Goal: Strengthened and diversified livelihoods adequately mitigating cumulative shocks and stresses for socio-economic stability of residence of informal settlements.
Poverty remains a major challenge facing many Kenyans living in slums and informal settlements in urban settings. As a result, people have no alternatives and engage in risky activities to eke a living for themselves and their families even if it endangers their lives. The environment has been a major victim of this survival for the fittest. Human activities in search for a source of livelihood have led to depletion of natural resources such as forests.
The concept of Sustainable Livelihood and Resilience (SL) is an attempt to go beyond the conventional definitions and approaches to poverty eradication. These had been found to be too narrow because they focused only on certain aspects or manifestations of poverty, such as low income, or did not consider other vital aspects of poverty such as vulnerability and social exclusion. It is now recognized that more attention must be paid to the various factors and processes which either constrain or enhance poor people’s ability to make a living in an economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable manner.
The desperation for survival drives people in slums to engage in hazardous activities such as garbage sorting, without appropriate equipment or fair remuneration. Further, these individuals are coerced into environmentally unsound activities, such as incineration and river-pollution, through which they unwittingly harm the health of their own communities. Further, most poor people living in urban slums lack opportunities for academic and skills training. As a result of this, they lack employable skills which can enable them to compete in the job market for limited opportunities. Many people in the slums including those working at the dumpsite also lack adequate entrepreneurial skills to enable them grow and get value from their small enterprises. They lack basic finance and record management skills.
Alternative livelihood opportunities in the community is also lacking. In spite of the high unemployment levels in the slums, there are few sources of support for alternative sources of livelihood.
