Bringing services to the new urban poor

Providing for the children of recent rural migrants in Nairobi slums

Katy Fentress, Nairobi Community Manager

Every year thousands of rural migrants stream to Nairobi slums in search of economic opportunities from which they are excluded back home.

Recent studies have shown that the majority of slum dwellers are not born in Nairobi, but have come from rural areas to explore the city's livelihood opportunities during their early adult years. When it comes to services for these new arrivals, it seems safe to say that there is no such thing in the context of Nairobi's informal settlements.

New arrivals are at the lowest rung of the economic chain and must rely on their own ingenuity, entrepreneurial spirit, and (importantly) family networks in order to get ahead.

Aged on average between 20 and 24 years old, young men and women who travel to the city will often leave behind their progeny, who they feel will have access to a better quality of life back in the village. Although the city may contain a higher level of medical and educational services, newly arrived migrants can only afford to live in the cheapest accommodations in order to put money aside for investment back home. As such, they tend to live in the least-serviced areas in slums and are hesitant to expose their children to the insalubrious environment for which these areas are renowned.

From the perspective of rural migration to slums, the absence of children is relevant with respect to general slum upgrading and service provision, because it is not something that appears in the country's census — which focuses on occupants per household and not on children left behind with relatives in rural areas. As such, any slum improvement initiatives that do take place take into account the amount of existing children in the area, but not the potential for more children to arrive if living conditions improve.

The above view is reflected in a paper entitled "Urban services and child migration to the slums of Nairobi", which highlights how migration theory insights have not made their way into the urban planning realm. The article underlines how in a city like Nairobi, there are yet to be any provisions relating to how improvements in basic services may "elicit a heightened migration of children and therefore necessitate investments in social sector such as the provision of health education and sanitation."

Although extensive research has been done on the issue, including an in-depth survey that was conducted between 2003 and 2007 among residents of Korogocho and Viwandani slum entitled "Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System", there are no current prescriptions as to how exactly the government must act in order to tackle this problem.

In what way can governmental or non-governmental organisations draw up plans that will include service provision for the children of recent migrants? How is it possible for the government to identify a point of entry for new arrivals and document their comings and goings, in areas that already slip through the net of government control? These are important questions that policy makers can no longer afford to ignore if the problem of overcrowded settlements is to be tackled.

Behind the brick walls: children of migrant construction workers

Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager

Mumbai is a city of migrants. Millions of residents have journeyed to the island city from all around the country, bringing a rich diversity of languages, religions, and customs. They come with hopes and dreams of having more than they did in their jobless villages, toiling invisibly in all corners of the city. Many of these migrants are the foundation on which the city is built — literally. Construction is the single largest employer of migrant laborers in India's cities. Both men and women — the poorest of the poor — spend endless hours laying down bricks, carrying cement, chopping away at old roads to bring home a meager living for their families, most of who live right at the sites.

"It is deeply ironic that the children of the very people who produce the symbols of economic development — skyscrapers, residential, and commercial complexes — are denied the ability to participate in and benefit from the progress the city promises," says Mumbai Mobile Creches (MMC), the only organization in Mumbai that works with children who live at construction sites. Despite their contributions, Mumbai's construction laborers have little connection to what the booming city has to offer.

The organization estimates that 35 million migrants work in the construction industry in urban Indian. The workers come from villages with their children and — unlike many physically demanding industries — women also participate. That leaves their children — estimated to number about 50 million — alone: the young looking after the very young and taking on household duties well beyond their years. They are essentially the invisible residents of the city, with almost no access to the formal systems. School and health care elude this population. MMC, which began in Delhi nearly 30 years ago, says that while the Construction Workers Act of 1996 was "progressive and included a number of social welfare benefits, most states, including Maharashtra, are yet to ratify this Act. As a result, MMC is, most likely, the only support service a child on a site will encounter."

MMC runs 29 daycare centers, serving nearly 5,000 children. Their special focus on under-six toddlers ensures that older children are free to attend school and that very young children receive the necessary cognitive and emotional support to succeed as they grow. MMC's studies show that nearly 80 percent of children at construction sites are not enrolled in formal schooling — much above the city, state, and national averages. The goal of MMC is to provide necessary services — including tutoring in language skills, since many of the children only speak a regional dialect — to increase the likelihood of them attending school. Also, if children attend school, it reduces the likelihood of child marriage and child labor.

Given that MMC is one of the few organizations working with this population — particularly children — influencing policy to benefit the migrant construction laborers is an important part of their efforts. The government has implemented a scheme focused on children under six years old called the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), though only recently has that included migrant children. MMC's advocacy efforts have helped launch a pilot program in Mumbai where MMC and the ICDS are jointly running three centers on construction sites. The program is an important step in gaining government recognition of migrant construction workers and their families as part of the life force of the city. Scaling the program and integrating construction site children into formal systems are essential to advancing the next generation, and to ensuring that all residents of the city — whether visible or not — have access to the most fundamental of urban services.

Photo 1: Tom Maisey / Creative Commons

Photo 2: khrawlings / Creative Commons

Rusunawa untuk masyarakat menengah kebawah

Nanda Ratna Astuti, Jakarta Community Manager

Every year, 47,000 migrants arrive in Jakarta, leading to important housing and traffic issues. In 2013, the Jakarta City Government plans to build low-rent apartments in the middle of the city in order to reduce the growth of informal settlements and to limit commuting traffic. By the beginning of this year, the first wave of residents from the Pluit slum moved to low-rent apartments in Marunda. Hopefully this pilot project is a first step to relocating the urban poor in better living conditions.

Jakarta, sebagai ibukota dan pusat perekonomian di Indonesia, menjadi magnet yang sangat kuat bagi datangnya penduduk dari luar provinsi untuk berpindah ke Jakarta demi mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik. Jumlah pendatang setiap tahunnya mencapai 47ribu orang dan biasanya arus urbanisasi tersebut terjadi setelah hari raya idul fitri. Jumlah pendatang yang tinggi ini tentunya menambah permasalahan perkotaan di Jakarta, antara lain tingginya kepadatan penduduk, munculnya pemukiman liar dan masalah kemacetan. Untuk mengurai masalah-masalah tersebut Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta akan mulai membangun rumah susun sewa (rusunawa) murah untuk kelas menengah ke bawah. Langkah ini dianggap sebagai salah satu cara mengurai masalah kemacetan dan pemukiman liar di DKI yang umumnya terjadi karena meledaknya jumlah pendatang dan arus urbanisasi setiap tahunnya.

Wakil Gubernur DKI Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama yang akrab disapa Ahok menjelaskan bahwa pembangunan kota Jakarta akan mengedepankan kebutuhan warga miskin. Warga miskin yang kebanyakan selama ini menempati kamar-kamar kos/sewa di pemukiman padat yang cenderung kumuh di pelosok gang-gang Jakarta serta kelompok pekerja yang bertempat tinggal di daerah pinggiran Jakarta atau daerah tetangga sekitar Jakarta. Pembangunan rusunawa murah di tengah Jakarta ini diharapkan akan dapat mengurangi jumlah penduduk di pemukiman kumuh dan liar serta mengurangi kemacetan. Tingginya harga sewa rumah/kos di Jakarta menyebabkan banyaknya penduduk yang tinggal di daerah pinggiran dan menyebabkan kemacetan terjadi setiap harinya. Dengan adanya rusunawa murah ini maka mereka akan tinggal dekat dengan tempat kerja di tengah kota sehingga kemacetan dapat berkurang. Pembangunan pasar tradisional juga harus diwujudkan di lokasi yang berdekatan dengan rusunawa tersebut sehingga pergerakan masyarakat yang menggunakan kendaraan bermotor dapat ditekan.

Menurutnya, pembangunan apartemen murah berbentuk rusunawa tersebut tetap mengikuti peraturan perundang-undangan yang telah ada. Rencananya pasar-pasar tradisional di Jakarta merupakan lokasi yang tepat untuk dibangun rusunawa di atas bangunan pasar yang sudah ada. Salah satu rusunawa yang telah jadi dan mulai ditempati adalah rusun Marunda. Rusun ini ditempati oleh sebagian warga korban banjir di bantaran Waduk Pluit. Diharapkan rusun Marunda ini dapat menjadi proyek percontohan untuk pembangunan rusunawa selanjutnya dan berpindahnya masyarakat dari tempat tinggal sebelumnya ke rusun ini dapat ditiru oleh masyarakat di permukiman kumuh/liar lainnya di Jakarta. Terutama bagi masyarakat pendatang dari luar daerah, agar tidak membuka pemukiman liar yang baru, tetapi menggunakan fasilitas rusunawa yang sudah disediakan pemerintah daerah DKI Jakarta.

Photo 1: Rusun Marunda

Photo 2: Rusun Marunda Tower 7 – Sumber