•Tires, plastics and old drums are among the materials recycled
Image: VICTOR IMBOTO
Motivated by the success of the cleanup project led by Charles Gachanja, 276 youth groups from Nairobi were involved in last year's competition.
The groups come from areas such as Baba Dogo, Korogocho, Mathare and Kayole.
"We invite youth groups to come and register for the competition, provided they are registered as a group by the government," Gachanja said.
The youth groups, as a requirement, begin by taking before photos of an area they intend to rehabilitate.
"They level the places, remove the garbage, unblock drainage systems and employ creativity," he said.
The groups can use art to beautify the area and recycle materials, such as tires, plastics and old drums.
"When they present the after photos, the judges look at them and make a decision on who takes the money home. Last year, youth from Korogocho won," Gachanja said.
Evans Otieno, leading youth from Believers Court, said the transformation is helping the community be safer and more productive.
Children are now safer in playgrounds and because of a clean environment, they are more protected from disease.
"We are trying to give Dandora a good name so when people hear about us, the dumpsite and crime don't immediately come to mind," he said.
"We are also planting fruit trees in our courts so when visitors come, they have something good to show from Dandora."
He adds recycling is important because it preserves the environment. "Instead of dumping or burning these materials, we recycle them to conserve the environment. If 10 people were doing the same thing, it would make a good impact," he said.
Otieno longs for the day the open spaces will be the new face of Dandora.
UN-Habitat urban designer Mark Ojal said the strategy for the up-scaling model of Dandora provides opportunities for adaptive reuse in the future.
"The principle behind the strategy is to up-scale the placemaking initiatives that have been cleaning up the courts and to reclaim their lost glory.
The strategy demonstrates a realistic roadmap for implementing the expertise of the local organisation and has different scales, from the court scale to the neighbourhood scale," he said.
UN-Habitat was key in assisting the groups to access government offices, such as KPLC and the county offices.
"We are also partnering with the community to provide technical support, training and development of curriculum for community champions in other neighbourhoods because they are needed more there," he said.
Ojal added the project needs support from the county government to sustain itself.
"A lot can be done but there is a need for more structured collaboration with the county government to support such initiatives so they can absorb young people," he said.