Kibra’s urban-rural migration: 50 families quit the capital for their rural villages
The exodus from the rural set-up into urban settlements is a movement that has hundreds of thousands of people seeking the proverbial land of milk and honey in a bid to live a better life. But over time, many realise that life in the cities, without a steady income, can be a difficult challenge to navigate, leaving many with very few options at making their lives better. But over the last year and a half, fifty families from seven villages in Kibera slums, have made the decision to go back to their ancestral homes, in search of comfort, economic opportunities and a fresh start at life.
The journey to Dennis Ondigo’s house in Kibra’s Gatwikira village starts early Wednesday morning and we find him and his young wife busy packing for the journey ahead; that both seem so excited about.
After a 39-year stay in Nairobi’s Kibra slum, having been born here, he notes that the time to begin life in a new home is nigh.
Ondigo struggled to find stable employment in the city for years before he decided to go into business. That grocery store, picked up quite well until two years ago when a myriad of challenges, financially and in his relationship, forced him to abandon the business.
With a lack of a steady stream of income, life for his three children and his young wife has been full of downs lately. His new bride is quite excited at the new venture they as a couple are taking.
Her husband Dennis has made plans to have his son going to standard eight live with a family friend for the year, and join the rest in Siaya once he is done with his studies. He hopes to join his mother in business ventures as he looks for work there.
This is one among 50 families voluntarily going back to their home villages in Siaya, Kisumu and Vihiga counties, under the financial and logistical support of Natural capital trust which is working with the county national government administration officials to support them settle back into their ancestral homes.
45-year-old Peter Okumu has been in the public service transport industry since he was 18, he too was born in Kibra and has raised his seven children in this one-roomed house for the last two decades. He says that the industry has faced some challenges, and putting food on the table hasn’t been easy lately.
He too will leave his 17-year-old son in this empty space with just the needed furniture to keep him comfortable till he finishes secondary school… This decision to leave his life behind is not an easy one to make, but he says he is happy with what life in his ancestral home has in store.
Celine Adhiambo Cheno, who came to Nairobi in the early seventies, will have her late husband’s family to hold her hand when she gets back home after over three decades of doing menial jobs in the city. Though she and her husband never had children due to health challenges, she is looking forward to hosting his children by a second wife, as they build their lives away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The waste here in Kibra flows, meandering in the middle of the settlements in various villages here in Kibra constituency, but then there is a story of hope of many leaving this kind of life behind for a fresh start.
The organisation works with the local chiefs who mobilised the community to volunteer to resettle elsewhere… Before the moving day, background checks both in Kibra and in their ancestral homes are done and site visits are to ensure that the families receiving the returning kin are ready for that task.
The move is binding and thus families sign legally binding contracts, to avert a quick move back into the city.
With a new beginning, hundreds of miles away from what they have called home for years, some like Dennis are hopeful that things will definitely change for the better.
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