I come from a family of four daughters. My father was never really in the picture, but I never felt the absence of a father-figure in the house; Mama has been such a role model in that sense. She would say “whatever you want to do, you can do it”. Whenever we would complain about not having a brother to help us fix household things, she would push us to learn how to do it ourselves.
Stephen Mwangi, one of our partners from Mathare Social Justice Centre - MSJC, interviewed by main Dutch broadcaster during his visit to The Netherlands. During his stay in Europe, Peace Brigades International - The Netherlands was able to organise a mini speaker tour in Utrecht, The Hague, Amsterdam and Brussels during which Stephen was able to shed light on the ongoing challenges of life in the urban settlements of Nairobi.
On Tuesday 8th August, Kenya will hold elections for the positions of the President and deputy President, members of Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) and devolved government members (county governors and ward representatives). While the last elections in 2013 were relatively peaceful, the memory of the 2007/8 post-election violence, which left at least 1,133 people dead and 600,000 people displaced, looms large in this election period.
In advance of the Kenyan elections, two of the topics identified by the WHRD Toolkit Organisers (TOs) were Election Preparedness and Wellbeing and Self-care. PBI Kenya, with support from the Irish Embassy, held a two-day workshop on these topics. Regina Opondo, from the Constitution and Reform Education Consortium, gave the training and it focused on the needs of TOs in the settlements in the immediate election period.
July 2017 marks the first anniversary between PBI Kenya and the Atiriri Bururi ma Chuka (‘Keepers of Chuka Community Land’) community group’s partnership.
23rd June marked the one year anniversary of the murder of human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, along with his client, Josephat Mwenda and driver, Joseph Muiruri. Civil society organisations organised the Machozi Ya Jana (Tears of Yesterday) campaign against extrajudicial killings, highlighting instances and cases of these crimes, as well as bringing members and law enforcers together to dialogue, in order to end the situation.
After 3 years of regular mandatory visits to court for participating in a peaceful anti-corruption demonstration on the 13th February 2014, the Kenyan High Court has finally quashed the charges against our partners from Bunge La Mwananchi on 28th June 2017. The initial charge, ‘rioting after a proclamation’, is an outdated charge from the British colonial era which contradicts the Kenyan 2010 Constitution.
I was born in Kibera and I grew up in Kibera; growing up here was both a privilege and a struggle. Life is difficult in Kibera and we live in poverty here, but this place makes a woman strong and I believe that I am strong today because I grew up in Kibera.
Growing up in Kibera is challenging, especially as a young boy. 99% of the guys I grew up with are dead – mainly because of crime. A lot of young men do drugs, or get involved in the world of drugs. And basically, once you get involved with drugs you have very little choice but to venture into crime. Nevertheless, it is still a choice.
I came to Mathare when I was six. I remember very clearly that during those times, there was no mistrust between the different communities. I would play with all my neighbours whether they were Kikuyu, Luo, or Borana. They were like my siblings, and their parents were like my parents. But this comradery and positive community spirit started to change during my early teens.