Kenya threatened by new urban disaster, says Oxfam

[tamaduni]

why do we always have white folk trying to solve our problems

[truphie]

And it gets wes! i like how she said wes!

[siasabora]

true

[siasabora]

Nyege2: My tiny experiences in urban planning dictates these ladies will lead a more dignified life in Shaggs than sitting by roadside to clean dirty laundry...see they're not even sure of daily 'job'.

Yet Shaggs coffee cotton milk tea Fish etc with a sensible Gov't planning they stand a better chance!

I hate to see my pple walking around begging for jobs and getting old doing it.

[siasabora]

OK nyegeass who said yu've  to own land to make it? in any case these guys didn't just drop off some trees and walked to Nrb! They came from some place we say they go back there..take their poverty back instead of compounding city planning!

[unit45x]

What city planning? Kibera has as many as 2 million people in it and it is considered an unofficial settlement, and maybe 1 in 3 people in Nairobi. The answer is not as simple as go back to your village. If only it was...

[siasabora]

what is ur solution? I gave mine.

[unit45x]

I am getting my Masters degree in Public Administration with a concentration in Urban Development and Planning. I am quite sure that facing the problems directly are a more effective and realistic approach than just telling people to "go back" to wherever they came from. Well what about the 3rd and 4th generations born in the slum? Where are they really supposed to go? To the upcountry where the rural poverty is as bad as the urban poverty if not worse?

[unit45x]

Even education is no guarantee for the poor in Kenya, or Africa for that matter. The fault lies in the greed and corruption of the Politicians! The largest and most poor areas of the slum are the direct constituency of the Prime Minister. That is the real problem. These people are actually encouraged to leave the village and move into the Urban Slum! It gives more power to the member of parliament...abuse of power, not people, are the culprit. Class warfare is inevitable in 2012...

[Sisternice77]

Ruth my dear, turudi ocha! You can grow mrenda in ur backyard and don't need to degrade yourself like this. Kuosha nguo jameni?

[sikukuu]

Ruth should take her children back to INGO and be self employed. Actually she will acess many things without alot of straining involved e.g free water, firewood, veges, free house etc. Rudi nyumbani dada yangu.

[siasabora]

Absolutely...the increased number of people trekking from Ingo/Gishagi to cities ni illusions of glamour life in the city. Gov't and NGOs ought to double efforts in rural education and health. (Sasa Maids wakija Nairobi hawarudi kwao wanazaa na kupiga hema Kibera/Kiamaiko/ Soweto..OK ni votes but votes za hasara!)

[karuitha]

People should stay in their rural areas do farming instead of coming to the urban areas to suffer. You will see people in rural areas lead better lives than those in urban slums.

[siasabora]

Yeps...rural folks have their dignity intact.

City poor live in a pipe dreams and are ashamed to go back home empty handed. They get caught in the vicious circle of urban poverty.

[surambaya]

The real disaster is that unless there's a change of mindset amongst residents and their leaders, poverty will outstrip organic economic growth. What's the country doing to spur technological and other innovation that would result in new industries and jobs?