Tuesday 2 October 2012

[wanabidii] The Dandora Scars- with Violet Otindo, A Disconcerting Social Injustice.

In this regard, we must applaud the media for becoming part of this campaign.

So far, several media houses have taken up our call. Citizen TV, GBS TV, FAMILY TV, The Star Newspaper, Citizen Weekly, Radio Waumini, Radio Umoja, Kiss FM among others have offered us ample airtime and coverage as we articulate what needs to be done.We are happy that Family TV is running this in their weekly program, All In The Family on Fridays. We are happy that Citizen TV are running the series, Scars of Dandora.

We ask other media houses to take up the issue of the killer in our society. Below you will find excerpts from Concern Worldwide Report on The Dandora Dump site released last month, it is shocking!

Poor Waste Management is killing our people and the most disconcerting things is that those tasked and mandated to ensure something is done about it are not bothered. We must now bring to the fore the national catastrophe that is poor waste management.

We have a myriad of institutions, if they all put heads together to save Kenyans from this danger, we would make some progress.

Below are some observations from the report;

While the poor are responsible for a small fraction of waste generated in the city, they bare the greatest burden of effects..................

Evidence from these neighborhoods demonstrates that contamination from the dumpsite has adversely affected human health, particularly through respiratory diseases, endocrine complications and cancer. At least half the children in surrounding neighborhoods have heavy metal concentrations in their blood that exceed the minimum level set by the World Health Organization.......................

The dumpsite exists in contravention of several provisions of the Constitution of Kenya, and a raft of Laws and Court Judgments.........

Given the gravity and extent of human rights violation, decommissioning of the dumpsite should be a matter of National Interest.............

To address this tragedy and injustice, the county government should immediately deploy modern technology to isolate the toxic waste from contact with people and the environment. Identification of a site for construction of a sanitary landfill is critical to a sustainable solution.However, for real change to happen, residents of the Nairobi must take responsibility for their waste, a key step is to demand urgent delivery of a safe and comprehensive waste management system, with a functional sanitary landfill.Concern.

...................of the children and youth at the dumpsite have respiratory tract infections, coughs and asthma.More than half of children around the dumpsite have blood lead level above 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood, indicating exposure to high levels of lead(UNEP2007). The hematological systems of these children are also reported as suppressed, with 12.5% having hemoglobin levels below the normal ranges........................

People absorb toxins like PCBs,Dioxins and Furans by inhalation, ingestion and absorption through the skin. These elements cause digestive disruption, low IQ scores and cancer. Anecdotal evidence from the community suggests a high prevalence of health complications emanating from the dumpsite. Anaemia, nervous system dysfunction, frailty,hypertension, kidney problems, decreased fertility, frequent miscarriages, low birth weight and premature deliveries.................

Despite this, several studies have been conducted about Dandora, TCKC demands for action and not any more studies.We are now considering legal action on behalf of residents of Dandora and Korogocho for compensation if nothing is done to guarantee them cleaner and safer environments as envisaged in Chapter 4 Article 42 of the Constitution of Kenya.

We will also demand that individual public servants bear responsibility for dereliction of duty and negligence leading to diseases and deaths.

Otieno Sungu.
TCKC.


From: odhiambo okecth <komarockswatch@yahoo.com>
To: PK <progressive-kenyans@googlegroups.com>; wananchi@yahoogroups.com
Cc: ProgressiveMinds <ProgressiveMinds@yahoogroups.com>; Wanabidii <wanabidii@googlegroups.com>; Watchman <watchman@nation.co.ke>; Weekly Citizen <citnewspaper@yahoo.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 8:27 AM
Subject: [PK] The Dandora Scars- with Violet Otindo



Friends,
If you missed The Dandora Scars with Violet Otindo yesterday at Citizen TV's Prime News at 9.00pm, you have an option of catching up with Part 2 tonight.
We cannot live like this, and we cannot be experts in only generating reports after reports and then shelving the same. 
Something must be seriously wrong with how we address the issue of Waste and Waste Management.What we have been doing as a country is Waste Dumping- Dumping Death on Us. Not Waste Management. And this calls for the question- where are the professionals charged with managing this sector?
I want to watch Part 2 of what Violet has and then, I will give a damning communication of my thought process on the same tomorrow.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50, even as we join in celebrating the life and times of my Uncle.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,
The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC
The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.
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