay when I graduated from high school. I never made it to Brazil, but that just means I\\'ll get to go back one day. I\\'ll definitely check out your movie recommendation. Sounds great!
Brilliant piece! It's shattering to see so many people suffering in these slums. The slum areas near Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania are also in shockingly bad conditions. Your article is like a waking call. I hope more of us will do our part to stem this crisis.
Thanks Nellie. What\\'s even sadder about all this is that some of these slums were starting to receive redevelopment aid. Now all that has ground to a halt because of the world economy. I read about people all around the world every day talking about how the economy is affecting them in their day-to-day life, and while I don\\'t doubt that their lives are tough, I can\\'t help comparing it to what slum-swellers are going through in these times. Is it possible for their quality of life to get even worse? That\\'s the question that scares me.
I think we all have a responsibility to help our fellow humans, and the people living in poverty need to share in this responsibility. In Africa, one of the biggest challenges that aid workers had was to educate people on birth control. The other issue, is that some of the charity's that are so eager to accept your money, oddly enough don't get to the people that need it most.
I know many here in China, refuse to give money to the beggars due to the fact that are part of a mafia ring.
Perhaps one day, things will change, and in the meantime I can only hope our small donations help in some way.
Hi Tina,
Thanks for stopping by. I agree with what you\\'re saying. I lived in China for three years and was one of those people who refused to give money. That has never stopped me from buying food for people who look hungry. John and I won\\'t give our money away, but we donate to charities and we have fed at least one person in every country we\\'ve visited. I don\\'t think there\\'s any point in visiting a country if you are just passing through and turning a blind eye to those in need. It only takes a small donation to make one person smile at least for a day.
I agree. What I have learned over the many years of travelling, is that I rarely give money and either give the poor a meal, or donate clothing. We will usually take extra clothing when we travel and donate to the local people. We can only hope that we make at least small difference in their lives.
Hi Tina. Thanks for coming back and commenting. I just checked out your blog and see that you are in Xiamen. I am looking forward to reading more of your adventures. John and I always save up our toothbrushes that we collect from hotels and hand them out. It sounds stupid, but no one has ever said no!
Toothbrushes? That's a perfect idea – free to us and a great gift to them. We given pens, ballcaps, and other nonsense items. We've been hoarding toothbrushes for ourselves, mainly because nobody else has the mini toothpaste that we can easily travel with.
Is it always hard to see such poverty and to see people trying to extract cash by playing on your sympathy. We just always feel that they don't get to keep any money, but that it gets passed upward to people that just add to the problem of keeping them uneducated and down in the slums. It'd be great if there was a simple solution that would work to help to educate while not having people skim money and take advantage….
We like your toothbrushes idea – we should all start taking all of the free items in hotels to distribute to charities everywhere.
Good article Carrie. I've seen the Dharavi slum in Mumbai from a bus window – it's a sobering sight indeed.
Very interesting article. I have not many slums on my own eyes but a few years ago i visited Cape Town and a slum nearby this city was almost the same as those you are describing..
I\\'m glad you like it. I wasn\\'t able to find any information on slums near Cape Town. Thanks for letting me know about them.
Craig,
I haven\\'t been to the Dharavi slum in Mumbai, but I expect it would just break my heart. I had a hard time walking through the streets of Phnom Penh and keeping my head up. Old bleeding heart here.
Yeah Phnom Penh is tough. I was involved with a few charity mass feedings for beggars in India that a friend of mine organised. It's sad but rewarding at the same time.
Craig,
Have you done a post on Phnom Penh? Did I miss it somewhere?
No, I haven't done anything on PP. I only spent a few days there and wasn't too happy with what I shot. Plus, I was there pre-digital so I shot a lot less than what I'd do if I were there now.
I admit, there are plenty of places I\\'d love to return to and re-shoot, but the problem is that whenever I go back, it\\'s never the same.
Hi Carrie you can search for photos or stories on names like Gugulethu, Crossroads Squatter Camp, and Nyanga. I did a quick search, I am rather busy this morning, but you will find some stories and images. I spent some time in Crossroads in the 80's, I might go and take some photos there when I go to SA for a visit in August.
Hi Tobie,
There are so many slums, shanty towns, and squatter settlements throughout the world, it was hard to pick just a few to write about. I\\'ll be sure to check out the places that you mentioned. Where can I see you Crossroads photos?
Its shocking to see the inhumane condition in world’s third largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Hope humanity will prevail there soon.
Thank you for your post. I’ve also seen various slums around the world, and it is truly sad to see. Yet, I’m always fascinated by how content the people living there seem. I suppose their lack of materialism and strong sense of family help to keep them grounded.
I am going to check out the Unhabitat website, and see what I can contribute to their cause.
Thanks much!
Hi Jenn,
Thank you. I’m glad you found it informative. You’ll have to let me know what you think of the Unhabitat site. I think it’s brilliant.
Hello Carrie!
I´m a Brazilian lawyer and I´m working with environmental and urban law in the city of Curitiba-PR (south of Brazil). Liked your work, just out of curiosity, we call our slums FAVELAS because they started to get general attention in the city of Rio de Janeiro, spreading over hills too inclined for “legal” constructions. In these hills there was a typical plant called “favela”, that´s the reason for the name.
I saw another post saying that many people from RIo´s favelas have never seen the ocean. That sounds a bit absurd considering most of Rio´s favelas have a gorgeous view to the ocean and are (at the most) a hour and half walk from the beach. But the movie “city of god” is a really good insight on Rio´s favelas, and so is “Tropa de Elite”.
Take care!
Hi Guilherme,
Thank you very much for stopping by to comment on this post. I’ve just started looking into the favelas in Brazil. I would like to learn more about them. Is there a group that you could put me in touch with?
Nice article. This in human way of life in terms of living in poverty, is the subject in which most would sadly ignore, however a very very bad nightmare for those who could never imagine this suffering in overdrive. My name is Loyal Moon I am from and reside in the U.S.A. I have always been struck down by the knowing of terror happening to people all over the world. I will never experience the biological family for I have never known them, sorry to say. I believe someday I will rise and let the world know me for my staggering talents in, Leadership, Music, Astronomy, Writing Books, True Charities and so so much more. Carrie you will be rewarded. You have the eyes that can see what is happening. I look forward in meeting you someday mabe we can help each other revive the the World.
Loyal Moon,
Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a thoughtful comment.
Excellent read, I grew up in Nairobi, Kenya and had the experience of being invited to a young man’s shack in Kibera, it is something that I will never forget. Growing up in Kenya and being half Mexican I have seen a number of slums across the world but Kibera is shocking. As you said the houses are literally built on rubbish and often from rubbish. Someone replied on your article about how these people seem to be content living in slums, but in my opinion this is not content, it is not having had the privilege to experience something better. As the saying goes “you don’t miss what you never had”. But speaking to people from Kibera and other similar slums in Kenya you can tell that they have no opportunity to improve their economic situation as governments and NGO’s see these slums as a way of providing them a very comfortable living.
I always asked my dad why he drives a shitty car in Kenya and his response was “I am here to help the Kenyans improve their standard of living and donors pay for us to be here, I would be a hypocrite if I drove around in a flashy Mercedes asking people for money to help Africa.”
This opened my eyes in seeing how many rich people there are in east Africa who say they are there to help but in reality they are just helping themselves.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for much for stopping by, as well as for adding your personal insight and experiences to this post.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by globetrotteri: Slums around the world. http://www.myseveralworlds.com/2009/04/05/slums-around-the-world/...
i realy like the way you live your life,just keep it up
Where are the other slums? You put only in countries that are considered poor. And where are the slums of the developed countries? I know that there are. Or do you think there is only poverty in these countries that you showed? It’s the world’s hypocrisy.
My name is Kennedy Odede, am 25 years old and currently studying in the United States. I was born in Kibera slums and spent my entire 23 years in one of the largest slum in Africa. I saw the picture and reminded me of my home and my life. Kibera is a slum but has taught me a lot in life. Kibera has been my teacher since I was born. I know what it means to live under $ 1 per day, a day can pass without food, I had to walk for 45 minutes to fetch the water. Life is difficulty in the slums. Why do we have slums? We have slums because some people have too much than what they need. There is no equal distribution of the resources. Otherwise we can defeat poverty but some people must suffer in the expense of others to be the “big wigs”. The vision 2030 are words unless the “big wigs” are ready to abandon selfish desires.
Mark,
First of all, I really like your blog. I can relate to all your stories about living in China, as I lived there too for three years. Like you, I\\'m always cautious about handing out money, but we\\'ve found that food and other personal items are just as warmly accepted.