MathareMathare, is one of the biggest slums in Kenya, located just outside the capital. Mathare is home to over 600,000 people. There are young kids that sell illegal drinks and drugs, just to make a few cents for their family. Often people in Mathare live with only one functional parent, or with the child upholding the responsibilities. The roads of Mathare, that everyone uses, are full of waste, and pollution and anything else you can think of. These people don't have access to running water, so they are forced into using ‘flying toilets’. If they don't want to pay to get into the public bathrooms. Flying toilets are when you use the bathroom in a bag, tie the bag, and throw your waste over a wall, sending it somewhere else.
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In Mathare there are only three schools that the government uphold. That is the extent of the governments help.Some schools are run by churches, or other organizations that have reached out and helped. In Mathare people live in things the size of a tool shed. The walls are made of mud, as is the floor, and the roof is made of tin and is very porous. People living in Mathare are more likely to contract diseases, because of these conditions that they live in. Conversations were had with a family in Mathare, they will stay unnamed. For a living they sell what is left over of the coal once it has been burned. They barely make enough money to survive. The father of this family has arthritis in his knee, but they can't pay to help him. Their children are getting an education in the church school, but sometimes that makes it harder for them, so they don't go to school. The family needs all the help they can get from the kids, earning the most money they can make.
These people living in these conditions are just like us, though many people think of Mathare as a place with illegal drugs and alcohol, break-ins and even prostitution. However, what people don't think, is that these people are desperately trying with the little money they have, to sustain their family for just one more month. One more week. Even one more day.
These people living in these conditions are just like us, though many people think of Mathare as a place with illegal drugs and alcohol, break-ins and even prostitution. However, what people don't think, is that these people are desperately trying with the little money they have, to sustain their family for just one more month. One more week. Even one more day.
LocationMathare Slum, Nairobi Kenya
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