Establishment of a sanitation centre in the Bangladesh slum – Mombasa

Within this programme, we aimed to establish a comprehensive hygiene centre in Bangladesh, a highly disadvantaged slum area of Mombasa. The condition of the settlement and the living circumstances of its residents are extreme even by local standards: basic hygiene needs cannot be met, as there is no sewage system and untreated biological waste poses a constant risk of infection, particularly for children.

In addition to the lack of hygiene services, residents are also deprived of another fundamental necessity: access to safe drinking water. Illegal groups, operating in cartel-like structures, divert approximately 70% of the city’s water supply from the municipal system and sell it back to residents at prices well above market rates. People pay however they can: some attempt to find formal employment in the city, while others rely on informal work or prostitution. By the time the water reaches the settlement through makeshift, damaged pipes, it is often heavily contaminated.

In these slums – often referred to as “informal settlements” in politically correct discussions – nearly all available water originates from illegal sources. As a result, a severe public health crisis has developed, with an estimated 40% of children not surviving beyond the age of five.