Machakos

    • Our Project sites: Kathiani, Mitamboni, Ngoleni, and Kimutwa since 2002; and Machakos Town and Kyumbi since 2018
    • Projects: Community infrastructure i.e. school construction, Financial inclusion for incremental housing

 

Achievements:

  • Constructed 34 homes through a community-led revolving fund model for people living with disability
  • 425 households (Approx. 2250 individuals) benefited from a housing microfinance based retail lending program for low-income earners (2006-2016)
  • Constructed classrooms and sanitation facilities in 2 public primary schools – Kyumbi Primary School and Machakos School for the Deaf

 

Ongoing Projects:

  • Construction of a new library, latrines, renovation of 2 sanitation blocks for boys and girls, and renovation of a borehole at Machakos School for the Deaf.
  • Renovation of 2 ECD classrooms, construction of a kitchen block, and new latrines at Kyumbi Primary school.

 

County Fact Sheet:

Machakos County is one of the 47 counties in Kenya. Its located 63 km southeast of Nairobi. It covers a land area of 6208.2 km². Machakos is further sub-divided into 8 sub-counties; Mavoko, Kathiani, Machakos, Matungulu, Yatta, Masinga, Mwala, and Kangundo sub-counties. It has a population of 1.4 million with approximately 402,466 households. The Poverty level stands at 59.6% and an HIV/Aids prevalence of 4.5%. 7023 and 4666 persons live with hearing and speech disabilities respectively.

Housing needs

Machakos county’s proximity to Kenya’s capital Nairobi makes it a preferred residential option for many people working in Nairobi as they try to look for cheaper accommodation outside the city. This, however, puts a strain on the housing sector in Machakos. 65.6% of the population lives in inappropriate housing, 78% of these houses have walls made of wood or mud. The average household size in this county is 4.

Wash needs 

49% of the population relies on unimproved water sources, while approximately 39% of residents use unimproved sanitation. Climate change in Kenya has increased the average distance to the nearest water source, especially in rural areas. In Machakos county, the prolonged dry season, for instance, has led to the drying up of rivers, springs, boreholes, wells, and dams, subsequently increasing the average distance to the nearest water source. 37% of residents use improved sources of water, with the rest of the population relying on unimproved sources. The average distance to a water point is 5km 

Sanitation

61% of residents in Machakos County use improved sanitation, while the rest use unimproved sanitation. 16.4% use uncovered latrines or buckets, and 11.3% use natural bushes or others.

Security of tenure

Most land in the county is categorized as either private, community, or public ownership. Only 28.5% of residents here have titles to their land.