The Nairobi Metropolitan Services has sounded alarm over the huge number of Non-Governmental Organizations that are dealing with street families in Nairobi. This is after 22,413 NGOs registered with NMS to serve the 19,768 street families in Nairobi.
NMS chief Maj-Gen Badi said that managing the big number of NGOs had become even more complicated than taking care of street families because NGOs already outnumber the people they should be taking care of.
“Each of these NGOs has at least three people working as full-time staff, incurring hundreds of thousands in terms of operational costs. We understand that they have the welfare of the street families at heart but there is something that does not add up. We are investigating the matter.”
Owners of NGOs who spoke to PostaMate on condition of anonymity said that the situation is not anything out of the ordinary. “NGOs are businesses just like any other venture out there. What matters is that they are seen to be doing their job and that the donors are happy. If they are too many, that is something market forces should address, not NMS.”
NMS had expressed concern that the huge number of NGOs in Nairobi supporting street families was acting as its competitor, liming their access to donor funds. “This is something that we need to regulate through legislation because they are eating alone.”
Plight of Street Families
While the number of NGOs continues to grow, the plight of street families has gotten worse. Many are desperate for just one meal a day and the number of well wishers who used to give hand outs have dropped. With the outbreak of Covid-19, the government forced them to stay at home even though they had no home, and those who defied were arrested.
Currently, street families depend on Mosques on Fridays and churches on Sunday to feed them, after which they embark on a four day fast for the rest of the week.
Pray for street families.
