SDI Kenya & Ghana Evictions Solidarity Exchange to Nigeria
An SDI delegation from Ghana and Kenya are in Nigeria this week to share 20+ years of experience negotiating successful eviction alternatives. The Nigerian SDI affiliate has been fighting ongoing violent forced evictions for nearly three years.
Yesterday was the Ghana & Kenya team’s first day in Lagos. They started the week with a solidarity visit to the Otodo Gbame evictees, accompanied by the Know Your City. TV documentation team.
On day 2 in Lagos workshops were held on methods to prevent evictions for Nigeria federation members, facilitated by Joseph Kimani of SDI Kenya.
On the last day, the teams from Kenya, Ghana & Nigeria shared years of experience and strategies preventing and developing alternatives to evictions that work for the urban poor.
Innovations in Solar Energy for Slums
Posting on the newly formed East Africa Solar Hub instant message group, Sammy Lema Manfere (Dar-e-Salam) wrote, “Hey guyz we nw cross the border.”
Compatriot Kasugga Abubaker (Jinja) replied from Nairobi, “Waawo, checking out now at the hotel!”
Such is the interconnectedness of the SDI Federations which inter-country exchanges enable.
Between the 24th and 29th of April 6 members of the Tanzanian and Ugandan slum dweller federations completed a 5 day solar PV technical training course in Nairobi. The course gave the 6 comprehensive knowledge for the design and optimisation of PV systems and makes them thought leaders and potential innovators in their national Federations.
“I learned all about calculations to arrange the number of batteries according to the number of PV panels, and the type of charge controller to use,” reported Sammy Lema Manfere (Dar-e-Salam, Tanzania).
The week prior Federation leaders had secured political support from Jinja Municipal Council for a targeted subsidy for solar home systems and budgetary allocation for off-grid street lighting.
