- Research | Empower | Transform
Kambi Moto residence Hurumaresidence Huruma
26th January 2023
Interview
Interviewer: Tell us a bit about your life?
My name is Susan Wanjiru. The benefits of this house is that, this is the house I built with my own hands and nobody comes to ask me for rent and I am very grateful. It is also important to me because this is where I brought up my children. All my children grew up here and everyone now have moved out to their own houses, now I am all alone. I see it very nice, and of great importance in my life. I have never seen anybody knocking at my door, because rent is the big problem here. Especially, when somebody knocks at your door, you starting thinking, now that the landlord has come, where will I get the money? Like now economy is bad, where will I get that money? This house is enough for me and is supporting my children too. And we are faring on well, even when my children visits me, I don’t see any problem. We sleep together in this house and encourage each other and continue supporting each other. And they are always happy when see their mother owns a house. A place of her own and nobody will come again to disturb her. So I feel good and I thank God for His will because if it couldn’t be his will I could not have come this far I am today. Because I know according to the challenges that we have gone through, we have conquered because in every journey there are those challenges that one faces. Like for us leaders, when I was a Vice chairperson we faced challenges and in the midst of those challenges we continued and we were able overcome them. And some other time I became a Chairlady and we still we coped with those challenges and overcame them. Then we continued with our construction, facing much problems with our builders.
There were many challenges because those who had like five rooms, and you hear that you are supposed to demolish those five rooms, and only one will be constructed for you which God can help you to get its tittle deed. People could see they were losing. So it was about speaking with people to be able to encourage each other that its better you get that one house instead of getting those five which are not permitted. So in this journey there are many challenges and we have continued to cope up with them, and we have seen victory because the far we are we can say we have conquered. Because that was our dream, that we could be able to change our lives, to be able to move from houses made of cartons and into a house that one could feel you have a house, a good house which you are comfortable, it has water, electricity, so you feel good.
So we encouraged each other until everyone was convinced that it’s better to get that one good house and has facilities. So we continued like that and we were able to finish that journey. And you know completing the journey is when you saw that you dreamt and that dream has come to reality. For us leader we usually feel good and we feel proud of our leadership. Because we coped up with those challenges and encouraged our people showing them that it is good to unite together and without unity we will not be able to do anything, because if you look at other villages which refused to unite themselves as they were supposed to they are still struggling. But for us we join and agreed to walk together and that is how we got that victory. I am in a place that I feel I deserve and is worth of me and I always feel good. Even when sleeping I am able to sleep well and when I woke up I usually thank God for shelter and nobody who knocks at my door for rent. Because I know in this Nairobi if you are renting a house, every end month when you are late to pay the landlord you start quarreling. I usually feel good in this house because I have somewhere I can sleep and even if I lack food, at least I have a place I can sleep.
Is there anything that has not been mention about the history about the whole process you can add? We were told about how you started savings in year 2000. So do you have anything you would like to talk about in that process and also tell us about your role or if there is any skills you acquired?
Respondent: Okay the other respondent has talked about something that is very important because the as we started uniting together, we knew that ‘unity is power’. We were able to unite together in the year 2000 and decided to start small savings so that everyone could get some place. It reached a place where those people who were assisting with loan for constructing these houses accepted our savings to be used to pay the loan. We didn’t save that money to keep it as saving, we used to save shillings; 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 like that. We were able to pay those who granted us loan. Because that was slum upgrading they did not press on us much. They used to tell us that we shouldn’t sleep hungry so that you can give out your savings. We had to make sure first we bought our food then the remaining even if its five shillings that’s what one could save and it was allowed. Because if a save five bob today, then tomorrow another five bob, some other time I save 20 bob that money is adding up. So throughout that process we were able to uplift and to care for each other.
On the side of benefits, as a woman I have benefited a lot, I have even travelled to many foreign countries and I was able to know many places. We used to strengthen each other and shared ideas. When we visited those countries, we could know that there also poor people like us who live in slums. As we could see that the slums in some other countries were better because ours were made iron sheets and kept burning everytime. But in other nations, like South Africa when you could go to those places that they call slums we found out that they were better place but ours were built using iron sheets.
We went to Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, UK, I have travelled to Qatar, and we travelled to many places encouraging each other to unity in order to get help. The only differences I noticed in those nations that we travelled to is that their national and even county governments they are in very much support of those slums. Even when we had those meetings, you could also find county representative attending, we could empower them also. But those days our county governments were very weak, because they used to ignore the meetings that we were inviting them. But government were dedicated. They too used to inspire us and encouraging us to remain united because in that all thing will be possible. Because when you are many and request for anything you shall get but as an individual, you can’t you can’t get it.
So we assisted each other in all those exchange programs as we used to travel and we have seen many changes. Even today people from other countries stills comes to learn how we were able to upgrade because there are some other nations which have not upgraded. It’s now they are trying to upgrade and they wonder how we managed that. There was time they used come for exchange programs and found the houses in slums were constructed using iron sheets but at times they could see things have changed. Houses have been built, other have built flats. They wonder how we succeed, we succeed because we decided to unite together and we put away our differences so that we can win Kenyan county governments. We got support from county council then, but nowadays we call them county governments.
So they came through some few, because during that time the Minister Charity Ngilu also visited us here. Then she as Minister of lands, though she had promised us that before she stop being a minister, she would grant us tittle deeds, but unfortunately she left before we had received the tittles.
We now have a case in court which will help to acquire those tittles, and we believe all that will be possible. Because now we have new government and we know that they too will support us and we will succeed.
Pamoja Trust used to fund those exchange programmes, getting visas for us we only need to volunteer ourselves. They used to have chances for five men and five women. There is no discriminations, we used to go men and women together, even youths used to go to get new ideas there outside.
So even the works that were done here, there was no discrimination, if as a woman you could be able to make laddish you was free to make them. For us women we used to make laddish because were light and men were making beams, because beams were heavy. So we used to work together there was no difference.
Interviewer: There is a question I would like to ask you, tell us about the challenges you faced in your sickness and living in this house and having advanced in age or peoples with disabilities. Which challenges do you face in this houses and how you are able to overcome them?
It’s true these houses has challenges because as for when I became sick, I used to climb stairs very well, I climbed down stairs, I used to do my chores but when I became sick, it was difficult for me to climb those stairs. By the grace of God, I started thinking, now that I built this house what will I do to it? I was able to get another design because of my health issues I knew it will be hard for me to climb up and down those staircases. I became like a person with disability, because the whole of my right-hand side was paralyzed and till today I usually feel that my body is weak. So God gave me the grace of thinking about other means of getting income. I had a big job of selling “mali mali” different commodities that used in the house. I used to sell but for I can feel I cannot do so. So God gave me an idea to redesign this house, I introduced some staircase and then added some more room at the top to create the source of my income. For me I modified the ground floor and introduce a toilet and bathroom which I can access easily without stress. Even when I am sick, I can access the toilet or bathroom without climbing the stairs. Now I am very comfortable and I thank God because He gave me wisdom and guided me to do ABCD. Now I have two rooms where I usually get income at least I can get something to eat without struggle. This house has been of great importance because the way I got it was by the grace of God. And God knew may be this thing will come up and it will benefit me.
What I can say is that, we didn’t know that we will become old, I have also observed that other peoples who are ageing like me are unable to climb up the stairs. Because I had started poultry farming there upstairs but when I started becoming sick, I had to stop that farming. For now I can do nothing because even walking for me is a problem, even a small walk cause me pain. But I usually walk to exercise my body.
So with this ageing life there are many challenges, because I have also realized that most of the people that I came here with are having the same issues of climbing the stairs. Many of are now becoming weak and they too have to look for other means of income so their lives too may be better.
Interviewer: You have mentioned that many of the founders of this project are ageing, and this means their children too are maturing. Is there any way that those children will be able to inherit without the tittle deeds? Are your children also willing to live here or they are living?
According to me and what is have seen is that most of those children who have already matured, they usually prefer to move out and look for some other places to live by themselves. But there are also some who have resigned their house and shared other rooms to their children.
We always tell our children that we don’t have much time live as they do. They are the beneficiaries of these houses and they are not supposed to sell them out because they are the one benefitting. If they are comfortable are okay living together at peace in those other rooms, we they will get those tittles deeds it will still be theirs. Because I don’t know anything about tomorrow, like our minister Magoha passed on yesterday, so we also plan ourselves as we continue growing old, talking to our children and giving them directives.
No one knows when the time to finish our journey here on earth will come. So we give our children directions and most of them are good they listens to what we tell them. Especially our daughters we usually tell them, you should know if I die a day like today, I would leave this house to you but you should know you have your siblings. Know that you are the one to distribute everything.
Interviewer: Do you have anything you would like to add that I didn’t ask you or other respondent didn’t talk about?
Respondent: We are almost getting the ownership of these house although we are not sure when, because the government do their thing slowly so we continue to wait. Even tomorrow we have a meeting with KESIP and they will tell us about the progress because they are the one in touch with the government. During our meeting we are expecting a good report from them, because they are our only hope. They know how to reach there. They brings us feedback as we continue waiting patiently, because we usually know that ‘patience pays’.
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