Listen to this“What is the main achievement of Undugu? Survival.” – Fr. Arnold Grol,,speaking at the 20th anniversary celebrations held on December 9, 1993
Survival. It seems too limited a term, to characterize the achievements of the Undugu Society since 1973. Surely, if one were to gather together, inside a football stadium, all the thousands of Nairobians who have benefitted in one way or another from Undugu’s multi-faceted, community-based approach to urban development, then the word “survive” would seem decidedly understated. For those who have, by circumstance or choice, found themselves living in slums such as Mathare Valley, Kibera, Korogocho or Dandora, Undugu has likely helped them to not only survive, but in many cases, to thrive.
Reaching people
Perhaps this is the key to Undugu’s relative success in working among
the impoverished peoples of Kenya’s capital city. A grass-roots,
integrated approach, which reaches people at the survival level, and
tries to uplift them. It is an approach which has put Undugu’s staff on
an even level with their clients, allowing them to creatively address
their own problems. Consequently, the organisation has been susceptible
to the same harsh economic conditions (and resultant high crime rate),
the social and political turmoil, and any other obstacles which
slumdwellers must deal with on a daily basis. Not only has this earned
Undugu the respect and love which only one who truly “belongs” is
accorded, but also the attention and support of governments, media and
donor agencies, both within Kenya and internationally.
Starting with street boys
Undugu is best known for its long history of working with “Parking
Boys,” a somewhat generic term which encompasses street children of
various backgrounds. Today however, the Parking Boys Programme is just
one of several fully-fledged aspects of Undugu’s work. Complementing the
street children programmes (which now include Parking Boys, Street
Girls, and the Rescue Centres), the organisation pursues a network of
community development activities geared toward mobilization for
socioeconomic improvement. Its often experimental course has been
stretched to embrace such aspects as employment creation, small
enterprise development, informal skills training, the pursuit of
affordable shelter, community nutrition and health.
Now entering its third decade of service, the Undugu Society of Kenya has indeed, as founder Fr. Arnold Grol asserts, weathered many storms, and suffered through countless tribulations. Growing from a handful of dedicated beginners in 1973, to an organization which touches thousands of Kenyan lives today, Undugu has managed to keep its focus on the main objectives – improving the quality of living for the less-fortunate, while protecting the rights of our children.
"One major lesson we have learnt from our experiences in working with street children, is that the process of rehabilitating these children requires a long-term commitment, combining compassion and realism. It takes a normal family 20-25 years to transform a child into a responsible and independent person. It takes Undugu an average of ten years to rehabilitate a street child into a responsible citizen, depending of course on the particular circumstances we find the child in ... If you have no realistic, long-term programme of rehabilitation, or long-term funding commitment, don’t experiment with projects on street children. In our experience at Undugu, “Education for Life” is the cornerstone of sustainable rehabilitation."
