As Kenya joins world leaders at the ongoing summit on climate change, Nairobi residents are slowly succumbing to poisonous gases emitted from a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode if urgent action is not taken. 30 acres of heaps of garbage have been piling up for the last 30 years in the Dandora Municipal Dumpsite, one of Africa’s largest waste dumps. It is the only one that serves Nairobi with over 4 million inhabitants. This infamous dumpsite is no longer a problem to the residents of Korogocho and its environs alone: Nairobi’s 2000 metric tones of industrial, agricultural and hospital wastes transported there daily, is set on fire, releasing who knows what toxic gases into what used to be the city in the sun. The dumpsite, established by the government in the mid 1980s, sprawls over a disused quarry in the east, 8 kms from the city centre in Korogocho slums, home to over one million residents.
As the Nairobi River flows by the dumpsite, some of the waste makes its way into it. There are, of course, communities living near the dump as well as downstream who may be using the water to irrigate vegetable gardens and in their homes. Efforts to clean up the river have been frustrated and calls to relocate the dumpsite have been made since the site was declared a health hazard in 2001. Those most affected by the smoke that comes out of the unsorted garbage of plastics, rubber and metal include Korogocho, Dandora, Kariobangi, Babadogo and Embakasi residents.
Health and Environmental Hazards
In areas near the dumpsite, there has been a high record of respiratory diseases. During one of the many campaigns launched on December 10, 2009 by the residents of Korogocho and Dandora to pressurize the government to close and relocate the dumpsite, Fr John Webootsa, a Comboni Missionary said, “Our people are dying. We want the government to stop their blame game and create proper waste management mechanisms to create a clean environment for our children and community.” He said many people scavenging the site for scrap to sell and those working with recycling projects face the highest risk of infection because they do not use any protective gear.
A recent research by the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), carried out on 328 children revealed the shocking news that half of the them aged between 2 and 8 tested, had concentrations of lead in their blood exceeding internationally accepted levels and were also suffering from respiratory diseases, chronic bronchitis and asthma. Children there are also exposed to pollutants such as heavy metals and toxic substances through soil, water and air while others suffer gastrointestinal and skin diseases. Lead poisoning was manifested in the children with low haemoglobin levels and iron deficiency anaemia. Experts say exposure to high lead levels leads to damage of the nervous system and the brain while cadmium poisoning causes cancer and damage to internal organs like the kidneys. Imagine the kind of damage a child born in this area is likely to suffer! Angeline Oduor, who has lived in Korogocho slum for more than 30 years has a respiratory problem, the Seed learnt. Oduor’s last born child, only ten years, is a victim of the environmental filth. “My child has asthma caused by poisonous smoke from the site. I wish I would close my eyes and find the rubbish gone,” she lamented to the Seed, explaining that the filth has killed many due to chest complications. “Every child from schools around the dump coughs, especially, during the hot season when spontaneous fires arise and smoke blown by wind enters their classrooms.” She said that this situation is affecting the learning process in schools.
The St. John's Catholic Church dispensary, located close to the dump has in a period of 3 years, treated 9,121 people per year on average for respiratory problems. Experts say people here are also at risk of contracting blood-borne diseases like hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. And the environment has not suffered any less. The study by UNEP also showed from soil and water samples taken from the dumpsite, that there are dangerously high levels of heavy metals, especially lead, mercury and calcium. 40 percent of the soil samples recorded lead levels almost 100 times higher than what is considered unpolluted soil.
Out of the dumps, a star and business opportunities
For most residents of Korogocho, the stuff that most people trash is their treasure, though it comes at a price. They often inhale noxious fumes from burning waste as they scavenge the dump for wares to sell for their livelihood without any protective gear, unaware of just how great a risk they are running.
But while these are everyday struggles to make ends meet here, life in the informal settlement of Korogocho is not all pain. There are the sunshine moments too. Evans Odongo is only 19 and already, he has three “inventions” to his name. He even has dreams to build his own ‘aircraft!’ The young man has invented a system of converting energy from pit latrines to use as electricity for a small school within the Korogocho slums. The school, named Kao la Tumaini, which translates to Seat of Hope, literally gives hope to those young people who fail to make it through elementary school. Begun and run by an Evangelical pastor, Paul Otunga, the school is home to more than 200 youngsters; among them, Evans, who is a star. He dropped out of school after class eight in 2005. He spent all his time rummaging through the dumpsite from where he collected pieces of different things. Some, he recycled and sold to help his parents in the upkeep of their large family, while others, he used in his experiments. While his health may be in danger from spending so much time in the dumpsite, he leaves a smile on the face of everyone who meets him. The story of his invention from a pit latrine, which lights up 14 rooms in his current school, a posho mill and a rechargeable battery, reads like something out of a science fiction novel. It is a truly remarkable feat.
26 year old Michael Njoroge, also born here, has known no other life but that of scavenging the dumpsite, sorting plastic, polythene papers and scrap metal. He explained that he earns his livelihood through this dumpsite and that out of his collection of plastic, metal and papers he used to make around KShs. 50 daily. Due to his poor health, Njoroge no longer works at the waste camp. He said most young people from the area are self employed and are able to survive from the dumpsite, others even using the place to sleep as they have no shelter! However, Angeline Oduor, another resident of Korogocho feels, “What we get here is little compared to faida ya maisha” (life is more important). Oduor’s wish is to see the dumpsite relocated to somewhere no one will be affected by its toxins. Michael Wangombe, a guard at St John’s Catholic Church who has lived in that area since the 80s echoes Oduor’s wishes. He would like to see un-recyclable waste, particularly, relocated to another place.
Rehabilitation Efforts
Many Dandora residents say that despite numerous promises by the government to do something about the dumpsite, nothing has been forthcoming. Christian groups in Nairobi and some government officials want the dumpsite closed. Fr Webootsa would like the government to stop politicizing the dumpsite and give a chance to foreigners who are willing to help relocate the dumpsite. KUTOKA Network, a local voluntary Christian body that works with slum people is one such organization. The team under KUTOKA Network include four Catholic parishes.
The KUTOKA network is calling for an immediate closure and relocation of the Dandora dumpsite to a non-residential area, create a policy for waste management, recycling infrastructures and formal employment for the people currently working around the dumpsite. It also calls for reclamation and decontamination of the Dandora area. Through their campaign: Stop Dumping Death on Us. We have the Right to Live Too, they hope to open dialogue with relevant institutional actors which can help solve this problem. Let us hope that the Kenyan government will come back from the 14 days meeting on Climate Change at Copenhagen, Denmark, to give its citizens a new year’s gift by closing down the deplorable Dandora dumpsite to save the Kenyan people and environment.
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