TEBBY OTIENO

By Tebby Otieno
tebbyotieno62@gmail.com

WE WANT ZERO SLUMS IN NAIROBI

“When there are cholera outbreaks in the country, it does not affect people in Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru or Riverside; instead it is experienced in slums. Most people die because of cholera”, remarked the Nairobi county women representative, Esther Passaris during the commemoration of the International women day, celebrated at the DCC grounds in Kawangware, Nairobi.

Passaris is advocating for zero slums in Nairobi saying that women go through a lot of challenges within slums. Among the challenges Passaris said women within slums go through include high risks during fire accidents due to the difficulties in exiting the buildings during rescue times and constant eruptions of cholera outbreaks due to poor sanitations
“We cannot allow cholera to be in Kenya at this moment. We must have water that is connected in houses, better houses with proper lighting and safety for our women`s children even when they are out at work”, said Passaris.
The Nairobi county women rep further urged young women to plan for their families. She advised them to start their businesses and be able to stand on their own before they get children. This, she said, will help reduce cases of women being abused in marriages.
“Women, let`s start by being firm, there are women enterprise funds. Let youths go get youth funds too, so that they can also be men with value so that we can also agree to wed them. When we press for progress, we need to outline the steps we`ve taken. If we take two steps forward, then ten steps backwards, that is because we don`t have many women in parliament”, she stressed.

Passaris also urged her constituents to pay loans back. She said borrowing Uwezo, Youth and women enterprise allocated funds and failing to pay the loans back, denies other people who also need the funds for their businesses. She urged women to form groups and start business
“My office is in Komarock, but we will walk in every corner looking for women. Form groups and start proper businesses. I want to start up one factory in Nairobi that will be manufacturing sanitary towels. The factory will be for us women”, Passaris said

This is as a fifty four year old woman in Riruta who attended the celebrations complains of challenges for women in the business venture. She does bead work, but only makes items after she has gotten orders from customers. She says, she spends about five hours to get beads for her work. Susan Njoki Wainaina says her main challenge is finding market for her bead work. “I leave my house at 11 am going to Kamukunji, buy beads then come back to my house by around 1 pm. Most people don`t know what I do and so if I make items before I get orders. The items stay in my house for long. My only joy is when I get customers”, laments Njoki.

Nairobi county women representative also condemned the high tax rate on women in small scale trade in slums
“If a woman is earning ten or fifteen thousand shillings from her trade, it is ridiculous to try and take even two hundred shillings from her. We need to empower the woman because she has got so many overheads. Houses in Nairobi are expensive. Let`s tax the rich and support the poor” Passaris said
Esther Passaris further stressed the need to teach women in small scale trade different business techniques
“Rather than all of them doing the same business where one woman here selling tomatoes another one here selling tomatoes …can we do something like have a global market where every woman brings her vegetable and then it`s one store so everyone gets maximum benefits” She stressed

Nairobi women representative argued that most women are not making the amount of money that they need to sustain their families since most of them can barely eat, pay their rents yet they are still taxed.