A Photo Essay that shows a little about the life in the Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya.

1. Mathare Slum
By Lars H. Kristiansen

2. The first glance over the
Mathare slum is a strange
experience. The sounds
from the Mathare valley
make it seem like a busy
place, and it is, with its
600,000 residents. The
smell also provide a
certain realness that the
photos do not. To
experience the Mathare
slum you have to be part of
it yourself.

3. This is Daniel, a guide that
shows tourist around in the
slum. He has grown up in
Mathare, and says that he
did not know about the
“real world” around him
prior his teenage years.
The life in Mathare does
not seem so bad for the
children living in it, until the
learn about the world
outside of the slum.

4. The streets in Mathare are
muddy and slippery, so the
people living in certain
areas have made canals
that lead the water. Some
of the streets are almost
impossible to walk through
because no one has made
a canal system like the one
on the photo.

5. The schools inside of Mathare
gets limited amounts of
financial aid from the
government. On the photo
there are six students sitting on
the two out of three desks in
this classroom. This classroom
is one of few at this school with
windows that provide light.
Other classrooms have almost
no daylight and it lacks even
more furniture than the photo
portrayed on this slide.

6. The school depends on
donations from people and
organizations. Had it not
been for two men from
Finland the stairs and
second floor shown in this
image would not exist .
Small donations can
provide the students in this
school desks and
equipment in order for
them to obtain a proper
education.

7. The school holds around
100 students and the
playground provided is
limited to only a few. On
the picture you can see
some students getting
ready for a show. They are
preforming a dance show
as a way to say thank you
for your donation.

8. The Good Samaritan
Children Home &
Rehabilitation Center is a
safe place for the orphans
that live in Mathare. They
provided stories of children
found in dumpsters, and
even in a dead woman's
arms. They give the
children a roof over their
head and food. Their
money comes from
organizations and also
independent donors.

9. Each room is stuffed with
beds and the children's
stuff. The rooms holds a
surprisingly 30-40 little
ones. The little girl on the
photo was the only one
there at the moment, she
was sick and had to take a
day off inside.

10. The people living in Mathare
vary from those who have to
live here due to low income
and people who come from
other places in Kenya looking
for work in Nairobi. The prices
of the shanties also vary, and
the cheapest ones are closest
to the river. When it rains in
Mathare the river overflows
and the houses closest gets
washed away. Most think that
Mathare consist of squatters,
but they have to pay a rent of
$5-10 a month and a they
earn about $1.00 to $1.50 a
day.

11. This is Margaret, she is the
principal at a school
outside of Mathare. She is
probably one of the most
positive persons you will
ever meet. Her little school
is humble but full of
energy, you can hear the
children sing from a far.

12. The kids there love to play,
and they are not shy at all.
It can remind you of the
kindergartens back home
are like. On the photo they
are playing a game where
they are going to dance,
and when the guy in the
blue shirt says something,
the kids jump if they that is
something they can eat it.

13. Soccer is a big part of the
daily routine in Mathare.
On every corner and every
open area there are
children or grown ups
playing the sport. Either
they have a proper soccer
ball or a ball made out of
plastic bags and strings.

14. The experience a person can get from a day in Mathare is
indescribable, it is just something that has to be done in
order to really understand what is happening there. On the
picture above the children at one school were preforming a
dance as gratitude for a donation and also because they
just love to do it.