My journey to Kibera slum: Hopes and Fears in the Face of Climate Change; The urban perspective

One of the many pathways in Kibera
with houses & shops on either side.

I took a casual stroll in one Sunday afternoon to arguably one of the largest slums in Africa; In actual fact, according to UN-HABITAT reports, its the second largest informal settlement in Africa. My visit there lasted for slightly over one hour, give or take, yet what i saw was overwhelming. Typical of any informal settlement, with a cursory look, i was welcomed with a strong stench from the many trenches with stagnant sewer waters, the human paths were narrow and crowded, the shacks were congested with poor sanitation, yet amidst all these gloom and doom, i was particularly impressed by the people's resilience to keep on keeping on by facing each day boldly. However, i was left wondering how long they can sustain this facade in the face of many challenges threatening their livelihood. I couldn't help eavesdropping at a conversation some women were having at a local market selling second hand clothes popularly known as mitumba. The discussion which bordered on survival especially in the face of the poor performance of the Kenyan shilling against the international currencies like the sterling pound and the greenback, and which therefore has had a knock-on effect on all basic commodities. One of them was wondering how she'll manage to pay rent and still buy water from the local vendors with the little she makes from selling clothes.
This got me thinking how such people not just in Kibera slum but other  informal slums are prepared for the impacts of climate change and whether their resilience can withstand the test of time. Most families there hinge on small businesses for their upkeep with the meager profits they make, if any, going to purchasing a few household items here and there. Its not strange to find a house doubling up as a food cafe during the day all in an effort to survive. Some are engaged in charcoal business oblivious of the damage the tree that were used in the charcoal making caused to the environment and subsequently to their well-being. Those who can't open up kiosks end up working as house-helps for the middle-class citizens or toil from one construction site to another looking for at least a chance to make that extra shilling. Some girls are also forced to engage in premature sex while others still venture in to prostitution in order to eke out a living and survive another day in this hard economic times.
Much debate on climate change and the capacity for resilience has been focused on rural folks and how well prepared they are as far as adapting to climate change is concerned. While this could be justified, bearing in mind that a lot of the food stuffs consumed in urban centers come from such areas plus their lack of access to information and technology makes them more vulnerable, the people living in the cities face some of the greatest and unique challenges as well. Unlike people in the rural areas who could possibly have a farm or land to fall back on and which cold help them secure some sort of food security and access to water, the slum dwellers are in a much trickier position owing to the fact that they are 'foreigners' in the lands they occupy and live a hand-to-mouth lifestyle that involves purchasing everything from food, water, plus strange enough, toilet and bathroom use. This therefore places a great strain on their ability to survive by narrowing down their alternatives.

Charcoal sold in Kibera in small tins 

of Ksh.10

Their economic system being in an urban set-up, is that of a net consumer with very little production happening, if any. The urban farming initiative, while it has a tremendous chance and prospect of cushioning these people at least in the short term from the vagaries of climate change, has very little application in an area where virtually every space on the land is covered by a house, occupiers lack security in terms of tittle deeds among many challenges. There are also other challenges like where to get the water for irrigating vegetables planted in a gurney bag for instance plus issues to do with resources for achieving that.
In light of these challenges, a sustainable mechanism therefore ought to be drawn, bringing together different stakeholders both in the private sector, the public represented by the government and the international community through various agents like the World bank, IMF and UN. Their efforts ought to focus on research focusing specifically on urban environments and their coping mechanisms and adaptation to climate change. The findings would inform policy formulation and decision making regarding the response and resource distribution by the government. The vulnerabilities in urban and specifically rural areas could be treated as a special case and effective steps taken regarding that. This could involve encouraging people to use alternative and efficient green energy sources like bio-gas and solar energy. In India for instance, UNEP's Indian Solar Loan Programme, saw over 20,000 solar homes systems financed in a major partnership with the local banks. This ensured that the poor who were both in urban and rural areas and who couldn't afford electricity and cheap clean energy, were supplied with clean reliable energy from solar. This idea could be replicated elsewhere and still achieve excellent results. Some could also involve supplying the slum dwellers with water tanks and also educating them on natural water treatment techniques like the use of ultra violet light to kill bacteria present in the water like has happened in a few slums in Kenya.
The people also ought to be empowered with the necessary information that would perhaps foster behavior change towards adaptation to climate change. This is where the use of ICT comes in strongly through its various mediums like local radio stations, mobile phone sms, tv and the internet through blogs like this one and social networks sites like Twitter and Facebook. These cold be complemented with music concerts, posters, caravans etc all in a concerted effort aimed at driving the message of climate change home and in the process enable them form a strong community network which could help them in adapting to and also expel myths hitherto associated with climatic changes.