- Research | Empower | Transform
Kambi Moto residence Hurumaresidence Huruma
26th January 2023
Interview
Interviewer: Tell us a bit about your life?
My name is Peter Ndung’u, I am among the founder of “Muungano wa Wanavijiji” Huruma. I come from a village called Ghetto which among the six (6) villages which makes up “Muungano wa Wanavijiji Huruma Network. At the beginning, as Network we used to move around these village collecting information from every village writing down the problems that people were facing. Every week we used to visit one village. We used to write down those challenges, and since that time I have been the secretary of the group.
It reach a place where we started facing some challenges from some villages, because of divisions amongst leaders or neighbourhoods so the meetings that we used to have there was no harmony. With those members who were willing to continue with Muungano group, we decided to build this hall where we are sitting now. The people from all those villages started meeting at one place so that we could separate ourselves from the challenges from individual villages. But every village used to have a representative in the hall who used to give a report about their village and we could decide the way forward or the actions to be taken.
As we continued, I was elected as their secretary and even today I am still the secretary. I can say Muungano has helped me, because the time we started our meeting here, we registered ourselves and then opened an account as those six villages. After opening an account, we started a form of savings different from the savings done that individual members were saving. We did in unison, in this hall belong to us, we built it with our own skills. From there last year we bought a land in Thika. Even if it is not a land that can be divided among every member, we are proud because we can show something we did by the end of the year and the situations that we had gone through.
Other than that, more than constructing house most of our members has more skills. There are those to takes loans to boost their businesses. I have also tried to mobilize another group of Muungano which integrates refugees from other countries e.g Rwanda, Burudi and Congo. For now they are doing another project of urban farming whereby they are farming pigs. But that group is not within Huruma, it is found in Kayole who even now they farming pig.
I can speak about some of the benefits I have got, personally I have a project of pigs farming which was birth form these meeting here and being humble. I was able to borrow some loans and pay back. The highest amount that I borrowed was Kshs. 40,000 and I think I am the one leading in borrowing and paying back the loan.
We have the records of those who have borrowed loans and how they pay back. We also rent this hall for church services and the money we get for the church is used by the group in doing other things. They usually make the payments monthly. The group uses the hall once per week, on Wednesdays.
I am beneficiary of Muungano because the project I have for farming pigs, I couldn’t be able to save all that money since I have some other needs and I don’t have salary at the end of the month because I am not employed. That money I used to buy piglets. For now they have reproduced and I usually sell the piglets or weaned one which one continue feeding until they are mature.
That enables me to do some other jobs and get some more earnings. As I continue doing my savings here, that is one of the things that I am proud of here. One of my children is in college who is schooling there and that child grew knowing that I am a Member of Muungano as I found my parents were its member. I continue where my parents stopped, it reaches a point where people by they are unable to continue because of the situations of life. The time I joined, I can say that Muungano has been different. Like now we have hall, the land that we bought in Thika, I too am a pig farmer whereby if I would sell those 4 individual mother pigs, I can get at least Kshs.80, 000 in cash. They are fruits of Muungano. I used to save the little that I got. Previously Muungano members used to save 5 or 10 shillings but we increased a bit because situations of life. I minimum that a member can save today is 50 shillings and it is not a must but the time that one gets. One cannot save while there is no food in the house.
We are also thinking as we continue after member have resumed, because we had given people a chance in this January to pay the school fees, we will start a new project. The land that we bought we can start constructing some houses like these of Muungano and rent them. And if we can rent these houses can be a good thing because they will be an example to those area where there are no such houses. People will get some employment because there are the skills that only peoples in Muungano has.
So muungano has helped me and I think other peoples in this Huruma Muungano Network are also happy because they if they couldn’t see the daily progress they cannot stay in that group.
Interviewer: thanks Peter, I will take you back a little bit because you are the first one that has mentioned Muungano wa Wanavijiji. Give an introduction, what is Muungano wa Wanavijii? Then make use understand how you share these money in that one can get a house, at the same time get a loan and you also have other project like that of buying land. Also somebody else had mentioned carwash if somebody is not familiar with the group.
Muungano is a collection different villages and in those villages there are people living there is for people with low incomes and are in poor conditions. Because they go through some challenges like poor health facilities, lack of recognition by the government but they air their grievances differently speaking things that can be heard. For examples when some house are being demolished, most of us Muungano people we usually unite together. And if evictions are being done, they cannot reach us Muungano people. In place where is Muungano group, they usually enquire where the boundaries of those villages are. For examples where is the boundaries of Kambi Moto or for Ghetto. And when we show them, they usually move to other place. But if they threaten to demolish them we are always to question and defend the existence of our houses and let them know that their construction was approved by the government and had all the approvals for their construction. They moves to houses built by individuals or without legality.Other than these houses we are building, Network has six villages; Mahira, Ghetto, Kambi Moto and many others and we usually meet on Wednesdays. There are those projects which particular villages are doing apart from those for the Network (six villages) is doing. Car wash is a project for Kambi Moto village, and Kambi Moto is part of Huruma Network. The hall is a project for Huruma Network. Even for Gitathuro they have their own project as a village apart from being involved in the Network. Likewise, even Ghetto has their own project which they do as a village.
For the group that is in Kayole which is for the refugees, who decided that the project they can start from their saving farming pigs and selling them. If as a group or individual member decides to open a butchery they can easily buy those pig from the group. So that is part of economic empower to for particular villages.
For the Kambi Moto projects, there are skills that you acquired, tell us how you have trained others those skills and how used them?
There are those construction materials called laddish and beams. Those skills we were trained by few people of went for trainings and they trained us who were left behind. We were replicate that and in order to build those 20 houses, more skilled laborer were needed. So we did the construction work slowly as we were being trained. Among those six villages, only two villages which has different design from this one that we have here at Kambi Moto. The other four villages have the same design.
During construction process, we faced some of the challenges that I spoke about in particular villages, and its then that we decided to be meeting in one place. So that if a particular village had some problems, they wouldn’t affects the meetings with many people or the meetings of other villages.
In case a person want to be built a house, he would call the skilled labourers and negotiate with them on the construction fee that is for making laddish or beams because those were the builders. And there was no discriminations in those skills between men and women. A person who’s the house was to be constructed, was to make all the required preparations and set the date when the work would be started. The causal labourers could be acquired from one’s own village.
After sometimes the organizations withdrew their supporting in the project, although they facilitated for the trainings. The people who had money proceeded with construction of their houses. The skilled labourers were to be acquired form the villagers. The construction works could have costed us a lot if we would have involved the contractor. And he could bring labourer from outside where nobody in the village could have benefited from that construction. But in that case, the builders were gotten from the villages, I could built and keep those skills there. If you to Nakuru, you will find Muungano house where by their skilled labourers came from Huruma. Even in Kisumu our Chairman Mr. Chege went there and did the budgeting for one house and started building it. If the person needed the builders, they would come from Huruma because they have those skills and they already have some estates they built through Muungano.
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Interviewer: As a leader, tell how you have used community mobilization to assist other groups like that of refugees you had told us earlier with existing projects?
There is that outreach program that was held at Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA). It was an informal settle program through Muungano. I was trained on community organizing whereby you engage yourself with the community. The first thing, you lead from behind, know their problems, what they want and what they don’t want, which challenges they are going through. Then do a research as you offer yourself to go through those processes. Afterward, you will know where you can start, what is the stepping stone. Before anything you need to know the people as they knows you, as you interact with them, you can identify their weak and strong areas. You can start small with them and when you see they are making progress you can propose some other ideas like doing savings to start a certain project. But it still has some challenges because when tell people about that, they normally say that we are being paid by the organization or you are government’s project and many other negative comments. But when you are patient with them and courageous you will be insulted but you will preserving.
With refugees, we faced much challenges because many of them did not have the legal documents like identity cards as we have. For them they have alienation cards and so has already expired, some came migrated when they were very young and they got those alienation illegally and they fear to be identified. But because of the mobilization, we were able to interact they realized that Muungano is among the groups which can help us. For now they can even give their contacts and we can inform them when we are meeting and they attends those meeting. I faced much challenges during mobilization process because they were not ready to reveal their nationality. When they accepted to join the group, they are now doing their savings but they started contributing even before the group was registered and their names included. Some of them are signatories of the group. We registered it as CBO. It is hard for foreigners to trust in someone just like that but for us Muungano we won their trust.
Interviewer: Because you have a twenty years’ experience, give us a cost estimate of building the first houses and how that cost have changed for example those who built in year 2005 upto date has that cost changed much?
for the first houses that we built, starter+ 1 was about Kshs.105, 000. That was enough to complete the full house including plastering. The owner of the house was to contribute 10%, the group paid 10% and the organization that was financing the project contributed for 80%. Currently, the cost of materials keeps on changing. For those that are building through Muungano, a person need to have saved 10%, then the group contributes 10% but that will be enough only for the foundation. Then the builders used to volunteer, but nowadays you need to pay around Kshs. 1500 for the skilled labourer and Kshs. 700 for unskilled. So because of the fluctuations it’s may be around Kshs 350,000 can be enough to build starter+1.
Interviewer: Is there anything tha we didn’t capture, may be house construction process, if something was wrongly done or saving process? Start with house designs and construction process.
Our last meeting that we had in JKUAT, there was a promise that you made. Because we are not recognized by the government, and other respondents did not mention that. We had started a process of registering Huruma Network as a building and housing co-operative so that we can be recognized by the government. But in every step on our way we found challenges; first when I went through the training I wasn’t given any certificate to show my qualifications and show the houses that I have built through the network. If as individual we had certificates we could be able to register as people with skills to build certain houses and that has been approved by the government. If we had those certificates and being registered by the group we could have progressed.
The past government which we had which we had for the past 10 years spoke about the social housing and when they were opening that meeting in Kisumu, I was invited there to give a procedure of building social housing. I was also invited by World Bank to give that introduction but the problem is that those people are not recognized. Yes they usually take our records but stops there. Another phase starts and it finishes.
So what I can request for us who are here, the current government is promoting social house and it has been promising people that in certain area they are going to build 5000,100,000 and 150,000 houses and so on. Let them know that this is the kind of social housing that they can benefit people with. Because there are even other people living outside Nairobi who may need their houses to be built but because of the cost of construction they are unable to build. But if they would get Skill from Muungano people who are recognized by the government he will not face challenges of demolition of their house from National construction Authority (NCA) because the house does not meet the standards. And I don’t think that our skills are that weak that they cannot be recognized. There is that registration that other members did not speak about and I don’t know how you can help us so that we can continue with that progress. This will enable us to be recognized either within Nairobi or outside so that we be recognize as a group that can help people or community in house development.
Interviewer: since this project took 20 year, it started you were young. What advise you can give to youths who are having the age you had that time. What can they do if they would like to own a house in Nairobi today? How do they join Muungano group when reach the age of 20 years?
Respodent: Let me start with youth, if I wasn’t patient to join Muungano I could not see any importance of Muungano and what my parents did. But most of our youths nowadays they love instant things but during our times our parents could not afford instant things because of the challenges they were facing. They always like shortcuts. In Muungano we usually have a small group called “Mwamko wa vijana”. This is a group within Muungano but it allows young to do things on their own ways. But not those things which can have effect on the people in the community.
We have John Kimani you is in-charge of the youth. There are youths who are talented in playing football, acting, and video shooting or acting dramas when there are peaceful walks. And in that they recognized in the society in a good way. But there some youths who do not want all that because it is not must for youth to work as a handy man in order to save 5 shillings or 20 shillings. Because of the perseverance we were able to own these houses which a unit cannot be sold below a million, it can be sold a million plus. It is those youths that are in Mwamko wa Vijana can benefit from programs that are for the youths in case of supports from any organization. For example, John Kimani as member of Muungano has skills of video shooting, he has travelled to India, South Africa and many other through Muungano. And as he travels he introduces these skills in those nations. But there are those who are there just for the sake. We haven’t closed the door to anyone who want to join Muungano. Even for you if come on Wednesdays and give us new ideas we will take that seriously. That can help us today or any other day because I will not always be in leadership. We can leave that to future generation as some of our parents gave us the chance to continue leading Muungano. And that why we decided to be meeting in one place to separate ourselves from the challenges of particular village. An information that is brought here is directed to where is needed.
Even anything that concerns youths when is brought here in Muungano we are able to identified those who can be involved. Sometimes we allow them to decide for themselves if they can benefit from those programs. So those are the procedures that we follow here because you cannot force everyone to join Muungano. For us we are planning to register as company for builders through Muungano. We need to be recognized both nationally and internationally.
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