http://www.homeless-international.orgLatest content from homeless.en-gbhttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:23125&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:23125&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/client_images/doc_images/IMG_0776r.jpghttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:23125&tid=rss250333Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:40:25 GMT In 2002, the Pamoja Trust enabled the Ghetto community to replace one slum shack in Nairobi with a double storey single-family unit.  This apparently small act of building a sample house overlay a much broader process of preparation and paved the way for far greater possibilities in future. Having achieved a viable settlement plan they then negotiated with the City Council to designate the area as a special planning area and to allocate the land to them.  The 'Special' status enabled people to negotiate and test alternative building standards that are more affordable.  Some among them trained on affordable building technologies, built the single house and then elected the one among them who could most quickly pay back for the house to free the money for another house.  The Pamoja Trust facilitated the entire process. In summary, the route map to better housing became clearer to 2,309 slum families.  Whether or...http://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=1:30557&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=1:30557&tid=rssThu, 17 Sep 2009 15:03:19 GMT Nearly three-quarters of Kenya’s urban population live in slums, amounting to over 7.5 million of its 31 million people.  Kenya’s slum population is growing rapidly at nearly 6 per cent each year.  The situation in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is typical of the challenges facing poor people in Kenya’s other urban areas.  Pressure on land – largely from commercial interests – means that 55 per cent of Nairobi’s total population is now crammed onto a mere 1.5 per cent of the total land area.  The threat of forced eviction inhibits investment and places many people in constant fear that their homes may be demolished. Housing for Nairobi’s 1.5 million or so slum dwellers typically consists of shanties made of mud, wattle and iron sheets.  There are as many as 250 shanty units per hectare; in comparison, housing density in the UK reaches 100 units per hectare in cities, and 30 elsewhere. ...http://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42508&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42508&tid=rssThu, 17 Sep 2009 15:08:44 GMT Homeless International's strategic grant, awarded by Comic Relief, will support our partner Pamoja Trust in Kenya over five years from April 2008, as well as partners in Namibia and Zimbabwe.  The strategic grant supports the creation and expansion of networks of slum dwellers’ savings groups across these three African countries, in order to access affordable finance and start housing and infrastructure projects. In Kenya, Homeless International has supported the Federation, Muungano wa Wanavijiji, - a network of savings groups -  since 2000.  With our partner, Pamoja Trust, the Federation is actively involved in improving housing and infrastructure in poor urban areas of Kenya – see for instance the upgrading project in Kambi Moto.   Infrastructure projects are mainly related to water and sanitation, and 20,000 families are expected to benefit from such improvements. Members of the Federation can engage in the construction of permanent houses, with technical support from Pamoja Trust.  Construction is done either in-situ...http://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=0:54090&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=0:54090&tid=rssThu, 17 Sep 2009 15:08:21 GMThttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42509&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42509&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/client_images/doc_images/kambiMoto_034_editr.jpghttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42509&tid=rss250327Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:43:38 GMT Kambi Moto is one of six villages in Huruma, a slum area 5km north east of Central Nairobi.  Kambi Moto occupies one acre and accommodates 270 households.  Typical of all informal settlements, there are no basic services such as running water, sewerage, toilets and internal roads.  In 2005, after the community had undertaken enumerations and surveys, and started negotiating with the City Council,, an in-situ upgrading project began.  The project aims to build 270 houses: one for each family in Kambi Moto. The community in Kambi Moto has designed and planned the houses, with support from architects.  With the support of Homeless International’s partner, Pamoja Trust, the families are able to access affordable loans to begin building their houses.  The houses have up to three storeys and can be built incrementally, in batches, depending on the size of the loan each family can afford.  By 2007, 34 houses had already been...http://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=0:54091&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=0:54091&tid=rssThu, 17 Sep 2009 15:43:19 GMThttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=1:28714&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=1:28714&tid=rssThu, 17 Sep 2009 15:51:27 GMThttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=0:54026&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=0&id=0:54026&tid=rssThu, 13 Aug 2009 09:17:07 GMThttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42296&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42296&tid=rsshttp://www.homeless-international.org/client_images/doc_images/NairobiInventory_Coverr.jpghttp://www.homeless-international.org/redirect.aspx?module=3&doc=0:42296&tid=rss250299Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:18:24 GMT In 2009, the Nairobi Inventory, a list of all slums or ‘informal settlements’ in Nairobi was published by Pamoja Trust, in association with Shack/Slum Dwellers International. With a population of about three million, Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya.  It is estimated that half of these people live in slums.  The Nairobi Inventory has not been put together by sociologists or geographers – instead it has been created by the people living in those settlements, using their own perceptions and definitions of their situation. The story of the Inventory dates back to early 2004 when tens of thousands of families were threatened with being evicted from their homes: the government said it would reclaim land near rivers, rail tracks and electricity lines.  With as little as a month’s notice these families faced losing their homes and their belongings. In response to the situation, community organisations such as the Federation, Muungano...