Slum 1: Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya
“Many people come from rural areas. When some of their colleagues go to the rural area, they keep on telling them: Nairobi, there is a very nice life, you can make a lot of money… which is not true, so when they come they end up being packed in the slum because they don’t get that proper job they were promised by their colleagues.”
- Julius Mwelu, community activist
Slum 2: Dharavi, Mumbai, India
“I feel bad when outside people say it’s a slum… when I say I’m from Dharavi, they change their face… but those people who come here and see how we are living, they will feel comfortable.”
- Nitia, MBA student
I wonder no one has ever commented on this before?
To be honest: I wish that Mathare, Kibera and most other informal settlements in Nairobi could be – at least – a bit like Dharavi.
On the other hand – if these settlements were as productive as Dharavi, some government crooks would certainly come and declare the land part of their property.
The point is pretty obvious, but seems to be overlooked by a lot of observers: slums are very different from each other. The key difference here seems to be social capital, but that’s quite difficult to judge from a distance. Thanks for the comment!