By JOEL NJUGUNA
- Street children in Kenya earn money by cleaning plastic bags from the river and selling them for recycling. Animals also look for food in the river. There is a Nairobi River Basin Program working to clean up the river. Photo: KENYA INDYMEDIA
The Nairobi River flows through the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The river is very polluted. It carries many things like garbage, waste from the slaughterhouse and industries, human feces and even unwanted aborted babies. Some people, especially street children, earn some money by collecting plastic and metal found floating in the river.
Most people take a bath in the river because the government doesn’t provide running water for bathrooms. People get sick from waterborne diseases because the river is a dumping site. Bridges were built so that people don’t have to cross in the river and risk getting sick.
Most people in the area do not like the Nairobi River because it is so dirty. When it rains, the river picks up and carries away anything that is nearby.
Joel Njuguna, 14, is a member of Kenya Indymedia. He likes reading, traveling, soccer and swimming.
