Based in San Diego, California, the Kibera Slum Foundation (kSlum) has a mission to improve the living conditions of over 1 million people living in Africa's largest slum, Kibera: by creating awareness of the situation in Kibera, raising funds for building toilet facilities & clean-water tanks, improving the waste removal channels, and working with the people of Kibera to develop sustainable economic and educational opportunities that residents can use to support themselves and improve their quality of life for generations to come.  Find out how to help, or learn more below…

- Without access to safe toilet facilities, many Kibera residents are forced to use public areas, most often drainage routes, to relieve themselves.  These drainage waste channels are unprotected and it is common for people, especially children, to come in contact with the waste as it travels out of the slum.  This waste often contains diseases such as Typhoid and Cholera, which kill between 10 – 50% of those infected.  Toilet facilities must be built to prevent human waste from spreading disease.

- Kibera residents are often unable to wash their hands before preparing food or doing other things that can cause diseases to enter their bodies.   This is because clean water must be accessed from pre-filled water tanks which are controlled by landlords and are often difficult or expensive for residents to use.  To prevent the spread of disease, Kibera residents need affordable and convenient public access to clean water for drinking, cooking, and washing.


- Ineffective wastewater channels that run thru the slum cause Malaria, Cholera, and Typhoid infection.  In many parts of Kibera, waste removal channels are simply shallow grooves dug in the dirt next to residences which quickly become muddy and filled.  As residents use the channels to remove waste water and solids from their household area, clogs form, and this is where mosquitoes lay their eggs.  Sewage systems need to be made more efficient to prevent the spread of disease.

The diseases mentioned above not only cause suffering or death for those infected, but often destroy a family’s ability to survive:  if a mother or father is infected with malaria, cholera, or typhoid they will be unable attend work, which often causes them to lose their job, and therefore their only source of income.  In children, these diseases are especially fatal, and many parents cannot afford treatment.

We plan to improve living conditions in the Kibera Slums.  kSlum is not offering a handout, but instead, a life-long investment in the human potential of Kibera’s people. Together, we can provide an opportunity for good health and education that will enable them to take responsibility for their own future, and for the future of their children.

This is no easy task, but as Martin says, "A thousand distance walks start with just a step..." We are taking a step.  Join us.