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Josephine's story: Bouncing back

In Africa’s largest urban slum, a single mother struggles to survive lockdown – the final episode.

Josephine is a single mother of four in Kibera, the sprawling slum in Nairobi, Kenya. At the beginning of the pandemic she was working as a cook, but soon, like many Kibera residents, lost her job, and when the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Ed Butler spoke to her a year ago her situation was dire.
In this final episode in the series, Josephine looks to the future, and how she might retrain herself to find new ways to put food on the table. We’ll also hear from Kibera community organiser Kennedy Odede, how Josephine’s is just one of thousands of stories in the township. Dr John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, tells us of his concerns about East Africa’s ability to recover from the virus, given the unequal rollout of vaccines. But Kennedy Odede says we should not underestimate the resilience of Kibera residents.

Producer: Frey Lindsay.

Special thanks to Henix Obuchunju of Pamoja FM in Nairobi.

(Picture: Josephine and her family. Picture credit: Josephine Muchilwa)

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18 minutes

Last on

Thu 1 Apr 2021 07:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Thu 1 Apr 2021 07:32GMT

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