Pro Poor Tourism in Africa,Kenya,Kibera Slum, Africa Slum Tours

This tourism is set up in developing countries as a means to improve the local economy for local poor people. It enhances the linkages between tourism businesses and poor people; so that poverty is reduced and poor people are able to participate more effectively in Tourism Development. The aims of pro-poor tourism ranges from increasing local employment to involving local people in the decision making process. Victoria Safaris, being a tour Operator based in a third world country - Kenya is determined to improve the lives of the poor both in urban and rural Kenya. The most important factor is not the type of company or the type of tourism, but that poor people receive an increase in the net benefits from tourism.

Africa Slums Tours:

These are escorted tours into the impoverished communities of Africa living within the urban and rural areas. The concept of pro poor tourism in Africa is not new as it has been and is being practiced in South Africa. Soweto and Shanty tours in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively are not new tours but have been ongoing slum safaris that are changing the face of South Africa's Slum areas. Kibera Slum dwellers in Nairobi - Kenya are gradually beginning to reap the benefits of Kibera Slum Tours just as other Kenya Slums dwellers, courtesy of Victoria Safaris.

Africa is the poorest continent in the world with its large number of poor populace living on less than a-dollar-a-day. At the same time Africa is the most toured continent due to its massive and abundant wildlife, daily 12 hourly sunshine, rich natural resources, mountains, lovely beaches and welcoming cultural people. All these tourism revenue earners to the African continent, most individual African countries, are yet to plough the tourism revenue towards the alleviation of poverty among their poor communities - not to mention the wiping out of Slums in the Africa continent.

Kenya Slums Tours:

Kenya has its fair share of the world's poorest people.5.4 million Kenyans live in informal settlements. A large number of Kenya's poor, living on less than a-dollar-a-day, stay in the urban centers such as Nairobi and Kisumu. It is estimated that it may cost 12 billion US$ and approximately 13 years to eradicate slums in Kenya. That is over a decade. Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya is home to some of the richest and some of the poorest people in the country. The greatest population of this booming metropolis of over 3.5 million people stays in the slums without the necessary amenities such as adequate housing, adequate food and clean drinking water. These pro-poor tourism activities takes Victoria Safaris clients to these rarely visited regions and enables interaction with the local people even as the guests experience first hand the problems that these urban people face in their day-to-day living.

Victoria Safaris has come up with this new noble idea of Kenya Slum Tourism as a means of creating awareness of the plight of the poor in Kenya to both foreign and domestic tourists with an intention of wiping out the slums in Africa and Kenya in particular as a long term measure by using tourism business, the highest Kenya government revenue earner, and reducing poverty by engaging the poor participate more effectively in tourism development in Kenya and at the same time receiving an increase in the net benefits from tourism as a short time measure. As the aims of pro-poor tourism ranges from increasing local employment to involving local people in the decision making process, Victoria Safaris has hired and is continuing to recruit its local staff for the Slum tour programmes among the inhabitants of the slums areas where it performs the Slum tours.

These include the Tour van drivers from the affected slums, the slum tour guides among which are the community leaders who understand the slum community locations better and the Slum Community policing security teams. All these personnel live within the Slums where the escorted tours are performed. . Let us take you for a pro poor tourism in Kenya as we have the Know how and the capacity to deliver these services to both foreign and domestic tourists in Kenya.

We have three types of Clientele for the pro poor tourism in Kenya. These include;

1. Individuals:These include individuals who are interested in visiting the poor in their various locations and sharing their experiences in order to understand the difficulties of the poor as they contribute towards the alleviation of poverty. It counts when you have a day or and hour with the less fortunate of a community. From our experience, these individuals contribute their unwanted house hold items to the poor, foods stuff to the individual family members, clothing, beddings, cutleries, books and bicycles from their residences.
   
2. Groups: These include groups of individuals such as churches, welfare associations, Non governmental Organizations', social welfare organizations, colleges, students associations. These contribute foodstuff, build schools, provide feeding centre's with foodstuff, build health centres and provide sanitary facilities, build churches and community based centers. A group can offer to prepare lunches for the school going students. Colleges and youth groups perform cleaning activities within the slums and along the river banks that pass through the slums. Some groups build toilet facilities. Victoria Safaris organizes pro poor tours around Lake Victoria for the benefit of the rural poor along and around the lake basin.
   
3. Corporate Bodies:
   These include the limited Companies, the Parastatal and government departments. From our experience, the corporate bodies contribute foodstuff, build infrastructures and sponsor students to higher learning institutions not to mention offering employment to the slum bright students. The hotel industry is encouraged to donate used beds, beddings, linen, and used cutlery to the slum based community institutions. Victoria safaris organize corporate slum tours with the assistance of the community leaders within the slums and the poor rural areas.

Nairobi City Slum Tours:
This is a customized Escorted - Charity Slum tour of the Nairobi Slums including Kibera, Korokocho, Mukuru and Mathare Slums. The tour starts from a designated agreed point in the city of Nairobi then it proceeds to the particular slum amongst the named above where you will be escorted by the local inhabitant tour guides of the designated slum. These are usually the community leaders of the slums. You will be taken to the various house holds for you to sample their daily routine life. Then you will be taken to witness projects being undertaken by the other organizations. After the tour, you will be handed back your contribution for you to donate it to a project of your choice. You will then be driven back to your destination back to the City centre.