Daily life at the Kibera Wanakolo dumpsite in Nairobi, Kenya by Donwilson Odhiambo / SOPA Images
According to the World Health Organization, depression is a common mental disorder that involves depressed mood, loss of pleasure, and interest in activities for long periods. The Wanakolo dumpsite is a mini dumpsite in Kibera Slums. It hosts over a hundred depressed and mentally disturbed waste pickers some with higher education backgrounds and skills who depend on the dumpsite as a home and as a source of income where they dump the wastes after collecting them from the neighborhood homes and business premises and later scavenge through to collect leftover food and clothing. The dumpsite next to Jamhuri railway station in Kibera was once a part of Kibera Slums with homes, schools, and businesses that were demolished by the Kenya Railways demanding the land from the residents for a slum upgrading project. Since eviction and demolition that left many families homeless and living in tents made from recycled polypropylene bags, the dumpsite hosts residents from the nearby Estates and around the slums, including children who never attend schools. The residents here mostly women and young girl's struggle to overcome different struggles and situations such as drug abuse, early marriages, teenage and unwanted pregnancies, family breakups, and sexual violence that comes along with sexually transmitted infections. These situations have led several Wanakolo families through mental and depressing situations.
You must be logged in to use lightbox functionality