Kenya today
Although Kenya has the best-developed economy in eastern Africa, with relatively advanced agricultural and industrial sectors it is ranking on position 147 of 182 in the development index of the UN. So it belongs to the world's poorest countries and more than half of the country’s 31.3 million people are poor, and 7.5 million of the poor live in extreme poverty - this means that they have less than 1 $ per day. About 80 per cent of the population, including three out of four poor people, live in rural zones or slums.
HMGC works with young women from Mathare valley, Huruma, Kibera and Korogocho.
The Mathare slum is known as Africa’s oldest and worst slum. It is home to over 500,000 people and is one of the largest slums in Kenya. The slum is located approximately 5km from the city center. Most of the population consists of laborers living on daily wages. Mathare has been considered a high risk area because of the soaring crime rates in the area. Housing is inadequate with families of up to 10 living in a small space measuring about 8 by 6 feet. The single room is divided using a sheet so that the kitchen and sitting room are in one side and the bed concealed behind the sheet. The children sleep on the floor because there is not enough space to share on the single bed.
The area is economically backward with very high rate of illiteracy especially among young women. Even though there is intention to send the girls to high school, education is the least priority due to state of circumstances. However, most of the girls seem to have an interest in furthering their education.
In view of the above HMGC initiated a vibrant program for young women who are living in these informal settlements.