Background and objective:

The programme objective was to support the improvement of living conditions of people living and working in Kahawa-Soweto settlement in northern Nairobi. Funded with a grant from the Government of Italy, an action plan and funding strategy was prepared, focusing specifically on the delivery of basic services and improvement of structures. Project activities included the improvement of basic services, delivery of security of tenure and the promotion of micro/economic enterprises. The programme was implemented in collaboration with the Nairobi City Council and built on lessons learned from the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP).   

Activities:
The main activities included:

• Obtaining maps of Kahawa to define the extent of the settlement and relationship to the surrounding areas.
• Obtaining information and data on the settlement to use in designing improvements;
• Preparing layout plan of Kahawa-Soweto, locating services and land uses.
• Preparing action plans for service delivery.
• Building broad-based consensus on the action plans and costed projects;
• Prepare an implementation plan, including inputs by various actors in each area;
• Implementing the agreed projects with full community participation

Results:
The project has been completed with the following results:

• Community Land Trust established within the first year.
• Detailed designs prepared for construction elements.
• Construction wok completed on toilets, garbage collection cubicles, road improvements, resource centre and house improvements (80 units).