Housing shortage in Kenya leaves thousands homeless

DW (English)

Kenya is currently facing a critical housing shortage. Thousands of people have been left without a place to call home, with many more on the margins of poverty. DW's Edith Kimani reports from Nairobi.

Transcript

00:00A car mechanic by training, Anthony Mutunga, better known as Tee, spends most of his time

00:07with friends these days.

00:09The 32-year-old lost his job unexpectedly and for the last two years he's been homeless.

00:16The sudden and dramatic change in Tee's life led him here, to Mathare, one of Kenya's oldest

00:21slums and to a very different life.

00:26It's hard, it's hard, it's very, very hard.

00:32When you're in a capital city, you'd rather sleep hungry but at least have somewhere to

00:37sleep.

00:39Shelter is a priority because you don't know what could happen to you when you're out here.

00:44There are thieves out here, diseases, police and there are also the unknowns.

00:54Tee needs 11 euros a month for rent here, but he's rarely called to fix cars these days

00:59so food is all he can afford.

01:02It's getting dark and the clouds have gathered, rain is inevitable.

01:07Everyone rushes towards their homes as though by command.

01:11Tee leads us to a shack where a friend is allowing him to stay.

01:17The shack is damp and dark and Tee knows he'll have to pay something or leave in a few days

01:23so he keeps his things ready.

01:26In this environment, he has no control.

01:31There are two of us who sleep here, but if friends come over we welcome them here as well.

01:37The following day, Nairobi's homeless wake up before dawn.

01:41Cocooned in sacks for warmth, most sleep fully dressed in their overalls and shoes, ready

01:46for work during the day.

01:49It's estimated that some 300,000 people in Kenya live this way.

01:56For people like Jeff, three euros a day can be the difference between living on the streets

02:01or here, in a windowless room with nothing but a bed and mattress.

02:05The clothes vendor sometimes finds the money, sometimes he doesn't.

02:11Life on the edge of homelessness.

02:15It's easy to get stuck in misroutine.

02:17You look for money for food and a room.

02:20If you buy drugs or alcohol, that's all you get.

02:25And your money is gone.

02:27Just like that.

02:30We're back in Mathare to look for Tee, who we're told might be in the local drinking den.

02:35Here we find the owner, Doreen, who offers her space to those with nowhere to go.

02:42This is a life I've experienced, so I don't judge anyone.

02:46I give them somewhere to sleep, so when they get out of here, they can help others.

02:54Her customers ask us to tell their stories.

02:58We have problems like we've never seen before.

03:01Our houses were demolished and everyone was asking where we could go.

03:06We still don't know what to do.

03:08But God bless this woman.

03:12Doreen's den can sleep up to nine men, and Tee has been one of them in the past.

03:24But tonight he's fortunate to have somewhere less crowded to sleep, at least for now.

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