Date: May 6th, 2025
Location: Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC), Nairobi, Kenya
Event Hosted by: Mathare Social Justice Centre, Nairobi Chapter Working Group in partnership with the Ford Global Fellows (FGF)
Overview
A cohort of more than 30 Ford Global Fellows visited the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) for an in-depth exchange with grassroots organizers and activists from the different centres and organizations forming the Nairobi Working Group Chapter. This brought together Mathare Social Justice Centre as the host, Githurai Social Justice Centre (GSJC), Mukuru Community Justice Centre (MCJC), Kayole Community Justice Centre (KCJC), Ngong Social Justice Centre (NSJC), Kenya Organic Intellectuals’ Network (KOIN), and the Social Justice Centers Traveling Theatre (SJCTT). This interaction, grounded in the “fishbowl” discussion, created a dynamic, respectful, and layered dialogue space centered around justice, resistance, and future-building of social movements amidst adversity and precarity.
The visit was not merely observational—it was a space for mutual learning and solidarity building, bringing together global fellows and local community leaders, activists, community organizers, writers, and cultural workers confronting systemic injustice, poverty, and climate crisis through grassroots mobilization and solidarity in Nairobi’s poor neighborhoods.
ENGAGEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE DAY
- Welcoming and Entertainment
Ford Global Fellows were welcomed by MSJC Teen Mothers through a mix of different traditional dances.
This was later followed by a brief orientation and walk around at the MSJC’s main office, the MSJC Creative Hub, and the Legal Empowerment Hub explaining their roles in MSJC’s everyday organizing. They also got to interact with books published by KOIN and reports under different campaigns at the MSJC. The introduction session was wrapped up after the fellows were given a chance to interact with different merchandise from caps, t-shirts, hats, handbags, bracelets made by Teen Mothers and Dhobi and Domestic Workers Network.
- Fishbowl Dialogue
Structure and Themes of the Dialogue
The fishbowl dialogue was led by Milano Harden from the Ford Global Fellows and Wanjira Wanjiru from the MSJC. Other discussants were Davis Tafari from SJCTT, Waringa Wahome from the Legal Empowerment Network at MSJC, and Mwangi Nicholas from KOIN.
The dialogue happened in two rounds, with different prompts for each session.
Prompt #1: “Where is Justice and Positive Change Arising?”
The discussants explored:
- Manifestations of justice and positive change within Mathare.
- The places and moments where transformation is occurring.
- Areas where justice remains elusive or contested.
Through these prompts, members of the Nairobi Chapter Working Group share their ongoing struggles, work and experience, and also significant incremental progress and victories in advancing social justice from below. Fellows also shared similar efforts from their own contexts, creating a global-local conversation on resistance, and shared ideas on how to meaningfully link their struggles and create sites of solidarities.
Prompt #2: “Visions for the Future”
This prompt asked:
- What is the powerful, just climate future imagined for Mathare?
- What could emerge if the community stays the course in its fight for justice?
This future-facing dialogue drew from the lived knowledge and aspirations of the community, emphasizing youth leadership, climate justice, and reclaiming space and dignity. It centered the poor urban communities of Nairobi in the conversation, as the most affected population by climate change and who continue to shoulder this burden disproportionately.
Open Session: Insights and exchange
The last part of the discussion was an open session for sharing different experiences from different parts of the world and learning from each other. This session allowed for cross-pollination of different ideas fronted.
Detailed Time Flow
The session opened with acknowledgments from both MSJC and Ford Foundation staff. Attendees were grounded in Mathare’s history, the land beneath their feet, and the origins of MSJC, which rose out of a need to document and resist extrajudicial killings and systemic neglect.
3:15–3:30 PM: Entry Prompt + Settling
Participants were invited to reflect on the core question:
“What does it mean to RISE and BUILD something beautiful in the midst of complex, urban challenges?”
Participants introduced themselves in a round emphasizing presence and purpose:
This moment symbolized the unification of diverse voices around a common struggle.
3:30–4:15 PM: Fishbowl Discussion
Moderated by C. Milano Harden, Adria Goodson, Kanali Luseno (Core Design Team 4.2025) and Wanjira Wanjiru. This first round of the fishbowl allowed activists from Nairobi to share grounded experiences of organizing in “perilous times.”
Topics discussed included:
- Community responses to state violence.
- Building power through mutual aid.
- Youth as knowledge-holders and frontline defenders.
- The emotional labor of organizing from within spaces of trauma.
- The relationship between climate justice and housing/infrastructure.
Ford Fellows responded with insights from their respective geographies, discussing how they:
- Sustain long-term organizing under authoritarian and extractive regimes.
- Leverage networks for advocacy and survival.
- Protect themselves and others emotionally and spiritually while resisting systemic violence.
Reflections and Impact
The exchange reaffirmed:
- The value of solidarity across borders, emphasizing on both North-South and South-South Solidarities.
- The importance of grounded organizing—starting from one’s immediate context, but reaching globally.
- That justice must be imagined collectively and built through constant action and reflection, as outlined by Brazilian Educationist, Paulo Freire.
This moment was more than a conversation—it was an act of transnational solidarity, rooted in the hope that communities like Mathare are not isolated, but part of a global fabric of resistance and future-building.
GALLERY
NAIROBI CHAPTER WORKING GROUP
Prepared by,
GATHANGA ndung’u