What it means to work in flooded Bwaise

In those days, the place would never flood like it does today. These days the situation is really bad; we dread the rainy season a lot. Nowadays when it rains, it floods to the point that the small cars cannot pass.

The roads are filled with water all the way into our shops. The water is so much that when someone stands inside the shop, it reaches up to the waist. I find all my merchandise flooded by water. which soaks them up.
The water takes long to dislodge. If it rains like at 12pm, it will clear up at around 4pm, leaving the place very muddy and dirty.

Most people jhear of Bwaise but do not know what exactly goes on. When it rains, this place is like a real river. To work in Bwaise, one has to be very patient because we make a lot of losses.

How we deal with the floods
There is really no absolute way to combat the situation, but we have devised mechanisms of how to work in such rough conditions. First, most people, including myself, regularly pour fresh layers of concrete in our shops because the water soaks and destroys the floor so we have to repair it often.

We also raise the verandas or entrances to our shops. This holds back water from the road from entering the shops as much as it would have if they were not raised.
After the rain, I have to scoop water manually using either a basin or bowl, pour it out of the shop and then mop the floor praying that the next rains are not heavier.

I also make sure I leave all my merchandise up on the shelves. We have to make raised wooden stands in order to protect our merchandise.
Whenever the level of water increases, I increase the height of the stands too. For those that work out on the verandas, they have to wait for the water to dry and then place bricks in the mud on which they then mount boards to place goods.

I count myself lucky because I have an understanding landlord who trusts me because I have been here for a long time. So, I pay rent when I can since it is hard due to the losses I make duringthe rainy seasons.

People generally do not care about sanitation. They throw sacks of rubbish into the drainage and when these fill up with rubbish, they block the water, making it stagnant. People are no longer responsible. One offloads matooke and decides to dump the rubbish in the drainage.

How it affects our health
Right behind my shop is the famous kimombasa (A slum), during the rains, they release sewage to flow and you know what that means.

Whenever I get sick and go to the hospital, I find that I have typhoid so I ask the doctor how come yet I do not take unboiled water. The doctors tell me it is the environment I work in that makes me sick. There is so much dirt.

It is, however, rare for the children to fall sick. I guess God protects them by giving them a high immunity. They are true African children.

The main reason the place floods is because of the increase in population.
Long ago, Bwaise was not as densely populated as it is now. People are so many, they have built in every small space available yet this is a swamp.

Thus, the water practically has proper outlet.
Before, there were no markets in front of shops like it is now. I also think the authorities are to blame.

When the government tried to put drainage funnels, its plan was to chase away people near them so as to increase the sizes of the trenches but people bribed the authorities so that they would not be evicted which explains why the drainage trenches can only do so much.

There is a lot of corruption so instead of the water going through the trenches, it finds outlets which are ,sadly the road, people’s houses, and shops.

What can be done to help
We need the government to make for us drainage funnels that can take care of the dislodged water from the swamp which causes flooding.

I also think as residents of Bwaise, we need to learn how to appreciate and respect the little that the government has done for us.

We need to be more responsible and desist from habits like reckless dumping of rubbish.
The government should also give people the authority to work on or renovate their own roads if they can.