‘Building’ Social Capital and Solidarity amongst the

Urban PoorAn Exploration of the role of Organisations of the Urban Poor (OUPs) in Kisumu, Kenya

Caroline CageLondon South Bank University

Why is Social Capital important in Urban Environments

Local officials?

NGOs?

?

Resources

Information

Who should represent the Urban Poor?

The poor themselves?

Kisumu, Kenya

(Associated Press)

• Many self-help groupswomen’s, youths, mixed

• Community Based Organisations

• Microfinance organisations

Social Capital in Kisumu’s slum areas is dynamic

Source: Interviews with representatives of the Social Services Department (responsible for registering groups in Kisumu), NGO representatives and informal conversations with group members within and outside OUPs

Makika Local Network, Kisumu, Kenya

Two Organisations of the Urban Poor

Neighbourhood Planning Associations

(NPA)

Slum Dwellers Federation(SDF)

Sources: Focus group sessions with OUP higher and lower level groups. In-depth interviews with members of smaller lower level groups. Observations in the field. Interviews with government officials and NGOs working in the two areas

Neighbourhood Planning Associations

• Formed by NGOs• Outward looking• Even distribution• Officially registered and

connected to local officials

Neighbourhood Planning Associations

But…•Limits to growth, •How much are they reliant on, guided or controlled by external actors?•Long term goals are hard to sustain

Slum Dwellers Federation

• Flexible and dynamic • Better at linking existing SC• Empower marginalised

members• Short term goals build

solidarity• Long term goals and

investment in the group build cohesion

• Legitimate representatives?

Slum Dwellers Federation

But…•Not an even representation•Risk strengthening the networks of elites?•Less well connected to local stakeholders / structures•Still dependent on external support (financial management, representation, links to external partners)

Both Organisations• Exclude those who are the poorest

(membership, contributions to savings and loaning etc.)

• Have issues with poor participation at the umbrella group level

• Are dependent on external support

Discussion• Understand existing Social Capital (SC)• Aim to strengthen existing SC with inclusivity• Economic empowerment and shared

resources can strengthen SCBut…• Strengthen the SC for who?• Accessible for who?• Controlled by who?• Short-term bonding SC / long-term goals

Organisations of the Urban Poor can be significant actors in ‘building’ the social capital

of the Urban PoorBut both organisations in this study…

Are still dependent on external supportAnd both exclude some of the most vulnerable

Until structural societal inequalities are changed can Organisations of the Urban Poor be

sustainable and inclusive without support?

“the successes of participation within contemporary development policy and practice

have depended upon them being part of a broader project that is at once political and radical. By this we mean a project that seeks to directly challenge existing power relations rather than simply work around them for more technically efficient service

delivery”(Hickey and Mohan, 2005)

The pursuit of“participation as citizenship”