Brian Ekdale

Associate Professor, Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Iowa

Blog, Kenya

Slum Tourism in Kibera: Education or Exploitation?

Recently I was contacted by the author of a popular Kenya guidebook. This author wondered if I knew of any responsible, community-oriented groups that do Kibera slum tours. I wrote back that one of the organizations I’ve worked with offers these tours. The group sponsors several projects in the community, and I know some of the people who lead the tours, so I felt comfortable sending in their information.

But what I didn’t address is whether anyone should be taking these tours in the first place. So, is slum tourism a good thing for Kibera?

It depends on who you ask.

Slum tours in Kibera started around 2007 after a few travel agencies noticed Kibera was generating more and more attention following high profile visits (from people like then-Senator Barack Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Chris Rock) and the release of popular films shot in Kibera (such as The Constant Gardener and Hot Sun Films’ Kibera Kid). Those offering these tours claim they are trying to educate visitors on what life is like in Kibera and using the opportunity to help support community-based projects. They add they simply are responding to consumer demand. After all, if no one wanted to go, no company would offer these tours. Critics charge that these tours are exploitative, demeaning and that these tour companies do little to help the community. The lively (and sometimes inflammatory) debate on this forum sums up some of the major arguments for and against Kibera slum tourism.

During my interviews with Kibera residents, I’ve asked what they think of life in Kibera and what they believe people outside say about Kibera. Sometimes their responses to these two questions are similar, but more often than not, they’ll say yes, life in Kibera is a struggle but it also has many positives (ex. cheap food and housing, talented youth, a strong community) that people outside don’t know about. Those who see this disconnect explain people outside are ignorant of what life is truly like in Kibera or blame the media for covering only the negative stories of Kibera.

So how do we change their opinions, I would ask. Most reply the media needs to also report on the positive stories of Kibera. Others say people should to come to Kibera and see what life is like for themselves. Here’s a quote from one resident in the “come and see” camp:

“Those people who talk about Kibera, let them come to Kibera. For those who say that there is no security, let them come. Let them walk around Kibera…Let them see for themselves that they can walk freely around Kibera…Let them come and see how Kibera looks like and maybe interact with the people a little bit socially. And then they will know that the people of Kibera, they are very lovely people…When [the visitors] go back to where they came from, they will not have that negative perspective in their minds. So now the same-same visitors, outsiders, will also help in preaching that Kibera is not a bad place. So you see it will now be a chain.”

Sounds like an endorsement of slum tourism, right?

If so, then how do you reconcile that point of view with this one offered by a different Kibera resident?

“[Tourists are] paying to come to Kibera and take some pictures of Kibera, but the Kibera people are not having anything. They don’t have any share. They are not being given anything…Their lives are just getting worse or just being the same as it was yesterday. It’s not changing.”

Some upper class Kenyans once told me the U.S. Embassy offers to give Americans a tour of Kibera followed by lunch at the Fairview – a plush hotel popular with foreigners. This may or may not be true, but it reflects the view that slum tourism is a cruel farce that does little to change the mindset of the tourists and the livelihoods of the toured.

While I do not pretend to speak on behalf of Kibera residents, I would argue there are appropriate and inappropriate ways to visit Kibera. Vetting the tourism companies is a must, but I think a lot has to do with the person going on the tour. So I have some suggestions for things to consider before, during and after you take a tour of Kibera.

1) Question your motivations for going. Do you want to understand how good, hardworking, intelligent people find themselves in difficult life situations or do you want to see “large-scale suffering” so you can tell your friends you “survived” East Africa’s biggest slum? Be honest. When I drive by a car crash, I want to look. It’s normal to be curious about life’s unpleasant elements. But if you think Kibera is a car crash and you want to get a better view of the carnage, then you don’t understand where you’re going and you should stay home.

2) Do your homework. Try to understand what life is like in Kibera before you get there. There are some great pieces you can read. For starters, check out Timothy Parson’s article on the history of Kibera. Order Genesis’s book with personal accounts of Kibera residents. Or if you’d rather watch than read, check out two community reporting projects on YouTube: Kibera TV and Kibera News Network.

3) Leave your camera at home. Imagine for a moment that your child was playing in your front yard and a group of rich Kenyan tourists came in and started taking pictures of him/her. You’d freak out, right? If you really feel the need to take pictures of people or their homes, then make sure you act respectfully and ask for permission. Kibera residents are very leery of cameras. They assume (in some cases, rightly) that Westerners will come in, take photos, and then sell those photos. They say these photographers are “eating on them.” Also don’t be surprised if people ask you to give them money in exchange for their photo. But if you do this, you need to understand that you are reinforcing an unfortunate standard that community reporting projects (like the ones mentioned above) struggle to overcome on a daily basis.

4) Don’t assume you understand Kibera after spending a couple of hours there. I’ve been there 10 months and still learn new things every day. Kibera is a very complex place. People like to say 1 million residents, but population figures are contested. Not every organization is doing what they say they are doing. Not everyone is impoverished (I know some who have good jobs but would rather financially support their families and neighbors than move to a wealthy area and leave behind those that helped raise them). Now that you’ve been there, go back and read those articles and watch those videos I mentioned in #2.

5) Don’t think Nairobi is a city of contradictions. Sure, you can get a mocha and french toast at Nairobi Java House, go on a Kibera tour in the late morning, and then grab some upscale Indian food at Yaya Centre for lunch without traveling very far. But understand the Java House/Yaya/Westgate life does not exist in spite of Nairobi’s slum population, they exist because of Nairobi’s slum population. Cheap labor built those massive structures. Cheap labor stocked the shelves. And cheap labor keeps them running. That labor walks home at night to sleep in Kibera, or Korogocho, or Mathare, etc.

I was hoping to go on one of these “official” Kibera tours just to see how they were handled, but I didn’t get a chance. Although I wouldn’t call these “tours” in any traditional sense, I’ve taken a number of people with me to visit Kibera. I’ve shown them where I work, I’ve introduced them to my friends who are trying to find ways to use their talents to help themselves and the community, and I’ve taken them around to give them a sense of what life in Kibera is like.

Am I part of the problem? Maybe. But I think these trips have had a positive impact on the people who visited. But perhaps this impact has been at the expense of Kibera residents.

I’m curious to see what others think. Gone on one of these tours? Think they are ridiculous and insulting? Let me know.

UPDATE (Jan 2011): Another look at the debate from Hilton Yip. Full disclosure: Hilton and I spoke over email while he was putting this together, so my two cents are included in his assessment.

15 Comments

  1. Pamela

    July 13, 2010 at 8:15 pm

    Thanks for sharing your ideas. You raise some good points for people to reflect.

  2. Carrie

    July 13, 2010 at 10:45 pm

    Great piece, Brian, thanks. When I was in Brazil, though about some of the same issues in regards to the favela tours.

  3. Jos Key

    July 14, 2010 at 7:23 am

    It is indeed a great piece, i’d encourage visitors to Kibera to go through the points #1 to #5. You know many come with ill motives and spoil everything for those who come with good hearts(#3). I must say that a friend once told me that Kibera had become like a sort of a museum, people coming with big cameras, big smiles on their faces, give false hope to the youth they find who help them in the touring, they even dish out fake business cards to them promising that they’ll get in touch once they’ve left…shame .
    Just like Brian said, do your homework before deciding to come pay a visit…

  4. Nathan

    July 14, 2010 at 10:27 am

    nice POST! i like the FB comments.. i think you know what makes kibera great, its openness, is also a challenge. lots of opportunists! coming for a photo opp and nothing more. Like the wife of our illustrious VP… came to kibera SURROUNDED by mad security. never talked to the residents. but it went out around the world that she was in kibera / helping / etc NONSENSE. Petty exploitation by politicians, from around the globe, is sickining actually. So i urge all people to expose such behaviour. At the same time, people need to visit Kibera if they want to be a part of assisting the community. Meet the people… BUT do your research and avoid the mobs of opportunists who will take advantage and tell you any story to get $$$… helping takes work! Be critical, and compassionate.

  5. Babu

    July 16, 2010 at 2:38 pm

    this kind of thing also apply to mathare many resident are so hostility toward #3 the media needs to change the way it portrays slum in Kenya and Africa in general .

  6. Erica

    July 19, 2010 at 11:01 am

    Good point #5 – there’s really no contradiction, in the end. We happen to support tours given by our mappers at Map Kibera through KCODA’s tour program (www.kcoda.org), which is also a fundraiser. I think these are done responsibly and they’ve changed my thinking about slum tours…but then, their “tourists” are generally not here for safari, they’re often working in a similar field. For sensitive visitors, Kibera youth are often proud to show them around – for a fee. I think this serves the purpose of the “come and see” camp you mention. However, I do like your rec to leave the camera behind.

  7. bekdale

    August 10, 2010 at 8:28 pm

    FYI. There was an op-ed in the New York Times yesterday by a Kibera resident on the topic of slum tourism. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/opinion/10odede.html?emc=eta1

  8. Hilton

    September 2, 2010 at 3:54 am

    Hello Brian
    I think your post was really good, especially in that unlike many other critics of slum tourism, you actually talked to and put up quotes from slum residents.
    I’m writing an article on slum tourism for a travel site and I was hoping I can ask you a few questions regarding Kibera and slum tourism? If you don’t mind, you can email me. Thanks.

  9. Livelihoods and the Kibera Economy – Part 1

    January 29, 2011 at 7:56 pm

    […] that no, most white people don’t come to Kibera to get rich! This also explains why tourists shouldn’t simply wander through with their big cameras and photograph people, as they so often do. It hints at a much deeper recognition of the […]

  10. “Incredible Shrinking Kibera”–a lesson that should inspire humility in Western capitals « AfriCommons Blog

    July 13, 2011 at 12:35 am

    […] “Slum Tourism in Kibera: Education or Exploitation?” Brian Ekdale 4) Don’t assume you understand Kibera after spending a couple of hours there. I’ve been there 10 months and still learn new things every day. Kibera is a very complex place. People like to say 1 million residents, but population figures are contested. Not every organization is doing what they say they are doing. Not everyone is impoverished (I know some who have good jobs but would rather financially support their families and neighbors than move to a wealthy area and leave behind those that helped raise them). Now that you’ve been there, go back and read those articles and watch those videos I mentioned in #2. […]

  11. Henry

    July 25, 2011 at 10:18 am

    http://www.octopizzo.com
    check out Chocolate City Tours In kibera..giving tours with sustainabity as an income

  12. munir

    December 7, 2011 at 5:28 am

    Thank you for your most honest opinion, but how shall we ensure that the residents profit from these tourism thing?

    1. Brian Ekdale

      December 8, 2011 at 10:22 am

      Well, it is a difficult thing to ensure, because you have to know which companies are actually channeling money to those who live in Kibera. Then the next issue concerns which residents are profiting? In most cases, the tour company/group/individual will tell you that money goes to Kibera residents, but does the money go to a select few who have developed a relationship with the tour guides or does the money go to organizations that have a broader reach?
      My focus in this post was less on the economics of slum tourism, but rather the issues of representation and respect. While everyone should certainly do their homework in looking into the financial policies of their tour guides, I think it is equally important to think about your motivations and how you treat those who live in these communities that you are curious about.

  13. Freddy

    March 11, 2014 at 3:54 pm

    All opinions are welcomed, but then as we always say, kibera, is the only friendliest slum in the world, come one come all, all the answers are with US! thank you all.

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