Author: cpm/lo/mw, IRIN
Date: January 25, 2007
Source: IRIN http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=65767

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NAIROBI, 25 January 2007 (IRIN) - A 14km run through slums in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, marked the end of the World Social Forum (WSF) on Thursday, after five days of meetings and demonstrations attended by about 46,000 delegates from all over the world.

"Organising activities outside the forum and trying to bring the forum to the people in the slums was our aim," a volunteer with Kutoka Network, a nongovernmental agency, said.

Kutoka Network organised the run with the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and the Kenya Land and Housing Coalition to raise awareness of the conditions of Nairobi's slum dwellers.

Under the slogan "Another world is possible, even for slum dwellers", hundreds of people gathered outside St John's Catholic Church in Korogocho, the third-largest informal settlement in Nairobi, for two hours to register for the run, which attracted all ages.

"In the last 10 years, the slums in Nairobi have undergone a revolution," Daniel Moschetti of St John’s Catholic Church in Korogocho, said. "The slum population has risen up to advocate for their rights, holding policy and duty bearers responsible for their actions and initiating programmes aimed at improving their political, social and economic wellbeing."

He added: "We thought the World Social Forum could be a great occasion to bring out their voices."

According to Kutoka Network, Nairobi's informal settlements house 2.5 million out of its four million people, crowded together in a mere five percent of the total urban area, living without basic services such as water, electricity and transport.

"We have all kinds of problems here," a woman in her 60s, queuing to register for the run, said. "Especially if you are female and old, life is not easy."

Charities working in Nairobi’s slums have complained about slum dwellers being required to pay to enter the Moi International Sports Stadium in Kasarani, where the World Social Forum was taking place.

"The entry fee [Ksh500 or US$7] is an unrealistic amount of money for someone who – on a good day - makes less than Ksh100 [$1.50] per day," said one volunteer.

However, by staging their protest outside the stadium's gates, many slum dwellers managed to gain entry to the Forum and the organising committee eventually agreed to lower the fee.

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Other stories from IRIN:

World Social Forum descends on Kenya - By jn/mw, IRIN, January 16, 2007

Liberalisation of fishing undermines food security - By aw/mw, IRIN, January 19, 2007

Fight for your rights, despite globalisation, women urged - By ro-lo/mw , IRIN, January 21, 2007

Help Africans to feed themselves, governments urged - By jn/oss/mw, IRIN, January 25, 2007

Forum ends with calls for social equity - By jn/mw, IRIN, January 25, 2007