Improving slum life

Sahara Communities Abroad (SACOMA) is working with National Co-operative Housing Unit  (NACHU) based in Kenya to improve the livelihoods of people in Nairobi, Rift Valley and Eastern provinces who are poor, marginalized, lacking shelter and living in deplorable conditions in slums (carton, polythene, mud houses).

These are people who are unable to provide for their basic needs and are also more likely to contract water-borne diseases, such as cholera and typhoid, as well as opportunistic ones that accompany HIV/AIDS

The project, funded by Comic Relief, will work with slum dwellers to initiate activities that will help improve their quality of living through capacity building for primary housing cooperatives (PHCs), provision of decent affordable shelter, provision of financial services, lobbying and advocacy for an enabling housing environment and security of tenure as well as tackling the negative impact of HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The project will focus more on women, girls and unemployed youth who are most vulnerable to exploitation and crime.

According to UN Habitat, 60 per cent of Nairobi's population lives in slums occupying only 5 per cent of the residential land in the city.