• Members are keeping poultry, dairy goats, cows and pigs while others farming. Each house pay the youth Sh100 monthly for garbage collection.
• Youths are fighting over rights to collect waste at a disputed holding ground for saleable, reusablecarbage/
Image: GEORGE OWITI
One man's garbage is another man's treasure, so they say.
Youths from Mathare slum in Nairobi are collecting garbage to earn a livelihood.
More than 300 youths, members of 16 self-help groups, formed an umbrella organisation, Green Development Circle CBO. It's registered with authorities.
The group engages in waste collection, management and environmental conservation projects in their neighbourhoods in Nairobi.
Since the group started in 2018, members have turned salvageable garbage into a money-making venture.
“We have been doing waste management conservation for years and earning livelihoods out of it here in Huruma and Ngei wards within Mathare subcounty,” CBO chairman Kevin Oduny said.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
The youths spoke to the Star at a controversial garbage holding ground next to Huruma Secondary School on Sunday.
Despite various challenges, including competition and conflict over the site, the youths have forged ahead.
Some resell usable waste in the slum to start businesses, as well as livestock keeping.
Some members are keeping poultry, dairy goats and pigs while others farming. Each house pays the youths Sh100 monthly for garbage collection.
Their successful garbage venture has attracted rivals and caused conflict as some individuals attempt to evict the youth from the holding ground.
The youths have protested, demanding alternative garbage holding ground.
At the centre of the conflict is the grounds where the youth hold garbage after collecting it from houses within the slum before officials from the Nairobi Government collect them for dumping at the Dandora Dump Site.
Garbage sparks conflicts
The heart of the conflict is the grounds where the youth hold garbage after collecting it from slums before Nairobi officials transport it to Dandora dumpsite.
“We have for the two years faced a great challenge over the garbage holding ground. We are being attacked where we hold the usable garbage," Oduny said.
He said a politician ordered them to leave the garbage holing grounds, from which they make money, citing 'orders from above'.
“We don’t know where the orders are coming from because the county government allocated us the area for holding garbage as they look for alternative ground," Oduny said.
"We wonder where we will take the garbage since we haven’t been allocated an alternative grounds,” he said.
He said they were wondering if they should leave the garbage uncollected in houses in Mathare.
“Huruma and Ngei wards have more than 80,000 people. If we say that they leave the garbage in their houses, how will they survive?
"We are pleading with authorities to give us an alternative holding grounds to solve the matter once and for all. A place where we will have control of the garbage before the county collects it," Oduny said.
Nairobi deputy director of Environment Kevin Oleitiptip said the CBO was a big group. Oleitiptip said he was aware of their operations and the garbage holding group.
“It is a big group in cooperation and they have visited my office with 16 membership registered groups. They deal in solid waste collection around Ngei ward in Mathare subcounty,” Oleitiptip said.
He said the county had heard of the youth's grievances and will address them. He said they were accompanied by Njeri Ng’ang’a. Njeri runs a project in Nairobi slums known as Njeri Ng’ang’a Outlook to empower disadvantaged people.
“They were accompanied by their trusted leader Njeri Ng’ang’a who made courtesy call to this office to seek redress of the issues the group is encountering,” Oleitiptip said.
He said through the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, they had a plan to address the issues.
“I have connected them with the supervisor in charge of Mathare, Ngei ward, to make sure the issues they are encountering — attempts to take over their holding grounds and attack them — are properly addressed,” Oleitiptip said.
He said NMS was coming up with a material recovery facility that will address solid waste issues in that subcounty.
“We also want to adopt part of the Mathare River to be like Michuki Park. The project will be undertaken by various stakeholders. We want to transform Nairobi to be indeed the green city under the sun.”
Ng’ang’a said the youths had no authority and ability to look for alternative garbage holding grounds.
She said that the environment where the youth work lacks basic tools and equipment and said they don't even have protective gear.
“I am passionate about change in where I came from, Ngei ward. I will bring in new mentality, mission, and vision of the people of Ngei ward. She aims to run for MCA Ngei ward on the Umoja Summit Party.
Member Peter Njoroge said that since 2006, garbage collection had since 2006 helped reduce crime among the youth in Mathare slum.
“There was lots of crime in this slum in 2006. We united and instead of idling in the slums, we bring together youths, talk to landlords and tenants to give us garbage collection jobs to reduce crime,” Njoroge said.
He said crime declined in Mathare and said with 95 per cent was due to the garbage collection programme for educated but jobless youth.
“The garbage collection project shouldn’t be politicised. Those people who object are people who want the youth to return to crime and drugs,” Njoroge said, and make money for themselves."
(Edited by V. Graham)