When gender-based violence (GBV) took a devastating uptick in Korogocho this fall, ACORN Kenya immediately began hosting meetings for the women who were most affected and their allies, building support from the ground up through trainings and solidarity. This month, the group took public action! More than 100 participants marched on local police offices, demanding clear and strict repercussions for those perpetrating gender-based violence.

After a dramatic increase in gender-based violence in the community, ACORN Kenya met with impacted members of the community and made a plan to support them, including  trainings and community education and outreach against gender-based violence. Meanwhile, they also organized a successful stakeholder’s meeting for waste management in Korogocho.

ACORN Kenya held a member meeting on August 15th in preparation for the Stakeholders forum on enhancing environmentally friendly neighborhoods in Korogocho, with over 35 members attending, and five new members added!  

In June, ACORN Kenya mobilized a major action protecting residents in Korogocho, Nairobi’s largest slum. Korogocho doesn’t have a designated garbage site, creating massive public health issues, including sickness and blocked drains, which has contributed to deadly flooding. ACORN leaders Asha Abdi and Halima Osman led a crowd confronting the Ward Manager’s office, securing a meeting and commitments to support the campaign. Mazingira Safi Ni Haki Yetu! A Clean Environment is Our Right!

ACORN Kenya continued their important work advocating for nutrition in schools in Korogocho, despite dealing with complex government red tape, as well as deadly floods in the region.

ACORN Kenya spent February mobilizing key participants and gathering information to accelerate their youth education advocacy programs in the settlement of Korogocho. They have submitted a petition to the Kenyan government demanding that they meet their promises to provide free food for over a quarter million students, which would make attending school possible these young people.

ACORN Kenya hosted a successful training session on the basics of community organizing for unions and NGOs at the Kariobangi Social Justice Center in Nairobi, and are planning the 2024 African Organizers Forum, slated for early next year. Members are also generating a report to ask the governor to include all the community schools in the urban settlement of Korogocho in their school food program, which would be a major win!

Report from Sammy Ndirangu, ACORN Kenya organizer.

It’s now nearly two months since the first case of Corona Virus was reported in Kenya. Currently there are 396 persons who have contacted the virus with a death toll of 17 people in the whole country with 144 people fully recovered from the infection. Nairobi has been on the lead of the highest number of infections followed by Mombasa.

Residents getting supplies.