Garbage becomes income in Kibera


  1. Beryl Omunya, VoicesofAfrica mobile reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
    Getting an income for most of the youth has been a major problem especially for those living in informal settlements. But this is now a heard of among the Kibera Zulu Youth group. These young men have found ways of generating income through activites such as operating a car wash and garbage collection.
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    The group which was formed in the year 1994 felt that it is their duty as the youth to keep their environment clean by collecting garbage in eastates in Kibera." we felt that we can do this better by organizing ourselves and collecting garbage from households and outside" this is according to Rashid Seif who is one of the members.

    They charge a fee of a minimum of 20 Kenya shillings per bag depending on the a mount of garbage. They collect garbage twice a week. part of the money generated is kept in savings account and the rest shared among members.After collecting the garbage they sort it out into degradable and non-degradable, that is, garbage from foodstuff is then packed and collected by the Nairobi City Council and non degradable is then sorted out by the young men and packed ready for sale to recycle companies.

    Despite facing many challenges for instance lack of proper tools for working and exposure to health infections the youth still work hard to generate income through keeping the environment clean.