Building a resilient and inclusive movement: empowering climate activists in Kenyan informal settlements.
By Kamila Gojobe, Elvira Songoro, Sarah Ouma, Jane Wairutu
Imagine a movement that empowers slum dwellers and urban poor communities, fostering climate action and creating more resilient, and climate friendly inclusive cities. Meet Muungano wa Wanavijiji, a remarkable social movement working tirelessly to secure land tenure, provide affordable housing, and improve basic services for those in informal settlements. Muungano wa Wanavijiji works with the support from Shack Dwellers International Kenya (SDI-K) who provide technical and professional support to improve the livelihoods of slum dwellers. In this blog post, we'll explore the impactful initiatives undertaken by Muungano wa Wanavijiji and how they are building a strong movement of climate activists across Kenya.
Muungano Wa Wanavijiji is currently working in 21 counties in Kenya, partnering with different County Governments and civil society organisations to promote movement building that aims at bringing together local groups from different cities to focus on improving the quality of life of slum dwellers and advocate for climate friendly cities in kenya.
Engaging local groups in climate action:
One of the most intriguing discoveries made by Muungano wa Wanavijiji is, many people, especially the youth, engage in climate action activities without realising it. Recognizing this, Muungano under the voices for just climate action (VCA) conducted data collection on these groups (a process led by the community people) and provided capacity strengthening to address the capacity gaps on leadership and governance,financial management ,savings and bookkeeping, networking, report and proposal writing .Through the capacity strengthening process, we have successfully created a robust movement of climate activists.
Profiling, Assessment, and Validation:
To understand the landscape better, Muungano embarked on profiling, assessment, and validation of climate action groups. We collected data on the number of groups in each settlement, their activities, and age-groups involved. Muungano leaders conducted assessment of the profiled groups to evaluate their activities, registration status, and identify areas for improvement. Validation meetings followed the assessment process to confirm the data collected and foster networking among groups, enabling peer-to-peer learning exchanges.
Data collection tool used in group profiling
Through the profiling process we mapped ut a total of over 563 registered and unregistered groups in Nairobi who are active in waste management, urban farming, and art and advocacy. These groups mostly conduct waste collection, community clean-ups, innovative kitchen gardens and poultry keeping within their communities.
Financial support for scaling innovative climate actions:
Recognizing the need to scale up innovative climate actions in informal settlement, SDI Kenya developed a grant management framework to aid in the distribution of the financial support. Unlike government funds with complex requirements, this fund is open and inclusive, targeting groups and community-based organisations consisting of youth, women, and persons with disabilities. With a simplified application process and Muungano leaders vouching for the groups that they assessed, financial support of up to $1000 USD was awarded based on the groups' needs. This was a means of decolonizing funds to local groups and communities to support locally led innovative climate actions. Through continuous mentorship and capacity building, we enhanced the perception of climate change among women and young people in their settlements.
Documentation and showcasing impact:
Documentation plays a vital role in the Muungano movement. From the early stages of learning to the growth of groups, documentation serves as motivation and a means of collecting data. Additionally, groups are taught monitoring and evaluation methods through photography and videography to learn from both group successes and failures. An exciting outcome of the movement is the increased presence of groups on social media, enabling them to showcase their work and attract partnerships and collaborations. Furthermore, Some youth have turned their photography and videography skills into an income generating activity.
Locally-led adaptation in urban informal settlement:
Muungano wa Wanavijiji has consistently embraced a community-led approach in its community initiatives. This is demonstrated through the federation's existing model that provides opportunities for communities to take the lead in their own processes. Community/federation are able to co-design their own activities with the county government and civil societies and actively participate in decision-making processes weighing in their voices on the various processes and interventions. The slum dwellers are the most vulnerable to climate change and the risks it poses hence the growing need to build their resilience.
Climate change poses significant challenges in informal settlement. These communities are particularly vulnerable to flooding as they often lack a proper drainage system. In addition, it contributes to water scarcity compromising residents' health and livelihood. Inadequate sanitation facilities is another challenge which increases the risk of disease transmission. Climate change agenda is to promote local ownership. Hence therefore, addressing these challenges requires prioritising the participation of slum dwellers in the decision making process and trusting their innovative climate action solutions. Below are examples of groups whose climate initiatives champion for locally-led climate solutions.
One example is Walakolo Self Help Group, based in Kibera informal settlement ,in Nairobi Kenya.Popularly they are known as Waste Pickers in the region, was registered in 2020. The group consists of 50 members, with 17 girls and 33 men. Among the various locally led climate activities undertaken by the group are garbage collection, urban farming, and collection and recycling of plastics.
Before receiving financial support from Muungano, Walakolo faced major challenges in collecting garbage in Kibera informal settlement . However, with the financial support provided by Muungano, the group was able to purchase garbage collection carts. These carts have easene the burden of conducting community cleanups, which they regularly organise on the first Saturday of every month. These cleanups have had a significant impact on improving the overall cleanliness and hygiene of the area.
Through capacity strengthening on savings and table banking,the profit gained was used to construct affordable toilets. This initiative has addressed the challenge of limited sanitation facilities in Kibera, improving the overall health and well-being of residents. The availability of clean and hygienic facilities has reduced waterborne diseases and enhanced their quality of life.
Another inspiring group is Biupe Innovators, a group located in the heart of Mukuru, one of the biggest informal settlements in Nairobi Kenya.The group Started in 2011 with only 63 members, it was certified in 2012 and now has 15 active members. Despite being a small group, Biupe is known for leading locally-led solutions in their community, and the group is actively involved in urban and poultry farming, waste management, advocacy for climate change, tree planting, and community cleanups.
Biupe Innovators Leading the Way in Community Cleanups in Mukuru kwa Ruben
Photo Credit: KYCTV
Biupe, just like Walakolo, was among the groups that received financial support through the Voices for Just Climate Action program (VCA) . The support helped them to continue with their initiatives at a time when they were really struggling and thinking of putting their activities on hold. The group also received capacity building on documentation on how to make their work visible and through this they opened a facebook page which has gotten a lot of traction as they are now able to showcase their innovative initiatives in the community, and enhanced partnership with other stakeholders.
Biupe believes that it is essential to mentor children on the importance of taking care of the environment and inspire them to take lead in locally-led climate change solutions. "When you teach young children innovative ways, then we can nurture them to be climate champions and we believe they are the future of tomorrow. “
Conclusion
Engaging members of the community to co-design their own projects, programs, and processes with the government and civil societies, has proven an effective strategy. In order to support community-led climate action in cities in the global south, it is key to engage informal settlements dwellers who typically make up more than 60% of the urban population. Supporting locally-led solutions is letting the process be for the people, by the people.