On Thursday, February 1st, the School of International Service at American University, and the Center for Community Environment & Equity (CECE) cohosted SIS Professor, Dr. Angela Pashayan to speak about her new book, “Development in Africa’s Informal Settlements: Below the proletariat.” In this thoughtful discussion, Dr. Pashayan delved into her experiences forming community bonds within the Mukuru Slum (otherwise known as an informal settlement) in in Nairobi, Kenya, the precarious nature of their residence, and the resiliency of spirit amidst informal living.

The impetus for Dr. Pashayan’s research was the stark gaps she witnessed in the international development sector regarding aid and programs being implemented in and around informal settlements. She explains that this was especially poignant in Africa where slums take on distinct features by their haphazard planning and the vastness of their expansion. As a community organizer from a young age, Dr. Pashayan found it necessary to investigate, then inform and galvanize the development sector to foster a human-centered approach that assists and uplifts slum communities to lead a dignified life.

She witnessed many intertwining challenges that the slum residents face which severely impact their health and safety. Despite the abundance of resources in a megacity like Nairobi, basic resources are scant, and housing is beyond austere. While this has inspired an incredibly innovative economy, it also leads to an absence of WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), and an excess of respiratory illnesses and infections because of minimal infrastructure and environmental exposures. Using bottom-up methodology, she interviewed 500 Mukuru slum residents and heard a spectrum of stories that demonstrated the need for aid and development programs to have a greater focus on understanding the needs and culture of slum communities and incorporate greater psychologism and empowerment within programs. 

The event concluded with a slideshow presented by Dr. Pashayan which collaged moments she shared with the Mukuru community through photographs taken during her fieldwork. This added an additional dimension to the event as the audience was able to connect to the residents despite a 7,000-mile difference and demonstrated the need for injecting humanity into development work. 

You can find more information on her book here.