Human Rights' education and promotion in the slum of Korogocho

In Korogocho, 150,000 people live in extreme poverty on 1.5 sq.km. It is a marginalised community whose human rights are regularly violated: right to education; life and social security; health; an adequate standard of living and work.

We will provide a group of talented youths with the relevant theoretical and practical skills to demand and defend the human rights of the community. The objective is the creation of a network of youths able to get the community out of its social and economic exclusion. We will have two local partners: 1) Comboni missionaries; 2) Tangaza University College, which will be responsible for the academic programmes at the Human Rights' clubs in the schools and the Diploma in Civic Development and Education for the young adults.

Goal of the project: the community of Korogocho negotiates with the local authorities its requests for a positive social transformation and for the respect of human rights in the slum.

Duration of the project: 2019-2022

Direct beneficiaries: 524 students

This project contributes to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 16:

Goal 4 : Quality Education
"Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development."

4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development

Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

"Access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels."

This project is supported by: MAEE, Charity Cross, Ville de Luxembourg, Diddeleng Hëlleft, Actions sans Frontières, International School of Luxembourg.

Final results

Output 1: A group of young adults from Korogocho successfully completes the Diploma in Civic and Development Education.

Indicator: By Q2 of the third year, at least 15 participants successfully complete the DCDE programme.

Results: “The project empowered 20 participants through the Diploma in Civic and Development Education (DCDE) to act as human rights agents”

Output 2: St Francis secondary school, St Johns, Emmaus, St Martin and Watoto Wetu primary schools have fully implemented the Human Rights programme.

Indicator: By Q2 of the third year, at least 15 students from each school have completed the Human Rights programme.

Results:

We have created a Human Rights Club Curriculum: « Teaching Human Rights in Slums ».
We have created 5 Human Rights Clubs with 40 members per school, for a total of 200 yearly students promoting social activities.
Emmaus’ club transformed a dumping site into a Peace Park.

Output 3 : The six target groups work together on a social research and a Human Rights Festival.

Indicator: By the end of the project, the community, the media and local authorities receive the results of the social research.

Results:

The project conducted a “Human Rights Social Survey in Korogocho”, and disseminated its findings.
Over 300 people participated in the Human Rights Festival

Output 4 : A Human Rights network, composed by the beneficiaries of the programme, is established in Korogocho.

Indicator: At least 40 young people trained by the programme get together on a regular basis to discuss Human Rights and social transformation in the slums. They carry out social research; organise public activities and events; positively interact with the media and local authorities.

Results: The project established a Senior (18 active members) and a Junior Human Rights Network (60 active members). The Junior Network has also formed a Nairobi Slums Children Parliament.

To read more, here is the final evaluation of the project:

Emmaus Educational Centre, Human Rights Club (Lucky Summer, Nairobi, Kenya)

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Korogocho

Korogocho is a slum of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Nairobi has about 4.5 million inhabitants, of which 60% live in slums.

Korogocho is located next to the Dandora dumpsite, the largest in Kenya. It has about 150,000 inhabitants on 1.5 sq.km.

More than 90% of its residents live in shacks made of iron sheets, plastics, polyethylene bags or mud.

Without drinking water nor toilets, hygiene is precarious, so that diseases spread rapidly. The toxic wastes of the Dandora dumpsite poison the whole community. Yet, in Korogocho there is no hospital or a medical centre.

The youths are largely affected by unemployment. The difficult living conditions together with unemployment and hopelessness contribute to widespread crime, heavy drinking, domestic violence, drug abuse and addiction, abandonment of children and prostitution.

In Korogocho, there is only one public primary school and no public secondary school. Therefore, most families are obliged to send their children to private schools, which are often too expensive or of bad quality (the so-called informal schools, with untrained teachers and poor resources).

Insecurity and violence in the streets of Korogocho are widespread. Police is either absent or corrupt and violent with the local youth.

Thanks to its projects, North-South Cooperation has contributed to the empowerment of the community of Korogocho:

- It has built an educational community centre (St John's community centre) equipped with a library hosting 10,000 textbooks and an ICT centre with PCs and printers. This centre is attended by 2,200 young students.

- It has supported an informal primary school (Emmaus, which saves children from the Dandora dumpsite) through new classrooms, desks and textbooks.

- It has built a professional training centre for street youths (Daniel Comboni Vocational Centre).

- It is currently training a network of young Human Rights Defenders to promote and defend human rights in the community.