Photograph showing four people installing a red house number plate labeled "MY/A/006/A" above a doorway covered with a patterned cloth. The scene highlights community effort in marking or identifying a residence, with individuals actively reaching up to secure the plate against a corrugated metal structure.Mathare is one of Nairobi’s oldest and largest informal settlements, with dense housing, limited infrastructure, poor access to services, and high exposure to floods, fires and disease outbreaks. In Kiamutisya, one of Mathare’s villages, the absence of a formal physical address system made it difficult for authorities, health workers and community organizations to identify households, plan services or respond rapidly to crises. In 2021, local residents collaborated with advocates and research organizations to develop an address system for Kiamutisya. Community Health Promoters, Community Health Assistants, village elders, local chiefs, churches and the local administration were involved from the outset to ensure that the system met operational needs and would be recognized by authorities and community members. Community members were trained to use digital tools, obtain consent, and collect information for a detailed dataset over the course of a week. Later, color coded physical address plates were installed. This helped people to distinguish between residential dwellings, social spaces, places of worship, businesses, and toilets. It strengthened assessment capabilities by enabling users to quickly understand the function of different buildings and to better estimate the number of residents per structure. Not only has the address system supported more effective health and environmental strategies, it has also deepened contact and relationships between residents, local government, and other stakeholders. The initiative has been showcased through learning exchanges with partners from other Kenyan settlements, and from Sierra Leone; and it has inspired similar physical addressing efforts in other Mathare villages.

SOURCE: “Impact Case Study: Fostering Inclusivity and Equitable Access to Essential Services through the Household Address Initiative in Kiamutisya Settlement, Nairobi.” 2024. Arise. September 16., Ouma, Sarah. 2024. “Empowering Communities through Physical Addressing: A Learning Exchange Success Story in Kenya.” Muungano Wa Wanavijiji. Muungano wa Wanavijiji. February 13., Kimani, J. et al. (2021) ‘Building forward better: Inclusive livelihood support in Nairobi’s informal settlements’, IDS Bulletin, 52(1). doi:10.19088/1968-2021.104.

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