Owalo Foundation off to a flying start in Kibra Nairobi businessman and politician Eliud Owalo has launched a foundation to assist the residents of kibra constituency acquire technical skills and be self sufficient with economic empowerment programs . Owalo was in Kibera last Weekend for a series of events which that ON SUNDAY culminated in the first cohort of 31 youths get sponsorships worth Kshs 352,000 for fully paid course in motor vehicle driving, including the costs of government test and interim licences. He also presided over various fundraising to several churches in Kibra as well as contribute to funeral services of families who lost loved ones. The constituency has experienced fire outbreaks due to the illegal electric wiring in most parts of the slums leaving hundreds homeless. ON SATURDAY, Owalo appealed to the Church to join forces with the opposition and the Civil Society in rejecting the proposed Anti-terrorism Bill which he described as draconian and retrogressive. Owalo was speaking when he presided over a harambee in aid of Darajani SDA Church at Kisumu Ndogo in Kibra Constituency. Owalo was emphatic that there is a systematic attempt by President Uhuru Kenyatta to revert Kenya to a police state as was witnessed during the KANU erra dictatorship with the sole egocentric intention of perpetuating himself in Power. The harambee that was meant to facilitate the relocation of the Church to a new site to pave way for The Railway line realized a total of Ksh. 450,000 with Mr. Owalo giving a personal contribution of Ksh. 150,000. ON SUNDAY morning, Owalo joined worshippers at the Mashimoni Friends Church which is also facing eviction from their current site by Kenya Railways. Responding to church leaders who had urged him to help them identify a relocation site for the church and assist in its construction, Owalo gave an immediate donation on Kshs 150,000 which he later topped up with Kshs 50,000 for purposes of relocation of the church and acquisition of uniform for the Friends Church Choir in their four branch churches of Kibra. Kibra constituency has experienced heightened political activity as Jubilee government continue its development rhetoric in the constituency which is centred around sewers and toilets. Using the National Youth Service, the Jubilee national government has camped in Kibra, especially within Kibera slums, for several months now, with its activities in Kibra extended by another six months. Speaking at the weekly baraza at Kamunkunji grounds on Sunday, several speakers faulted the jubilee government approach to developing the slum constituency with leaders warning that what is needed is not to make the slum liveable but to do away with the slum altogether by systematically upgrading the houses as has been going for the last ten years. The speakers warned that government obsession with cleaning Kibera without tackling the economic and social situation of slum dwellers will fail, saying basic human needs cannot be guaranteed by merely erecting toilets all over. The approach is wrong in two fold. First, it doesnt solve the basic problem facing the people of kibera which is shelter. The slum upgrade programme which Uhuru regime seem not to be keen in was to ensure people get out of the shacks into modern low cost housing units where all the amenities like toilets and bathrooms are inside the house, not these pit latrines the government is erecting everywhere. Second, and more worrying, the government seem to imply living in slums is okay so long as you have somewhere to relieve yourself, how about the other basic human needs like food and clothing, how does it want to empower the people to get these important needs of people? explains Eliud Owalo. Owalo, a fierce critic of the initiatives jubilee is launching in Kibra however insists he is not against development saying the government has a constitutional and moral prerogative to develop all regions of the country without shooting a documentary to show what it is doing. During Jamhuri Day celebrations at Nayo Stadium on December 12, the government aired a documentary to show off its development programmes in Kibera. However, it seems residents of Kibera have been deeply offended by what many see as an attempt by the government to gain political mileage from its activities in Kibera. When you see they are doing all these PR then it means they are doing something they ought not to ordinarily do. In kibra, what they are doing is the lowest any government can do and feel comfortable - erecting pit latrines. Who among those leaders in government uses pit toilets several meters away from their own houses? Owalo concures.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 09:01:21 +0000
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