Where do you find a sense of ‘community’? In Mathare, community members often do not have access to safe and healthy places to meet for education, job security, childcare, healthcare and other vital components of healthy living that a COMMUNITY needs..
In Mathare, an informal settlement with 13 slum villages in Nairobi, Kenya, community members often have access to neither of these vital components of healthy living. We hope that the KINATCO Mathare 3A Community Hall offers an accessible and much-needed public space for existing community projects and groups to improve the resilience and sustainability of the Mathare Slums Community.
Mathare is the 2nd largest informal settlement in Nairobi, with a population of half a million people, living in roughly half of a square mile. This condensed community is teeming with social innovation, while also grappling with sub-par public services and infrastructure. Due to Mathare’s high density, there is a burdensome lack of common space.
The KINATCO Community Center project was completed after a 2-year participatory design process. This community-driven project has counted on the contribution of various Kenyan and international architects, engineers, urbanists and construction managers, alongside invaluable community leadership in realizing the vision of Mathare residents for an inclusive and multi-functional center.
The new building has sustainability and resilience in mind, less flammable materials, two exits in the case of an emergency, and designed to promote ventilation and natural light. Additional sustainability measures planned for Phase II.
The new KINATCO Community Center will help increase the capacity of local organizations to better serve the Mathare community, which lacks institutional support on numerous fronts: health, education, hygiene, waste management, social services, and community space.
The KINATCO Community Center project is providing an essential and flexible space for Mathare residents, accommodating a variety of community activities such as sexual and reproductive health workshops, youth mentorship activities, and a yoga and wellness program. The center has not only expanded and improved on the community’s access to a collectively-managed space, but it has created new synergies among the local organizations that work for positive change for the Mathare people.
