PREFERENCIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR: A CASE STUDY OF KIBERA

SLUM NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA.

BY
Cyprian Omuro
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1

Social Analysis ................................................................................................................... 1

Application of Preferential Option for the Poor in Kibera Slum ....................................... 2

Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 5
Introduction
Slum is “a settlement with inadequate access to basic services, such as housing, water
supply, sanitation, and insecure tenure. Many governments do not recognize it as part of the
city.”1 Kibera is one of Africa's largest slums, with a population of over 900,000 people on
average.2 It began as a village in a forest west of Nairobi, but it later became a resettlement camp
for Nubian troops returning from World War I. The colonial authorities encouraged settlement
growth and welcomed other tribes from throughout the nation.3 The Kibera communities were
deemed unlawful by the Republic of Kenya's first administration in 1963, but they still
expanded, going from 6,000 residents in 1965 to over one million today.4 Disagreements on the
extent of the slums have resulted from the absence of trustworthy statistics on population and
growth characteristics. The population is estimated to be above 500,000 by the International
Housing Coalition and between 350,000 and 1 million by UN-Habitat. According to official
data, Kibera's slums are home to about 200,000 people.5

Social Analysis
Kibera's multi-ethnicity and tribalism have resulted in a number of minor ethnic
confrontations throughout the course of its century-long history. The Kikuyu tribe controlled
the population at first, but the Luo tribe has since taken over. Kibera's occupants now come from
all main Kenyan ethnic groups, with certain neighborhoods dominated by individuals of a single
ethno-linguistic community.6

1
What is a Slum? Retrieved https://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/what-we-do/slum-rehabilitation/what-is-a-
slum//. Accessed 16/3/2023.
2
An Evaluation of Slum Upgrading Scheme in Nairobi County: The Case Study of Kibera Slum. Retrieved
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/MichaelObare/publication/339069141_AN_EVALUATION_OF_SLUM_U
PGRADING_SCHEMES_IN_NAIROBI_COUNTY_THE_CASE_OF_KIBERA_SLUMS_A_Research_Project
_Report_Submitted_in_Partial_Fulfillment_for_the_Requirements_For_the_Degree_of_Bachelor_of_Environ/lin
ks/5e3bd76192851c7f7f201c0a/AN-EVALUATION-OF-SLUM-UPGRADING-SCHEMES-IN-NAIROBI-
COUNTY-THE-CASE-OF-KIBERA-SLUMS-A-Research-Project-Report-Submitted-in-Partial-Fulfillment-for-
the-Requirements-For-the-Degree-of-Bachelor-of-Environ.pdf. Accessed 15/3/2023
3
Ibid
4
Ibid
5
Ibid
6
Understanding the Grassroots Dynamics of Slums in Nairobi: The Dilemma of Kibera Informal Settlements.
Retrieved:http//:http://center4affordablehousing.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/10/Kenya-Slums
Understanding_the_Grassroots_Dynamics_of.pdf. Accessed 15/3/2023

1
 Slums are an important element of the urban environment, offering inexpensive housing
for the city's underprivileged while also contributing to the city's economy. They have evolved
over time to satisfy the requirements of its residents, who contribute to economic progress by
providing inexpensive labor. It is vital to increase their participation in national construction in
order to enhance their living situations.
Most slums are vulnerable to a variety of issues, including overpopulation, poverty,
inadequate sanitation, crime, violence, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, marginalization, and
segregation. A variety of hypotheses concerning slums have emerged, including colonial
planning systems, governance systems, and fast population expansion. To address these
difficulties, various governments, churches, and non-governmental organizations have devised
a variety of measures, including demolition and removal, relocation to public housing, site and
free service, alms, education scholarships, food and sanitary supplies and the slum improvement
effort.
Kibera informal settlements in Kenya have a number of sustainability difficulties, including
a lack of access to clean water, better sanitation, enough housing, solid waste management,
adequate health care, security, and energy, as well as a shortage of schools and educational
facilities. The slum is also extensively contaminated by human and animal waste, which is
exacerbated by open sewage and a lack of drainage infrastructure. Many illnesses and diseases
in slums are caused by poverty, a lack of good hygiene, and poor nutrition among residents.

Application of Preferential Option for the Poor in Kibera Slum

The Principles of preferential option for the poor help us to address the issues of Poverty
and social injustice in Kibera slum in order to create a better world in which all people are
guaranteed dignity, human rights and equal opportunities. According to the Bible, a society's
justice is tested and assessed by how it treats the poor. God's covenant with Israel was contingent
on how the society treated the poor and vulnerable—the widow, orphan, and foreigner (Deut.
16.11-12, Ex. 22.21-27, Isa. 1.16-17). The impoverished are agents of God's transformative
power throughout Israel's history and in the New Testament. Jesus declares in Luke's gospel that
he has been anointed to bring good news to the needy (4.1-22). Similarly, we are warned in the

2
Final Judgment that we shall be assessed based on how we treat the hungry, thirsty, prisoner,
and stranger (Matthew 25.31-46).
We are asked to prioritize the poor by establishing opportunities for minority voices to be
heard, safeguarding the vulnerable, and evaluating lifestyles, policies, and social institutions.
This does not imply putting one group against another, but rather encourages us to improve the
entire community by aiding the most vulnerable members. As a result, the preferred option for
the poor is mandatory. Every state and Christian must make a conscious decision to assist the
poor and disadvantaged in very real and concrete ways.7 Preference option for the poor implies
that Christians are called to see the world through the eyes of the underprivileged and to act
together for justice.8
It has an impact on every Christian's life since every Christian aspires to live like Christ,
but it also has an impact on our social obligations, which affects how we live, as well as the
logical choices we must make about the possession and use of assets. Furthermore, given the
global scope that today's social issue has attained, this love of preferential option for the poor
and the actions that it motivates in us must include the vast majority of those who are hungry,
in need, homeless, without access to healthcare, and most importantly, those without hope for a
better future.9
According to Jesus' teaching, God will inquire about each of our charitable deeds on the
Day of Judgment. He said, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers
of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:40). The Church's canon law reflects this when it says that
"the Christian faithful are also bound to promote social justice and, conscious of the admonition
of the Lord, to aid the needy from their own means. We must express our support for and
compassion for the underprivileged through our words, prayers, and acts.”10

7
C. H. PESCHKE, Christian Ethics, Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, vol. II, Special Moral Theology
(Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 1993) 838.
8
The Preferential Option for the Poor. Retrieved https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/content/4-preferential-option-poor-
and-vulnerable. Accessed 15/3/2023.
9
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
(Mumbai: Pauline Publications, 2005) 182.
10
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,
183.

3
 We must constantly maintain the "preferential option for the poor" at the forefront of our
minds while implementing public policy. Any society's moral foundation is "how it handles its
weakest people. The most pressing moral claim on the nation's conscience belongs to the
impoverished. We are obligated to consider how decisions about public policy may impact the
underprivileged."11
The incarnation of each of us continues via our brothers and sisters, according to the
teachings of God. There is a transcending aspect to how we treat other people: "The measure
you give will be the measure you get" (Mt 7:2). This is consistent with the kindness that God
has extended to us: "Be forgiving, just as your heavenly Father is forgiving. Give and it will be
given to you; forgive and you will be forgiven" (Lk 6: 37-38). These verses make it abundantly
evident that stepping forth from ourselves toward our brothers is of the utmost importance as
one of the two main commandments that serve as the cornerstone of all morality and as the most
telling indicator of spiritual development.
How can the love of God abide in someone who possesses the things of this world, sees his
brother in need, and keeps his heart closed to him? Everyone is aware that the Church's founding
fathers were extremely clear about the rich's obligation to the poor. According to Saint.
Ambrose, "you are not giving the poor man what is yours; rather, you are returning to him what
is his. You have been taking things that are intended to be used by everyone equally. Everyone
has a right to the earth, not just the wealthy.”12 Everyone has the right to own enough material
commodities to support themselves and their families. The Fathers and Doctors of the Church
held this view and taught that individuals were obligated to help the poor and to do it in a way
that went beyond just giving of their extraneous possessions. Very needy people have the right
to take what they need from other people's wealth.13
The Vatican II council urges people and governments to remember the Fathers' proverb,
"Feed the people dying of hunger, for if you do not feed them, you are killing them,"14 and urges

11
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,
184.
12
Paul VI, encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio (26th March 1967), n. 23 AAS 59 (1997) 257-299.
13
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. Retrieved: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and teachings/what-we-
believe/catholic-social-teaching/option-for-the-poor-and-vulnerable. Accessed 15/3/2023.
14
Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes (7 December 1966) n. 69, AAS 58 (1966) 1025-1115.

4
them to help others in accordance with their ability to share and dispose of their goods,
especially by providing aid that will enable them to help and develop themselves. But again,
when it comes to safeguarding individual rights, the poor and underprivileged have a right to
particular care. The affluent class has various means to protect themselves and is less reliant on
government support; whereas the majority of the poor have no resources of their own and must
rely mostly on government assistance.15

Conclusion
The preferential option for the poor calls on everyone to acknowledge the suffering of those
who fight for survival and to prioritize their needs over their own selfish interests. It also inquires
as to established the causes of the starvation in the Kibera slum and how the government and
the church may work together to lessen the suffering brought on by homelessness, lack of quality
healthcare, and education.
When the poor try to find their way in society, it requires every one of us to think about
our obligations and the image of the poor. The preference for the underprivileged is therefore a
required option. Each Christian has a decision to make regarding helping the underprivileged
people in the Kibera slum. According to the principle of preferential option for the poor,
Christians are obligated to view the world from the vantage point of the oppressed and to fight
for justice in a spirit of solidarity.
Solidarity is witnessed in the Kibera slum in that the impoverished people are increasing
awareness of one another's solidarity, their efforts to help one another, and their open displays
of discontent against the ineffective or corrupt public officials through nonviolent social
protests. Therefore, Church is called to stand by the poor, assess the legitimacy of their demands,
and work to fulfill them as part of her own evangelical mission.

15
Leo XIII, encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum (15 may 1991) n.37 AAS 23 (1890-1891) 643-652.

5
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The New African Bible. Nairobi: Paulines publications Africa, 2011.

Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, December 1966 AAS 58 (1966) 1025-1115.

Paul VI, encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 26th March 1967 AAS 59 (1997) 257-299.

Leo XIII, encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum, 15 may 1991 AAS 23 (1890-1891) 643-652

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE, Compendium of the Social Doctrine
of the Church, Mumbai: Pauline Publications, 2005.

PESCHKE, C. H., Christian Ethics, Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, vol. II, Special
Moral Theology, Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 1993.

An Evaluation of Slum Upgrading Scheme in Nairobi County: The Case Study of Kibera Slum.
Retrieved:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/MichaelObare/publication/339069141_a
n_evaluation_of_slum_upgrading_schemes_in_nairobi_county_the_case_of_kibera_slu
ms_a_research_project_report_submitted_in_partial_fulfillment_for_the_requirements_f
or_the_degree_of_bachelor_of_environ/links/5e3bd76192851c7f7f201c0a/an-
evaluation-of-slum-upgrading-schemes-in-nairobi-county-the-case-of-kibera-slums-
.pdf,accessed 15/3/2023

Understanding the Grassroots Dynamics of Slums in Nairobi: The Dilemma of Kibera Informal
Settlements.Retrieved:http//:http://center4affordablehousing.org/wpcontent/uploads/202
0/10/Kenya-Slums Understanding_the_Grassroots_Dynamics_of.pdf. Accessed
15/3/2023.

The Preferential Option for the Poor. Retrieved https://socialconcerns.nd.edu/content/4-

preferential-option-poor-and-vulnerable. Accessed 15/3/2023.

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. Retrieved: https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and

teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/option-for-the-poor-and-vulnerable.
Accessed 15/3/2023.

What is a Slum? Retrieved https://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/what-we-do/slum-

rehabilitation/what-is-a-slum//. Accessed 16/3/2023.