Local Change Makers

Kibera is Kenya's biggest informal settlement, situated on the outskirts of Nairobi roughly one million people in the informal settlement forming One-fifth of Nairobi's population. Poverty, crime, and diseases have long dominated the narrative about this “city within a city." Residents being portrayed as living a marginal and precarious life. While the challenges in Kibera cannot be denied. A new generation of local artists and changemakers have come to challenge the common biases against the community and its residents offering a new and honest perspective through music, art photography, social Worke.

1. Brian Otieno is a photojournalist born and raised in Kibera. Through his project Kibera stories, Brian challenges the traditional visual narrative and negative perception about his hometown. His project documents life in Kibera from a socio-economic, cultural, environmental point of view, as seen from an insider perspective.

2. Art 360 is an art gallery located in the heart of Kibera, giving a creative platform to young independent artists from the neighborhood. The gallery was founded in 2019 by Faith Atieno, a young female painter, with the goal of identifying, nurturing, and marketing young artists with a passion for arts and painting.

3. David Avido is a local fashion designer known for his signature wax-prints bomber jackets. He has made custom designs for a variety of musicians and reggae stars such as a rising Jamaica singer Koffee.

4. Asha Jaffa is the founder of the initiative Kibera food drive, created in 2020 to fundraise to provide food for families in Kibera who have been severely affected by the lockdown and movement restriction imposed by the government to curb the covid 19 outbreak. As most residents depend on casual work to survive, staying at home is a privilege they cannot afford. Kibera food drive has distributed food to 3,500 families so far.

5. Vincent Otieno is a young bodybuilder who grew up in Kibera and developed a passion for fitness and a healthy lifestyle. He is inspiring youth in his neighborhood to stay away from crime and illicit activities by focusing on their health and well-being.

6. . Daniel Owino is a local musician who goes by the artistic name Futwax. His music reflects the struggle and hope of his community. "it's my duty to make sure that everyone knows what is happening and are doing what they can to stay safe and live in peace. We have to be our own solution.”

7. Slum going green and clean is a community-based organization founded in 2017 by Gesore Nyabute it started as a personal initiative to highlights the problem of environmental pollution in the slum. Nyabute saw a need to develop a solution that could address this problem in the community, while simultaneously promoting opportunities for social engagement for young people in the neighborhood. ‘We plant food crops and fruit trees. We mobilize youths in the neighborhood, especially those with criminal past to join us on mass cleanup. We encourage the residents to take responsibility for caring for the environment.”