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The Nairobi Marathon for Shelter

Nairobi's slums are said to be some of the worst in the world. Visitors from other countries have expressed shock at the conditions of these slums, which they describe as deplorable. Aware of these pathetic conditions, NGOs working in Nairobi's slums, including Shelter Forum, Intermediate Technology Development Group, Pamoja Trust, Kituo cha Sheria, Upinde Trust, Chemchemi ya Ukweli, Oxfam, Christ te King Church, ANPPCAN, COOPI, Maji na Ufanisi,COPA, Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Kenya Land Alliance felt the need to galvanize public action. They came together under the banner of NGOs Coalition on Urban Land Rights, to create awareness on the plight of residents in informal settlements.

The Coalition aims at prompting the government and the Nairobi City Council to pay attention to the plight of residents of informal settlements. To achieve this, the NGO Coalition, of which Shelter Forum is the coordinating agency, launched the Nairobi Marathon for Shelter in April 2001. Over 5,000 people from the slums, NGOs, UN agencies and the private sector participated. It was officially flagged off by world-famous Kenyan Olympian, Paul Tergat, and was supported by Italian group, Vivicitta . The event was shown on various television stations in Italy and in other parts of the world.

The marathon is now an annual event that will be taking place every April. This year's marathon will be run on the 14th of April. The theme for this year's marathon is "Decent and Affordable Housing for the Urban Poor now!"

Pre-marathon events shall commence on the 4th of April through to the 13th of April. They shall include visits to the constituencies around Nairobi and activities such as skits, poems,traditional dances, HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaigns as well as a presentation to the Ghai Commission.

This year's marathon will start from Nairobi's Central park at 8.30 am. There are two routes to be run; the running route covers 15 Kilometres, while the second walking route 8 kilometers.

We welcome you to join in the fight to ensure that all Kenyans have a decent place to live.

The Shelter Forum Annual Event

The Shelter Forum Annual Event provides a key forum for debate, advocacy, networking, adoption and following up on strategies proposed. It also offers a good opportunity for debate on pertinent issues facing the poor in informal settlements and in the rural areas. The event is an ideal opportunity to create new links and strengthen the existing ones in an effort to work in partnership with others to achieve common goals. The themes of these events are on current issues, which helps to steer efforts towards the right direction.

The Annual Event addresses various issues at different stages to avoid duplication of activities. For instance the theme for the 1999 Event was Security of Tenure in Urban Settlements' and the event was used to strengthen links with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS), particularly its Global Campaign on Secure Tenure. The Event helped to link grassroots partners with the Campaign.
The Annual Event is normally attended by between 100 and 150 participants drawn from grassroots groups, professional associations, the private sector, government, Local Authorities, NGOs, Universities, UN agencies and the donor community, most of whom are members of the Forum.

Often the Annual Event ends with an Annual General Meeting (AGM). Only bona fide members are allowed to participate in the AGM deliberations that come at the end of the Annual Event.

Last year,the Annual Event was held in November at the Panafric Hotel in Nairobi. This year, the Annual Event shall be held on the 10th of August at a venue to be communicated later in the year.

World Habitat Day

World Habitat Day is celebrated on the first Monday of October every year throughout the world. This year the event was held on 1st October at the City Stadium. The theme was 'Cities Without Slums'. The aim of the day is to focus attention on the importance of shelter in people's lives. Various activities are organized on the day. These include clean-up exercises in estates, discussions and presentation of Best Practice awards to organizations for exemplary initiatives. As an organization advocating for affordable and decent shelter, Shelter Forum actively participates in these events. Shelter Forum is a member of the National Organizing Committee, which comprises relevant government ministries, NGOs. Local Authorities and the private sector.