Kaka Muasa: No Dumping Here

Photo Copyright: UN Habitat

Isaac Muasa is his name but no one calls him that. Kaka is more familiar among his friends and community. His frame is slight, boyish almost. But when you start doing the math you realize he must be a lot older than he initially comes across.

Kaka’s story started in the late nineties, years ago when he was just a young guy playing football with a group that was an offshoot of Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA). His truth – friends lost to violence, drugs and hardship in the narrow trash-ridden streets of Mathare. It disturbed him deeply. Deeply enough for him to chart a different future for himself.

Kaka’s present unfolded from an unlikely challenge. The concept of a public space in Mathare was unheard of. Open land was grabbed or quickly became a dumpsite overflowing with plastic or broken bottles, or used as a defecation site. Kaka and his comrades knew of one location that was clearly public but had become a dumpsite. They wanted it back. In 2000, they started campaigning for the council to clean up the site. No one listened – until election season. Eager for votes, an aspiring Councillor promised to clear the site if they would vote for him. A few weeks later a bulldozer moved in and cleared the site of the trash that had lain there festering for years. This procedure allowed for the beginning of a new strategy. In a land where votes were usually traded for a fifty bob or the promise of a bag of sugar, Kaka and his crew had found a tradeable commodity. One that worked for them.

In time, the crew fenced off the small plot of land and began dreaming of a community centre that would be a safe haven for Mathare’s youth. By the next election cycle, they had put together architectural drawings and secured county approval for a building. When votes were sought by the then aspiring Member of Parliament, they presented their plan… and got funds to build their centre. The youth crew pitched in with hands and backs to carry cement, steel and mix concrete. Within a year, the community centre was erected.

Today it serves multiple purposes – every lunch time, street families are served a meal by a local community-based organization, volunteer teachers offer computer lessons sporadically, in the evening ma-youth pay 50 shillings to watch top football clubs battle it out. The centre has become a beacon of tranquility and hope for so many. Kaka changed his future through the Mathare Environmental Conservation Youth Group. The centre remains the base for the group, who continue to provide for-profit services in the community. They started by collecting garbage. For Ksh 150 a week they’d pick up trash from each household and then deliver it to a dumpsite. Armed with the information garnered through their mapping project they advocate for action from the county government. In the last four years, the group has had four dumpsites cleared.

In 2018, Kaka’s leadership and humanitarian efforts were recognized by UN-HABITAT. On #WorldHabitatDay, he was awarded the UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour Award – aimed at acknowledging initiatives which have made outstanding contributions to human settlements.

Kaka is an unassuming hero. As he weaves his way through the narrow paths of Mlango Kubwa, children run up to him and elderly people wave. It’s clear to see he’s one of them and through tenacity, ingenuity and foresight he’s making their lives better each day, weaving a different story for Mathare youngsters. He is a true nation-builder, the epitome of #KeExcellence.

Photo Copyright: United Nations Information Center