Nairobi River, The Dying River

A river turned sewer conduit in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, became a place where vultures scavenge for dead animals. The river and its tributaries cross Kibera, known as Africa’s largest slum with close to 200,000 residents, and other informal settlements.

Nairobi is one of Africa’s fastest growing cities and is struggling to balance the needs of creating jobs and protecting the environment from pollution.

The government has formed a commission whose mandate is to clean up and restore the river basin. No deadline has been announced yet, and no budget. The commission has yet to meet.

Experts and locals alike fear the water is harming plants in nearby farms that feed residents. Some community-based organizations help clean up the river.

In my opinion, if the government actually cared for cleaning the river, they would have at least set a certain goal they could achieve, even if it’s a small goal. Seeing community-based organization move quicker than the government is sad because the government might just let them do all the work instead.