Five months ago, 36-year-old Josphat Mburu was barely making ends meet as a motorcycle taxi driver in the Kenyan slum of Korogocho when he was mugged, robbed of his money and his vehicle and hit on the back of the head with a metal job. His wife Sicily, 33, was forced to quit her job to care for him for five months.
Now he’s fully recovered, but must rent a motorcycle because he doesn’t have enough money to buy one, and Josphat and his wife have lost the startup capital they need to start the business they were hoping would pay for a modest-two room house in the slum.
Josphat’s story is not unique, and Concern Worldwide is collecting data from him and others across three Kenyan slums where over 260,000 live as part of a groundbreaking project that hopes to show how urban and rural poverty are radically different.
About the author
Crystal Wells
Crystal Wells is a roving communications officer with International Medical Corps, a global humanitarian organization dedicated to saving lives and relieving suffering through emergency health care services and training. She has worked in the NGO sector for nine years and has traveled extensively to cover needs on the grounds and responses to wars, natural disasters, and disease outbreaks.
