At SDI Kenya, we believe that the voices of those closest to the challenges of urban slum living are essential to shaping inclusive cities. This blog serves as a platform where staff, community members, and partners collaborate to share diverse perspectives — covering pressing issues, showcasing transformative initiatives, and highlighting innovative research that drives our mission.
From grassroots-led solutions to climate resilience to the power of data in advocacy, our posts reflect the lived experiences, expertise, and collective efforts shaping a brighter future for Kenya’s urban communities. Dive in to explore the stories that inspire action and amplify the voices of change-makers on the ground.
In Naivasha, the community-led KCC Safe Space Project, supported by Shack Dwellers International Kenya and Muungano wa Wanavijiji, will provide healthcare, sanitation, youth and women’s facilities, and flood-response support.
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In Mukuru kwa Reuben, Muungano youth are turning climate knowledge into art. Their mural connects climate change, mental health and community resilience, using lived experience and storytelling to make complex issues visible, relatable and part of everyday community conversations.
For three decades, Muungano wa Wanavijiji has demonstrated the power of collective action in transforming lives and advancing urban justice. In this reflective piece, Erickson Sunday Aboka traces the movement's journey, celebrating its pioneers, enduring legacy, and the responsibility of a new generation to carry the struggle forward.
New publication: Housing Justice at COP30: Civil Society Voices in the Climate Space features SDI President Joe Muturi, who makes the case that community-led slum upgrading is climate action. Discover how grassroots voices are influencing global conversations on housing and climate justice.
Muungano @30 reaffirmed that inclusive housing requires more than construction. Communities must be involved in designing, implementing, and sustaining housing solutions that respond to their livelihoods, realities, and aspirations
At Muungano @30, experts called for stronger community-led solutions to address insecure land tenure, inadequate housing, limited basic services, and climate vulnerability, reaffirming that inclusive cities can only be built by placing communities at the centre.
At Muungano @30, experts called for affordable housing that truly serves low-income communities, emphasizing that inclusive cities require secure land tenure, basic services, and housing solutions grounded in the realities of informal settlements.
Following the devastating 2024 floods in Mathare, residents faced not only the loss of homes and livelihoods but also significant emotional and mental health challenges. Through community-led safe spaces such as Tabasamu Café, survivors found support, healing, and renewed hope, demonstrating that recovery involves rebuilding both lives and communities.
Through media, storytelling, and facilitation training, youth from Mathare are gaining the skills to document their realities, share community-generated evidence, and engage stakeholders in shaping solutions, positioning themselves as storytellers, knowledge brokers, and agents of change.
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