They once lived the ‘gangster life.’ Now they tackle food insecurity in Kenya’s slums

Young males who once lived the “gangster life” in Kenya’s capital dangle turn into farmers with a social mission. Now, they develop food, feed neighbourhood children and sprint other initiatives.

Joseph Kariaga and his guests once lived the “gangster life” in Nairobi’s Mathare slum, snatching telephones, mugging folks and battling police.

But when Kariaga’s brother used to be shot ineffective by police, the younger males took inventory.”We changed after many died, my guests, so many.

Even my brother,” says Kariaga, now 27.”We decided to alternate to be the younger ones’ ambassadors.”

Now, the males are farmers with a social mission.On the subject of a dozen of them founded Vision Bearerz in 2017 to handbook youth a long way from crime and tackle food insecurity in one in every of Kenya’s poorest communities.

No matter challenges, Vision Bearerz makes a modest but meaningful community influence, including feeding over 150 children at lunches every week.

Some residents praise the community and call the males role gadgets.Amid cuts to foreign funding by the United States and others, experts insist local organizations adore this could perhaps also be the contrivance forward for support.

Vision Bearerz works on an urban farm tucked away in the muddy streets and corrugated-steel properties that bag up Mathare, one in every of Africa’s most populous slums.

Estimates insist about a half-million folks are living in this neighbourhood of decrease than two square kilometres.

Some two million folks, or 60% of Nairobi’s population, are living in informal settlements, according to CFK Africa, a non-governmental organization that runs neatly being and poverty reduction programs in such neighbourhoods and is acquainted with Vision Bearerz’ work.

Lack of infrastructure is a key discipline in these communities, that are growing amid sub-Saharan Africa’s rapid urbanization and booming youth population, says Jeffrey Okoro, the community’s govt director.

Poverty pushes youth into crime, Okoro provides.”One of the major challenges affecting young people in slums is gangs and the lure of making it rich or getting a quick buck,” he says. “A lot of them end up joining these gangs who then provide an opportunity either for them to become a man, for them to earn a living, and it is so luring.”

The farmers of Vision Bearerz know this neatly.

” We were going through ups and downs like lacking money so we had to get it from wherever we could,” says 28-year-aged Ben Njoki, whose face tattoos are reminders of a gang-affiliated past.