Dr. Grace Kodindo explores what help is available for the people, particularly…
Life 8 - Biker Boys of the Dirt Island
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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Boniface is trying to convince his friend Kama to go straight and think about the future. But in a slum like Nairobi's Korogocho, where crime and violence are rife, is his mission possible? Boniface is one of the founders of the motorcycle boys, a team of young men who used to steal from their neighbors, but now provide an informal motorcycle taxi service around Korogocho. Kama is one of their latest recruits. They argue about money and crime, and a central question of slum rehabilitation: Is it better to start upgrading the place, or the people?
'There is a continuous challenge of trying to strike a balance in the film[s]...[The films] can be used successfully in stimulating a discussion amongst the youth about the negative aspects of such a life as well as an exploration of alternatives.' Teboho Moja, Clinical Professor of Higher Education, New York University
Citation
Main credits
Kamau, Toni (Director)
Kinyanjui, Christine (Director)
Bradshaw, Steve (Narrator)
Other credits
Music, Audio Network; translators, James Migwi, Mwende Mutungi; camera, Samuel Mbuthia, Maina; editors, Trupti Shah Garodia, Sotira Kyriacou.
Distributor subjects
African Studies; Anthropology; At-risk Youth; Developing World; Geography; Global Issues; Labor and Work Issues; Millennium Development Goals; Poverty; Sociology; Urban StudiesKeywords
WEBVTT
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Crime in the streets but the (inaudible)
fears and many slum dwellers
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knows only the too well, but
what if crime and development
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are more tangled up that we care to admit.
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[music]
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[music]
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Mucina and Boniface, the
motorcycle boys of Korogocho.
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They are among the first to own motorcycles on
the Nairobi slum, they call the \"Dirt Island\"
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Some say that motorcycle boys own
this slum and they\'ve their own ideas
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about improving slums. Are they at threat
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or did they have anything to teach us?
Cannas, one of their new recruits,
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he is the rebel
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even by motorcycle boys standards.
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This is their story.
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Cannas home Korogocho
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is Kenya\'s fourth largest slum. Dirt Island
has been home to many Kenyan (inaudible).
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Like Canna, many young men here get involved
in crimes at some point in their lives.
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[non-English narration]
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Now, I came to Korogocho
when I was 12 years old.
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I used to steal cloths from the cloths line
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in the neighborhood. I
would have just ware them,
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sometime I\'d wear or sell them.
Canna (inaudible) fortunate
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to move to Korogocho considering his line
of work. It was almost as if the slum
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was designed for crime. I
at least don\'t have issues.
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But if you pass on the main
road, you may meet the police
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and get shot by them. That\'s why
I use the allies when I steal
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because you can hide here. Canna lives in
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one of the worst areas in Korogocho,
Grogon. Grogon is a hot bed of crime,
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because of the abandoned houses
the criminal hide out in.
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There are lots of stories about why you
should be very careful walking these streets
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even in the day time.
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I was attacked by two boys who were
standing on the road. They grabbed my shirt
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and tore it. I tried fighting them off
but one of them stabbed me in my back,
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and the other one hit me with his fist.
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They stabbed me and took everything.
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(inaudible) you can get right.
Two or, it depend, (inaudible).
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Most of them we find, they actually
very severe to treat here.
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[sil.]
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Much crime here is spontaneous.
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With many places to hide in and run away
to, it\'s tempting to seize opportunities
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when they arise. You can rob someone
and no one goes to the cops
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because they are afraid. We
never plan these crimes.
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Sometimes may be three of us just ideally will decide to grab a suspecting
people, drag them into the bushes and then move on to the next victim.
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We never sit down to plan
for these crimes, you see?
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Canna\'s ambition was too big for Korogocho.
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It may seem designed for crime,
but there\'s too little to steal.
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So Canna search for wealthier
target in central Nairobi.
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There are many people in town, man.
You can look closely
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at someone and see that they have money.
I can tell from the way hold their bag.
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You can see someone walking on the
road, holding the bags tightly.
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All is looking over their shoulder.
I\'m very observant.
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This (inaudible)
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Canna started working in West lands
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a pop suburb of Nairobi. This
was after joining the Mungiki,
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a notorious vigilante group. He\'d make
serious profits by extorting money
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from mini bus owners. So
I joined the Mungiki.
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About (inaudible) were initiated
(inaudible) at that time in west lands.
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We started working on those streets.
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We would harass the people especially
the mini bus drivers in those routes.
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Us guys would burn one minibus
and then wait for about a week.
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When we go ask the driver for next, you
think he wouldn\'t give you, he\'ll give you.
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[sil.]
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These guys were my good
friends, we worked together.
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We used to help each other out, yeah.
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They all died.
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[sil.]
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I thought about my life and said no.
The way people are dying,
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I can\'t die without leaving something
behind. I met a girl named Shiko
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and we had a baby girl.
Her name is bridge, yeah.
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What made me and Shiko split up,
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well, I cheated on her.
So that\'s the main reason
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that we disagreed with shiko.
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Mucina also saw most of his friends
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die on the streets, before he
became the original Motorcycle boy.
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He had an idea, which might be found on
in conventional development economics.
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A friend of mine told me, he had a plan
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and we would make a lot of money from it.
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(inaudible) rob a
supermarket in (inaudible).
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He took profit 250,000 (inaudible)
The idea profits of crime
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plowed into a legitimate
business in the slums.
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With that money I bought a bike and setup
at a stage. We were only two motorbikes,
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and then we increased to four. At first, people
were uncomfortable with riding motorcycles.
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But after we became many,
we got used to it.
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Mucino and his crew of
motorcycle boys now provide
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much needed taxi services within Korogocho.
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From four motorcycle boys
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in the beginning, they\'ve
grown to 40 including Canna.
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I never planned to be a motorcycle boy.
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When I heard that the cops are hunting
for me and counting my bullets
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I decided to stop going
to west lands for work.
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I hung out at the motorcycle stage
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for almost a week.
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Most of the guys
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are a former criminals. We told
them, we\'ve tried, it doesn\'t work,
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that there was never lot money to meet
their needs and being independent.
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Canna didn\'t use his crime
money from westlands
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as wise as Mucina did. His
love for gambling didn\'t help.
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Unable to afford his own bike he now works
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for a fellow motorcycle boy who takes
his cut from his daily earnings.
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It (inaudible) my money because
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I have to take care of bike like it\'s mine.
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The bike get little problem that
cost 100 to 200 shillings to fix.
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I can\'t tell the owner about those little
problems. So I get it fixed somewhere
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and just pay.
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Like before I used to get
serious money, I think then
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if I\'d known I would have spent
that money better but I didn\'t.
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Like now,
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I used to get 200 or
300,00 shillings before.
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If I got this 100,000 shilling now, people
will be amazed at how it invest it.
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You see a bike is amazing.
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It\'s a lot of fun. When I
have a bike, I really have
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a lot of fun on the bike alone.
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Boniface one of the two
original Motorcycle boys
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feels that crime profits have led to
a lot of improvements in Korogocho,
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more than most people would care to admit.
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Here is Korogocho, he find that someone has setup
a business but our shop is part time employment.
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After stealing outside people come
back and invest in business here.
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You can\'t just sit around
idling, just relaxing.
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You look suspicious but business that do well
here are the illegal once that cause harm.
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Canna doesn\'t make the
profits he used to make
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from fulltime crime, but what he
makes from the bikes is just enough.
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For example, sometimes business is good
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and they can make a profit of about 1000
shillings that takes of all of my expanses.
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Most of my money is spent
on my child Bridget.
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When she grows, I pray that she reads hard
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and that she agrees to study
hard in school. I would hate
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to hear that when Bridget is older after growing
up here, that she\'s been raped in this area,
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I wouldn\'t want to hear that. Those things
happen a lot in the place like Korogocho.
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It would be my joy if she lives here
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and is growing up that Korogocho
is also changing at the same time.
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Everyday Mucina walks his kids to school
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in the nearby Dandora Estate before
going to work at the biker stage.
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He too feels that the motorcycle boys
have made a difference in Korogocho.
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These bikes are also a form a upgrading
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because we thought people could not walk there
at nights. People are being robbed a lot,
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but now that the bikes are
(inaudible) they are now safe.
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[sil.]
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Sometimes I use these bikes
when I\'m late from work
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because the road is not safe for
night, there are many thieves.
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So this bike really help
us a lot when we use them.
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But the bikes are not as safe for everyone,
is Mucina would like to believe there.
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.999
[sil.]
00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:29.999
Many accidents happen in
Korogocho because of speeding
00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.999
by some of the thrill
seeking motorcycle boys.
00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:39.999
[sil.]
00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:44.999
Accidents on the roads are unavoidable.
00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:49.999
Because the road is very congested
especially in the evenings
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and right now the road doesn\'t have
enough space for pedestrians to pass.
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A new road has just been built in Korogocho
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and it\'s the first slum
upgrading project here.
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It circles all the way around the
slum hence the name Dirt Island.
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Mucina feels that overall the
new road is helping Korogocho.
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We never had the time
for road in Korogocho.
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.999
Other businesses would have continued doing well,
but the price would not have succeeded without
00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.999
a new road. Before when a
motorbikes use to hit a pot holes
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they will get spoilt very quickly.
00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.999
The motorcycle club may have
some issues like speeding
00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.999
but they have managed to win
over certain important people.
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Many of us guys don\'t have
licenses so the police
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used to disturb us a lot.
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So we had to go and speak to the chief
also the one in kayobangi and we told them
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we are just young people and instead of returning
to (inaudible) we would like to just do this work
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and gradually we get licenses.
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The motorcycle club is doing
pretty well according to Mucina,
00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:19.999
but for Canna who doesn\'t own his own
bike yet, life is still a bit tricky.
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.999
Right now, I\'m 50-50.
00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:29.999
There\'s nothing to like,
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
I really think, \"Should I leave this?
Should I continue?\"
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It\'s hard to rely on money
from this bag sometimes,
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especially having a wife. When you have a wife this all
is a need that arises that requires a lot of money.
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:49.999
For instance you may need
about 5000 shillings
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to sort out an emergency and that\'s
my responsibility. So that means
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I need to go to the westlands
or to steal to get the money.
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Canna is still not sure
about the motorcycle club
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
and he is not alone. Khadija is the member
of the Korogocho urban upgrading community.
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.999
She feels that building a youth center will
be a more constructive solution to crime.
00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.999
The youth center is about
linking (inaudible)
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
youth have in Korogocho business and then
also they\'ll be a maybe mentoring process,
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
from the center which will be
acting as a coordination point,
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:35.000
may be they can be derived away
from the crime or they (inaudible)
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
Motorcycle boy Mucina is
not just a Motocycle boy,
00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.999
he is involved in slum upgrading
with Khadija and supports
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
the youth center idea.
00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
When the youth don\'t have a place set
aside for them to meet, it\'s not good.
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
But when they get to meet up and
talk I think they\'ll do a lot.
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
They\'ll help each other and they will grow.
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
But Boniface feels that crimes
is about one thing only
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
and that the solution to it very simple.
00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
Here is Korogocho life is difficult.
We don\'t grow up with money.
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
So when you find a means of getting
money, it has a big influence on you.
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
Getting money is very
important here in the getto,
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.999
especially for the youth. So Boniface
believes in supporting businesses
00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.999
like the Motorcycle club and others
that have followed in its wake.
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
The idea of opening of car wash was
to help clear security or what?
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.999
The idea of operating a car
wash was to security purposes
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:59.999
and also to generate the
income for the youth.
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.999
This young group started the car wash after
seeing all the motorcycles in their neighborhood.
00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
When business was low, we still
wash at least eight bikes.
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.999
We\'d all end up getting
enough money for ourselves.
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.999
But the car wash was short lived.
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.999
They didn\'t have the motorcycle club\'s luck. The water would
shut off after people complained about their homes flooding.
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
We have dug a trench here. See,
it never affected anyone\'s home.
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
The trench was here, but it\'s now been covered with
stones. I think it was just people looking down
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
at us as they use. It\'s a community thing.
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
Many girls of the car wash and they had kids and we
were relying on this money. Now, we\'re just idle.
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
So we just become thieves.
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
Motorcycle clubs, car washes
it\'s not what most people
00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
would think of as the best way to improve
to slums. They\'re breaking the rules
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
and the law and not just over jobs.
Like slum dwellers the world over,
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
Canna helps himself to energy.
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
I pull this wire,
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
I pulled it like this, can you
see where it\'s coming from,
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
can you see where it\'s going?
So it comes in here directly.
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
Now, by the time they come here,
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
how long do you think it will take me to remove these wires?
Before who come? We see them on the road, they come in.
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
Which guys? The Kenyapa company.
I just disconnect the wiring
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
and push the wires into the house and
drill these other cables to the back.
00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
Then I\'ll reconnect everything after they leave.
The other wires that are connected on the ground,
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
but you can\'t see them. They are hidden. Now,
if you look at the power lines in this area,
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
can you see any proper lines
going to anyone\'s home?
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
For instance, my neighbor can ask me to
connect his power and I\'ll just pull out
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
some wires for him and connect
him, then he\'ll give me some cash,
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
because I have to keep on replacing
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
the wiring when it wears out.
I never pay for electricity.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
If I need electricity, isn\'t
there so much of it over here?
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
As the motorcycle boys do things
their own way, slum life is changing
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
across Nairobi. There are
plans to upgrade slums
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
and build more new roads and houses.
And that\'s sparked a debate here.
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
Best to help individuals with business like
the motorcycles, or investing infrastructure
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
and building new houses.
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
These houses do not represent Korogocho,
Korogocho is the people who are living here.
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
So if the people can be made
aware on what is good or bad,
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
that is upgrading that can
actually help people.
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
(inaudible) small important
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
because everyone in the community benefits
from that, but if you look at individuals
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
it\'s very important to
look may be to help them
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
or support individuals. But
how many can you support?
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
There are new homes being built
in the nearby Kibera slum.
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
And now Korogocho, the dirt
island could well be next.
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
But new housing projects
don\'t always change people.
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
Even if they build here, even
if they build good houses,
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
this will always be a ghetto.
Someone like me lives here,
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
and they\'ll build and
I\'ll rent those houses.
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
And even if I become wealthy,
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
I will not move to middle
class suburbs like Buruburu.
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
If it\'s possible, I\'ll move down there.
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
Down to the most feared place
in Korogocho and live there.
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
We also have Ghettos in uptown
places like westlands area.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
On one side, not the rich people\'s houses
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
and the other side we have cheap
houses made out of iron sheets.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
Then if they build proper houses
here, I know what Korogocho is.
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
But for Mucina a new Korogocho
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
is a real possibility. It\'s what he feels
they\'re all working towards, somehow.
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
[sil.]
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
In a new Korogocho (inaudible) need,
a new building that are durable.
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
We need good roads too, so that we can have
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
a safe estate. (inaudible)
to anything like that.
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
The new korogocho is reformed in all area.
No drunker,
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
no drug abuses, good houses, security
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
and people having title deeds
to show ownership of plots.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
May be in three years to come.
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
We want to have a complete (inaudible)
korogocho at least 90 percent of Korogocho,
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
but maybe what the youth with their motorcycle
have done is maybe like 10 percent.
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
We want to reach at least 90 percent,
if not a 100. And we are looking at
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
the vast activities because not everyone
can ride motorcycle or motorbikes.
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
Not everyone can ride bikes,
but the motorcycle club
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
has been successful in attracting
and reforming some criminals.
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
Boniface feels that its important
to include all rule breakers,
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
criminals and potential criminals
in the Dirt Islands future.
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
If the youth are not involved
in upgrading process
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
it won\'t happen, because these
are the people who are thieves
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
and they are the ones who
can destroy things here.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
The administration is not
stronger then the gangs here.
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
Millions of people live in slums like these
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
across the world. Improving their lives
is one of the millennium development
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
goals one that often seems just out of
reach. Do we need to listen more closely
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
to the people we\'re trying to help?
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
They should have come and asked us our opinion on
constructing those roads. They put big bumps on that road,
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
that are too big for motorcycles,
they are bumps meant for cars.
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
The youth are trying to become
independent so they should
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
support the bikes more.
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
Besides this as the youth, and the future
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
we leave it for other to carry it on.
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
Canna is not waiting on the future though. He is
making his own rules which may not beep anybody
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
else\'s but he\'s got the
energy if anybody wants it.
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
If you ask a child what the
hope for them in the future,
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
you won\'t find anyone
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
who\'ll tell you that they want to be poor.
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
If I had my own bike, you
won\'t see me in westland
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
or find me going to steal.
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
I can\'t just sit still,
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
always need to be busy, doing something.
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:05.000
[music]
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 26 minutes
Date: 2011
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Grade: 10-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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