COST: KES 3000 per person. We will require a 40% deposit is due upon booking and balance payable on the day of the tour.
Don’t forget to check out our other exciting excursions / daytrips:https://www.orangeadventures.co.ke/index.php/excursions-in-Nairobi-Kenya
PREPARING FOR THE TOUR
You will receive detailed instructions in your confirmation email, but prepare with these tips:
• Wear covered shoes – sandals aren’t recommended as the walk is hilly and uneven
• Keep photos to a minimum, and always ask for permission first
• Leave passports, backpacks, purses, and large amounts of money at home
• Avoid flashy items such as SLR cameras, iPhones, or miscellaneous electronics
• Avoid brightly colored or exposing clothing
• Avoid giving out money, which furthers the perception that tourists = money
• Enjoy your time and keep an open mind!
WE ALSO, RECOMMEND SUPPORTING KIBERA IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
• Avoid donating cash – instead, consider supporting Kibera initiatives you visit by offering tangible goods such as food or supplies or through the purchase of products and services. This will ensure that the intent of your support is realized immediately. Examples of items for donation include children’s books, fruits, snacks, and other children’s essentials. School supplies such as pencils, pens, crayons, and notebooks.
•Consider supporting through volunteerism – several opportunities are available at the organizations we support, please email info@orangeadventures.co.ke to learn more.
Kibera is located in the southwest of Nairobi about 5 Kilometers (3.1 Miles from the city Centre)
Orange Adventures Tours & Safaris in Nairobi takes you to Kibera in Nairobi, the friendliest slum in the world. Experience a part of Kenya which is unseen by most tourists.
Kibera Slum Excursion in Nairobi is an escorted tour that starts at 9 am from your residence/ hotel from the city Centre and goes through the Ngong road past Uchumi Supermarket, turn left just next to the Nakumatt Supermarket.
You will learn about Kibera’s Slum Land Ownership, Housing, Population, Electricity, Water, Sewage, Medical Facilities (HIV and AIDS) Clinics, Changaa-Cheap Alcoholic Brew, Drugs, Abortion, Unemployment, and Sport.
The tour starts by the DO headquarters through to Bombolulu stage where you start to descend into the three (3) kilometer Main Kibera slum road.
Visit the Soweto Village homesteads, and then continue to the Curio (handcrafts) The workshop where you will witness how those living in the Kibera slums are innovative in making ornaments out of animal bones.
Continue with visits of the Nursery schools and pass by to see the Water vender and the Shower shop as you meet other slum dwellers mingling with you as they carry on with their daily chores.
Turn right past the roadside fish mongers into the Biogas plant, the only one of its kind in Africa which will use human waste as its raw material in the production of Biogas which will be used as cooking gas as well as lighting about 200 households once it is accomplished and commissioned.
Proceed to the Baraka Za Ibrahim School which is a charitable school, run with the donations from well-wishers and caters for lower and upper levels of education starting from Nursery to Secondary level.
It has boarding facilities for few Orphaned boys and girls, a small kitchen and a laboratory not to mention a ramshackle over crowded staff room in the Centre of this tiny overcrowded institution.
Proceed to the other homesteads including those of the tour guides and security team members and witness their lifestyles in the slums. Pass by a popular pub within the slum for a drink, if you so wish, and pass over the bridge unto the Railway line.
You may be lucky to witness the train pass on the railway line amidst the tin-roofed houses with human beings and animals (goats, dogs, chickens crossing the railway line at the same time).
Cross the railway line into the Centre housing the sick and share your moment with these deserving mothers and children of the slum.
BECOME INSPIRED BY THEIR RESILIENCE AND FRIENDLINESS.
You will experience that the people of Kibera will certainly make you feel welcome. A security-guard, well-known in Kibera, will come on the tour to make you feel even safer.
NOTES:
* Price includes pick-up and drop off from your hotel to Kibera
* You can join the tour in the morning or in the afternoon. It will take about 2 to 3-hour walk
* Restricted-picture policy: Pictures are allowed at dedicated places after permission of the guides
* The local guides and safety guards are very well-known in Kibera and are even born and living in Kibera.
KIBERA SLUM EXCURSION NAIROBI HIGHLIGHTS
Visit an Orphanage/ School
An orphanage/school built by ‘mama Tunza’. Meet this impressive woman and look at her work in the children’s home.
Visit a Bead Factory
A bead factory: in Kibera, everything is being reused and so are also the bones from the butcher. See how these bones turn into beads.
Visit a Typical Kibera-House
A typical Kibera-house. Feel welcome in one of the houses in Kibera and ask your questions about the day-to-day live in Kibera.
The Biogas Center
The biogas center: a fantastic view over Kibera and picture-point. You can see that also human waste is not wasted here and much more…
By joining us you will support the people of Kibera. The tour provides local employment and the profits will be used directly for projects to improve the lives of the people of Kibera.
KIBERA SLUM EXCURSION NAIROBI ITINERARY
Our Kibera tour will start from Adams Arcade (Java Coffee House). This will include a short walk over the Toi-market, the biggest second-hand market in Nairobi.
We can also organize the transport to Kibera from your hotel and back at extra costs (depending on the number of people). You can join the tour in the morning or in the afternoon. It will take about 3 to 4 hours, including a 2-3 hour walk.
You’ll join the tour in a small group (Maximum 6 persons). Our guides and safety guards are very well-known in Kibera and are even born and living in Kibera. Restricted-picture policy: Pictures are allowed at dedicated places after permission of the guides. If you have wishes regarding places to visit, please feel free to ask us for a custom-made tour.
KIBERA SLUM NAIROBI INFORMATION
Kibera means “forest” is the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Kibera Slum Nairobi is roughly the same size as New York City’s Central Park, about 1.5 square miles.
At over 1 million people, the population density in Kibera is 30 times that of New York City and Kibera doesn’t have multi-level housing. Most people living in Kibera have little or no access to basic necessities, such as electricity, clean water, toilet facility, and sewage disposal.
The combination of poor nutrition and lack of sanitation accounts for many illnesses and deaths in Kibera slum Nairobi. According to authorities, there are over 50,000 AIDS orphans surviving in Kibera slum Nairobi, often cared for by grandparents, over-crowded orphanages, or completely unattended.
For these and all children in Kibera, schooling is rare and dependent on the ebb and the flow of family finances, trapping them in a cycle of poverty.
Explore the unseen side of Nairobi through Kibera, Africa’s largest slum and home to over 1 million Kenyans, accounting for over 40 tribes and various religions that peacefully co-exist in the 2.5 sq. km. area. Recently visited by President Obama, PM Gordon Brown, and UN Sect General Ban Ki-Moon, Kibera is the subject of countless UN programs targeting poverty, health, infrastructure, and education. During the 2008 post-election violence, the community became an epicenter of activism, exacerbating political and tribal rifts in an otherwise peaceful area. The novel and 2005 film, The Constant Gardener, also popularized Kibera’s health and political issues.
“How are you,” are the common greetings from the children who are eager to meet the outsiders. Kibera is a fascinating place with raw eye-opening, yet encouraging experiences. With an opportunity to explore Kibera with our local native-born and bred in Kibera guides to understand the work within the community
We have offered hundreds of safe responsible tours since 2008
Explore Kibera Tours offers walking tours that cover major points of interest: the main commercial artery, open-air markets, the Kenya-Uganda Railway, a home visit, “the cow-bone jewelers,” local bead makers, the Kigulu orphanage, the UN upgrading projects, schools and places of worship.
WE ARE:
• Safe and experienced – Visit with a local. We employ trusted guides who are active in community service. We operate during daytime and within safe public areas. We have had ZERO incidents of injuries, harassment, or any complications.
• Orange Adventure Tours and Safaris – We specialize in Kibera tours vs. large external operators with only surface-level knowledge of the community.
• Responsible – We know what’s appropriate. We live and work in Kibera and will provide guidance around photos, donations, etc.
We are a responsible tour operator for open-minded travelers and benefit Kibera by employing knowledgeable local staff, supporting development projects, and bringing a stream of demand to local artisans. We also work with notable hotels, agencies, film production crews, media, and university researchers to provide best in class experiences.
SERVICES WE RECOMMEND
Mdawida Homestay
Mdawida Homestay can offer you a safe and enjoyable accommodation in Nairobi – in the safe and secure suburb of Langata, just a short distance from the city’s major highlights. The location makes for a superb base for traveling around Kenya! More details.
Our friends
By touring with OATS, you support these type of community projects:
Kigulu Orphanage is one of the many ad-hoc orphanages and schools in Kibera. Run by volunteers, Kigulu provides education and food for all those directly or indirectly affected by HIV/AIDS. EKT donates your school supplies and food to benefit 30+ kids.
Kibera Community Youth Program is a community- based organization (CBO) run by young people in the Kibera slum. Recent projects promoted by OATS have included a solar lamp training and assembly facility designed to reduce costs spent on charcoal for homeowners. Read more at www.kcyp.net.
Jitolee Women’s Group is a collective of local women artisans who design gorgeous bracelets, necklaces, bags, and other jewelry. Jitolee also acts as a support group for its single-mother members. Explore Kibera Tours bracelets (pictured left) are available for sale with all proceeds directly benefitting Jitolee Women’s Group.
The itinerary
Our tours start from a well-populated meeting point (near Royal Nairobi Golf Club), starting at 9 am or 2 pm daily (flexible upon request/availability) and last ~3 hours. Further details are emailed prior to the tour.
Tourist tip: A taxi from anywhere in Nairobi should cost you no more than KES 1200 to arrive at our meeting point.
By the end of the tour, you will understand the cultural, geographical, and political landscape. Our visits usually cover: the main commercial artery, open-air markets, the Kenya-Uganda Railway, a home visit, “the cow-bone jewelers,” local bead makers, the Kigulu orphanage (when open), the UN upgrading projects, KCYP youth center, Kibera Primary School (founded by Queen Elizabeth), the Lainisaba Catholic Church, the Makina Mosque.
Kibera slum Nairobi originated in 1920 as a soldiers’ settlement. The British colonial government of the time allowed them to squat on a hillside outside Nairobi. After Kenyan independence in 1963, however, various forms of housing were made illegal by the government, rendering Kibera unauthorized on the basis of land tenure. Diseases such as malaria, cholera, and typhoid afflict large proportions of Kibera residents.
These diseases are caused by a lack of sanitation facilities in the slum, and often in the case of communicable disease, sickness is spread across large portions of the populace. Sanitation in Kibera is non-existent, open sewers carrying fetid water are everywhere.
Cholera and Typhoid cases in Kibera are a direct result of the lack of proper sewage control and disposal. Both Cholera and Typhoid are very debilitating and can last for weeks at a time, and without treatment can cause death.
As residents of Kibera live in structures without any plumbing facilities, clean water must be accessed from pre-filled water tanks (AKA water points), which are often controlled by landlords, and expensive for residents to use. Since clean water is difficult to obtain, residents are often unable to wash their hands before preparing food or doing other things that can cause diseases to enter their bodies.
Malaria is a severe problem in Kibera, and is particularly damaging to the community because it often causes a person to be so sick that they are unable to work, which may precipitate the loss of a job or business revenue that is vital to their family’s survival.
Malaria is also especially deadly in children and the elderly. The Malaria parasite is transmitted from person to person through the bite of female mosquitoes, which requires blood to nurture her eggs.
There are at least 300 million acute cases of malaria each year globally, resulting in more than a million deaths. Around 90% of these deaths occur in Africa, mostly in young children. Malaria kills an African child every 30 seconds.
Many children who survive an episode of severe malaria may suffer from learning impairments or brain damage. Pregnant women and their unborn children are also particularly vulnerable to malaria, which is a major cause of prenatal mortality, low birth weight, and maternal anemia
One of the primary factors in Malaria spread in Kibera is ineffective wastewater drainage’s that runs through the slum. In many parts of Kibera, drainage’s are simply channels dug in the dirt, and they quickly become muddy and clogged with waste.
Residents use the drainage to remove wastewater and solids from their household area. As the drainages are simply made of dirt they do not flow very effectively; pools of water and waste form in these channels once they are clogged, and this is where mosquitoes lay their eggs.
As drainage’s collect waste, they also become breeding grounds for cholera and typhoid, as well as other diseases, and since these drainages are unprotected from human contact, transmission can occur very easily, especially in children who play nearby. (Above text courtesy of Kibera Slum Foundation)
