Slum Dwellers International (SDI) is a strategic partner of the Cornell Mui Center for Cities (the center). For the past two years, the center has sent two AAP students to work as interns with SDI. In the summer of 2023, Cameron Howland, an undergraduate student in urban and regional studies, and Madhumitha Vasu, a master's student in city and regional planning, worked with SDI-Kenya for ten weeks. Cameron and Madhu have shared a couple of stories and key moments that give a sense of their experience working with SDI in Nairobi.

During our first month interning with SDI, we became well acquainted with the bi-weekly Monday meetings, where community leaders share updates and discuss new initiatives.

Waste management constantly emerged as a significant challenge faced by community groups. In Mathare, residents have limited access to essential services such as water, electricity, sewage systems, and solid waste management. Residents used the river for sewage and solid waste disposal needs, and also for washing. This sparked a discussion around the need for SDI to extend its technical support to address the challenge of managing urban waste.

After roughly a month of listening, we brought forward the need for a collective framework for community waste management that could provide a source of income for collection groups and have a positive impact on the environment. Through a series of community meetings, workshops, and discussions, we examined the informal economy of solid waste collection and gained a deeper understanding of the efforts made by community organizations. As part of this work, we developed and administered a survey of informal waste collectors. As is typical of how SDI works,  local residents were recruited to carry out the data collection.

We were inspired by the ways in which the youth in the settlement discussed plans to expand their network, establish collective savings groups, and work towards a zero-waste community.

Our time as interns working with SDI was an intense, rewarding, and exhilarating experience. Besides working directly with communities, we attended national staff meetings, helped draft grant proposals, and organized city planning events with city officials and national leaders. We are incredibly grateful to SDI colleagues and the communities of Nairobi, who from the beginning welcomed us with a 'Habari' or 'Mambo.'

If you are interested in applying to be a summer intern with SDI Kenya in 2024, visit our Get Involved page to see the latest opportunities.