Mikindani MCA Juma Renson Thoya (Wearing a hat) sharing a meal with Kibarani slum dwellers on Monday [Photo/Maxwell]
Families living in the Kibarani slum in Mombasa were on Monday treated to a New Year party where Mikindani Ward Representative Juma Renson Thoya spent the whole day with them.
Thoya prepared Swahili delicacy ‘pilau’ a mixture of rice and meat and served the families and street children living in the area.
Thoya said that he took the initiative to prepare such food to the forgotten in the society revealing that the slum dwellers were going through hardships in getting basic needs.
Speaking during the feasting time, he said that sharing a meal with slum dwellers and street children has made him understand what the families were going through and together chat ways of solving the problems.
Thoya said that Kibarani being a dumpsite, with no proper and conducive environment for the families were some of the issues that need to be addressed.
He said that through the New Year party, he has also learned that most of the families were managed by children who lost both parents and have no one to turn to.
“We are not just here to eat and celebrate but also craft ways on how we will assist these children to get basic needs and go back to school,” he said.
He said that some of the orphans at Kibarani in Mikindani ward within Jomvu constituency will be provided with school uniforms and other necessities so that they are enrolled in the nearby Francis of Asisi primary school under the Changamwe Catholic church.
Thoya said that together with the County government of Mombasa he will work out a plan to ensure that sustainability programs are launched to benefit the slum dwellers at Kibarani area in Mombasa.