Livewire - Amnesty International blogging for human rights

On Sunday, we began our door-to-door campaign in Kibera to raise awareness of the free SMS 3221 number individuals can text to have their Voice automatically added to the Demand Dignity campaign.   Although my Kiswahili is limited, between help from volunteers in our partner community-based organizations and a smile, we tried to encourage people to take action, claim their rights and demand adequate housing.

Alongside the free SMS 3221, we also invited residents of the informal settlements to add their Voice through video as we had brought along a camera crew.  As many residents of informal settlements do not have access to internet on a regular basis, but do have mobile phones, the SMS and video camera was one of the ways their Voices could be heard by the world of the conditions and basic necessities that they live without.

We continued in Deepsea on Wednesday with an amazing local community-based organization who I was able to work alongside.   The volunteers’ commitment to themselves and their community to demand a better life was inspiring.

Many do not know this, but Deepsea is located between very wealthy neighborhoods on either side of the settlement.  It is also located on a very steep hill and I climbed up and down the hill with Joel as we visited mothers and women who were home.  Most of the men were out working at whatever job they currently had.   As I reached the bottom of the hill, I could look over the stream into the backyard of the wealth neighbor across the stream.   The contrast in living conditions hit home as I realized that the residents of Deepsea live on the same amount of space as two or three homes that were located across this small stream.

However, perhaps the most frequent question I was asked during this door-to-door campaigning by residents of informal settlements was Why.  Why should someone from an informal settlement SMS text message their Voice?   I was told by the residents that they didn’t feel listened to, they felt frustrated and that no matter how many times they have demonstrated for basic things such as the ability to own their own land that they currently live on so they could put their own money into building better infrastructure which would not get knocked down next month – this right to housing has been repeatedly denied over decades.   I have to agree with the activists and volunteers I spoke with – would I really be able to spend my hard earned cash on building a good stable structure if I knew it was going to get knocked down through forced evictions by the government?

Today, we will reach out alongside youth activists from University of Nairobi and Kenyan Institute of Mass Communications to student campuses.  Some of the youth activists will campaign in Mukuru, an informal settlement just next to one of the student campus.   And over the weekend, we, alongside activists from local community based organizations in Korogocho and Mathare will continue to campaign to encourage individuals to speak out to our national and world leaders about what living with dignity means to you.

We ask you to stand and show that activists, volunteers, youth and residents of informal settlements that we have been campaigning alongside are heard by the people of the world .  Take action and sign  petition letter to Kenyan President Mwai Kibak to immediately stop all forced evictions and to ensure that Kenya fulfils its obligations in relation to the right to adequate housing for the most vulnerable.