“Being raised up in the largest slum in Africa made me a victim of misrepresentation by the

mainstream media. My first instinct was to visually represent my community without bias.”

Over the years; Kibera slum, located 6km southwest of Nairobi City Centre, has been highlighted by International media based on its negatives. Some publications referring to it as “The Darkest Place on Earth.”

It is one of the biggest slums in the world with about 400,000 to 1 million slum dwellers with

not a single land owner because the land is still owned by the National Government of Kenya.

The 2.5km sq. piece of land was “gifted” to Nubians, the first settlers, by the British colonial rule.

These settlers date their roots back to Western Sudan. Sudanese soldiers from Darfur region

collaborated and helped the British during World War II. After the War, they were settled in

Uganda while others in the outskirts of Nairobi as a “reward”. This is a period when Kenya was

approaching its independence. Kibera used to be a dense forest and the first settlers named the

area “Kibra” meaning “forest.” Other communities joined over the years in pursuit of elements

of life that comes with the nearness to the capital city hence forming the largest urban informal settlement in Africa.

Daily life Kibera is an ongoing exploration of a slum culture from a local’s perspective, presented as a publication, archive, and a blog – serving as a platform for creative dialogue with the current and next generation while preserving and showcasing its dynamic culture and livelihood through a contemporary unbiased lens.