Kenyan Poverty Tourism
Poverty has apparently become a kind of spectacle: Places such as Brazil's favela slums and India's shantytowns have become part of a "poverty tour" industry. Now Kenya has jumped on the bandwagon, with several organizations selling guided trips through the wretched Kibera slum in Nairobi.
Poverty has apparently become a kind of spectacle: Places such as Brazil’s favela slums and India’s shantytowns have become part of a “poverty tour” industry. Now Kenya has jumped on the bandwagon, with several organizations selling guided trips through the wretched Kibera slum in Nairobi. — JCL
Your support matters…The Guardian:
The Dutch tourists came well prepared for the walking safari: strong shoes and sunscreen, backpacks and bottled water. Ahead lay an afternoon visiting one of Kenya’s most recognisable sights – but one that rarely features in tourist brochures.
“It might seem a bit strange to come here,” said Eric Schlangen, as the guide led him towards the sea of tin-roofed shacks that constitute Kibera, often described as one of the world’s largest slums. “But I wanted to see how people live in this country, not just the animals.”
Slum tourism is taking off in Kenya. Several local organisations have started selling guided trips through Kibera, a short drive from the luxury hotels that serve most foreign visitors in Nairobi.
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
LGBTQIA+
Countries in Africa have some of the harshest and most discriminatory LGBTQ+ policies in the world.
Global Voices
Zimbabwe’s hydropower collapse is a harbinger of crises to come.
Europe
For the French President, recruiting various African intellectuals turned out to be a key asset in trying to shift the Françafrique narrative, while simultaneously protecting French interests on the continent.
Women
Emboldened by the overturning of Roe v Wade, Western conservative movements are dialling up their Africa campaigns
World
In the Horn of Africa, a climate-fueled food catastrophe looms.
Africa
We need to dispel the myth that billionaries are geniuses.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.