Clean Technology Changing Lives In The Slum Town Of Kibera, Kenya
by Sangeeta Haindl
Kibera is Kenya’s biggest slum town, where the houses are made of mud with leaking roofs made of old iron sheets. The whole area here has no drainage system; a result, the sewage spreads all over. The town smells, and the children and grown-ups inhale the bad stench. There is no provision for water. People buy water from water vendors in jars, and due to the poor sanitation, many people get sick with diseases like cholera, malaria, typhoid, TB. The local women here spend on average, three hours three times a week on a strenuous laundry process, which has devastating health implications as they injure their backs carrying heave water containers for long distances and constantly bending over to wash laundry.
Helping to empower the lives of these people, particularly women, the Human Needs Project (HNP) and Procter & Gamble have created a ground-breaking sustainable community centre in Kibera Town Centre, which is fuelled by solar energy and water supplied from a water borehole. This building brings the latest in clean technology to serve one of the most marginalised communities. Procter & Gamble’s Ariel Laundry Room forms part of the Kibera Town Centre and will revolutionise the laundry process, offering local residents respite from the long and painstaking practice.
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Photo Credit: Procter & Gamble
Sangeeta Haindl writes on social innovation, social enterprise, and social entrepreneurs. She is the owner of Serendipity PR, in London, U.K., where she works with high-profile brands and organizations in the public, non-profit, and corporate sectors, winning awards for her work from the communications industry. She describes herself as a Spiritual Entrepreneur, Conscious Explorer, and Futurist. She enjoys helping others, paying it forward, and being a mum.
