"The poor of the cities are not just passive objects. They are taking care of themselves and their living environments. If they are allowed to, they can solve most of their problems" Anna Tibaijuka, former UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director.
"The poor of the cities are not just passive objects. They are taking care of themselves and their living environments. If they are allowed to, they can solve most of their problems" Anna Tibaijuka, former UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director.
"The poor of the cities are not just passive objects. They are taking care of themselves and their living environments. If they are allowed to, they can solve most of their problems" Anna Tibaijuka, former UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director.

Home » About Huruma

About Huruma

Kenya is a country in East Africa with superb regional backing as a hub and destination for many tourists and business travelers owing to its strategic positioning. The 2009 census - a complete count of a country’s population conducted with the objective of providing information on the size, distribution, composition and other social and economic characteristics of a nation, placed the figure at 38,610,097 with Men at 19,192,458 and Women at 19,417,639. This has been a steady growth of 10.9M in 1969 to 28.7M in 1999.

Bird's eye view of section of Huruma slums

Primary School Children Nairobi has a total population of 3,138,369 with 1,605,230 male and 1,533,139 female respectively. Huruma, situated a few miles from the city centre, is within Nairobi North District of Starehe Constituency and is bordered by both slums and suburbs including Mathare valley, korogocho, Kiambiu and Bondeni. Huruma in enclosed between Juja, Outer ring and thika roads. Kibera hyped as the largest Slum in Africa is home to numerous Non Governmental Organizations and about 10km away. It’s population is at 106,913 with 34,017 households in an area of 1.4km2 and all the major tribes (Kikuyu, Luo, Luhya and Kamba) in Kenya live here. Huruma has the largest number of high rise single roomed flats towering 6 – 8 stories high, hence the population. Served by only 3 City Council – Public schools i.e. Daima, Huruma and Salama. Hence it is home to a great number of Non Formal Schools run by Individuals under the Starehe Non formal Schools Association. The Lions Clinic is the only City Council facility offering affordable medications but only for children. Clinics and Pharmacies are therefore a common business in Huruma. Social activity is vibrant with Schools, Churches and Clubs competing for space. Lack of organized public facilities for recreation has lead to vice and moral decadence as many young people experience negativity.

Social Entrepreneurship project: Youth collecting garbage

There is hope however as Youth Friendly centres such as Slumcode bringing the much needed facilities to grass root communities, access to information, communication and diverse services is therefore a possibility. Young people can find better options to spend free time away from the harsh surroundings exposing them to substance abuse, alcohol consumption and prostitution or night club life. Huruma Police post situated at the Huruma Flats has served to improve security. Challenges also flow into sanitation and waste disposal, sewer and garbage is a common sight and much needs to be done to correct this situation.