Kenya

Why Habitat is needed in Kenya
Kenya is home to great scenic beauty and abundant wildlife and warm, welcoming people. Historically one of Africa’s more politically stable countries, Kenya experienced destructive post-election ethnic violence in early 2008, forcing many people from their land and homes. Kenya faces many challenges, including high disease prevalence, high unemployment, rising urbanization and a widening gap between the rich and poor. Moreover, millions of Kenyans face periodic hardships due to draught and flooding as a result of climate change.

Nearly 60 percent of Kenya’s 37 million residents are rural subsistence farmers and live on less than US$2 a day. Although parts of the country are lush, green fields of healthy crops, many people in the rural areas suffer extreme poverty. Families live in inadequate, overcrowded homes, typically with only one room and no windows. The houses usually have mud walls, cow dung and dirt floors and thatch roofs. Poor home construction means they serve as breeding grounds for diseases including malaria, amoebic disorders and respiratory conditions, which are commonly life-threatening.

How Habitat helps
Habitat for Humanity Kenya began building houses in 1982. Since then, HFHK has built over 2,900 homes in partnership with families in over 70 local community groups, in seven regions: Bomet, Bungoma, Kisii, Machakos, Maua, Naivasha and Runyenjes.

HFHK houses have concrete foundations and floors, corrugated galvanized iron roofs and durable walls made of locally-produced brick, stone, rammed earth or stabilized soil block. The average size is approximately 34 square meters. HFHK continues to investigate new building methods in order to keep building costs as low as possible. The growing program has already enabled thousands of families in western and central Kenya to obtain their own simple, decent and permanent home, improving their living conditions and health.

Highlights

• HFHK has initiated a new urban housing program and is working with two groups living in urban slums: Panda Self Help Group in Naivasha and Holybird Housing Group in Nairobi. Panda has 222 low-income members who want to build permanent homes on the land they occupy. Holybird is a group of 2, 000, most of whom live in Kibera, the biggest slum in sub-Saharan Africa. Members of Holybird want to build permanent housing on the small plots of land they managed to buy about 30 kilometers outside of Nairobi city. HFHK is assisting both groups with applications, house plans, infrastructure design, fundraising, training and mobilizing the community and overseeing house construction.
• HFHK partnered with a local micro-finance institution, Faulu Kenya, to offer housing repair and renovation solutions. Small home loans from Faula Kenya and technical support from HFHK allow families to do minor repairs or renovations on their existing homes. This micro-finance approach enables HFHK to serve more families who are in need of a range of decent, affordable housing solutions.

Facts about Kenya
Location: East Africa
Population: 37 million
Languages: Kiswahili, English and indigenous languages
Climate: Tropical along coast; arid in the interior
Religions: Christianity, Islam and indigenous beliefs
Government: Republic
Economy: Tourism; agriculture; primary exports include tea, coffee and horticulture products