documentary travel

Welcome to Dandora

Less than 20 kilometres from the heartbeat of Nairobi is a settlement that many living on the opposite side of Nairobi fear to visit. Famous for being the home of Nairobi’s main dumpsite, Dandora is also where enthusiasts believe Kenyan hip hop was born, bred and continues to thrive to this day.

Dandora was established with part funding from the World Bank in 1977 to offer a higher standard of living to people working in Nairobi. Forty years later, Dandora is a pale shadow of it’s glory days with unplanned developments and unmaintained infrastructure characterising this suburb in the heart of Embakasi.

One of my earliest references of Dandora came from Kalamashaka.

Maisha kule D ni ma-zii!!

That’s what stood out… Dandora the rough place where it wasn’t guaranteed you’d come out alive if you visited as an outsider. To get a glimpse of what Dandora is like since K-Shaka dropped that warning, I joined friends from Onetouch on a tour led by Ziki from Dandora Hip Hop City (DHC).

Valentine Ziki, the programmes manager at Dandora Hip Hop City.

Our tour started at Ukoo Flani, where we met members of Wasafi Organisation.

Members of Wasafi Organisation at their Ukoo Flani base in Dandora.

As the name suggests, they engage in cleanups of their community.

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Wasafi’s secretary Jackline Karimi told me they clean their neighbourhood twice a week to try and return Dandora to it’s glory days.

Members of Wasafi Organisation sweep the street outside their Ukoo Flani base in Dandora.

Growing up in Dandora, they recall how beautiful it used to be and with every stroke of the broom, they hope Dandora will one day shine again. By sweeping the streets and cleaning ditches, they also find something to keep them away from engaging in crime.

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Unlike Kileleshwa, roads within Dandora are paved using concrete blocks!

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The artery roads however are just like those in Kileleshwa.

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Dennis Mwangi is in class 2 and would like to be a driver when he grows up. We met him on our way to Dandora Community Centre.

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There, we found Emmanuel Omondi aka Stunya training at Ragos Gym.

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The gym is run by 11-time Mr Kenya Body Building Champion, Mickey Ragos. At 70, he is building an unforgettable legacy right here in Dandora, helping train Kenya’s next champions.

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After a quick lunch break, we headed to Dandora Uprising.

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We met Peter Waithaka at the Dandora Uprising Library. The learning hub for residents of Dandora relies on book donations.

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KGZ Heavyweight outside the Dandora Uprising cyber cafe.

Houses in Dandora, Nairobi.

Dandora Uprising Court.

A stall selling fruits and vegetables in Dandora.

A stall selling fruits and vegetables in Dandora Uprising.

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At Dandora Hip Hop City, we found these two little children playing in a space provided for children to play in.

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Paul Kidero shows the two children their portrait.

Our last stop for the day was the Dandora Dumpsite.

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This is where Nairobi’s trash comes to rest.

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Heaps have turned into mounds, and mounds into mountains of trash.

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30 acres of my trash and your trash.

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Around 2,000 tons of trash arrive here daily. That’s two million kilos of garbage. A day!

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The trash is a source of livelihood for some people, and food for some goats.

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That concluded our tour of Dandora.

I left Dandora happy that groups like Wasafi Organisation and DHC are using their talents and engaging others in their community to change the face of Dandora. And from my experience, instead of Maisha kule D ni ma-zii, I was bopping my head to…

 Dandora L O V E ndani ya hip hop city!

Thank you Ziki for organising our tour and shifting our perceptions about Dandora.

You can listen to Ziki’s music on Soundcloud.

Walking with cameras dangling from our shoulders in Dandora wouldn’t have been possible if we didn’t have members of DHC walking with us.

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Special shout out to Kigo…

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…and to Harrison Ouma aka KGZ Heavyweight.

Here’s a video of our time in Dandora.

  1. Evans ogeto

    January 25, 2017 at 10:16 am

    Lovely piece Mwarv. I love the perspective and the narratives. We are in a beautiful courty where we celebrate every aspect of the living. Kudos to your team too. I hope to join you guys sometime in the future.

    1. mwarv

      January 25, 2017 at 12:47 pm

      Karibu sana for the next one to Kerio Valley in February.

      1. Felix Wambua

        January 27, 2017 at 9:15 pm

        Good work Mwarv. Dates for Kerio Valley, mnaenda lini? I want to join you guys

        1. mwarv

          January 27, 2017 at 9:19 pm

          Kerio Valley and Lake Baringo – 13th to 15th February

  2. Gina

    January 25, 2017 at 12:45 pm

    You are a great storyteller. The stories you tell inform, educate, and inspire. That photo of PaulK with the children, and the one before of the children are beautiful! I wish your images were numbered, it would be easier to reference.

    1. mwarv

      January 25, 2017 at 12:47 pm

      Thanks love. You’re a very helpful number one fan!

  3. Gina

    January 25, 2017 at 12:49 pm

    Wow! That dumpsite! Garbage n sewer business has always been out of site, out of mind for me, as I’m sure for many. Is it burned regularly?

    1. mwarv

      January 25, 2017 at 12:58 pm

      The fires are always there.

  4. Chris Wanga

    January 25, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    Kazi safi bro,never disappointing

    1. mwarv

      January 25, 2017 at 3:54 pm

      Asante kaka!

  5. Rumba

    January 25, 2017 at 11:05 pm

    Mwarv, those are great stories of such a misunderstood place. I admire your brand of photography that is about touching peoples’ hearts. Micky Ragos was Kenya’s most recognisable body builder and a great role model to many of us when we were lifting ‘mawe mtaani’ as young men. He was arguably Kenya’s Lee Haney. It would be great to have a a more in-depth feature / documentary of him. Perhaps you could organise that? Barikiwa…

  6. Ciro Githunguri

    January 26, 2017 at 11:02 am

    Beautifully depicted as always Marv.
    I of course am even happier to note you haven’t left out our hiphop legends kalamashaka and the ukooflani movement in the Dandora narrative. Bless.

    1. mwarv

      January 26, 2017 at 11:05 am

      Thanks! There’s an even bigger story yet to be told.

  7. Kenneth Kariru Muchiri

    January 29, 2017 at 7:36 am

    Very informative article and excellently done.

  8. Mart

    July 1, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    Nice work, we need to highlight the positives in the so called ghettos to create hope and a good image to those leaving there. 2000 tonnes daily?? that’s a lot of trash, I think we can advocate for more recycling plants to make use of this trash

Comments are closed.