BACK GROUND INFORMATION
Malindi Rehabilitation Environmental and Resource Centre (MARERC) is an organization. Situated in Malindi Town Location, Barani Sub-Location, Kisumu-Ndogo, registered in 2008 with the ministry of social services in Malindi District.
The necessity to form the group arose from the realization that the area is densely populated with approximately 75% of the population made up of youth out of which about 68% are unemployed. Most of the people living in this area live from hand to mouth system. Poverty levels in the area stand at 68% while illiteracy levels stand at 62%.
The group came to being as a result of the problems emanating from the environment stated above characterised with lack of proper roads, no drainages and no proper solid and liquid waste management systems. The problems are further complicated by social issues common in informal settlement areas like drug abuse HIV/AIDS and large numbers of school drop outs.
MYRERC’s approach is to set up mechanisms that will involve all people of Malindi location to be aware of what is affecting their environment be it physical, social and how to respond to the problems together.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Malindi has one of the oldest preserved Swahili settlements in East Africa. Malindi has hosted most of Muslim religious festivals since 19th century and inter cultural festivals events since 2009; it has become a significant centre for the study of Islamic, Swahili culture and most recently, Chinese history. Vasco da gamma Pillar in Malindi was Designated World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1983.
In 2001The Malindi Municipality was rated the cleanest town in Kenya since then the situation has deteriorated drastically. The main course of this is the rural to urban migration where people from the rural areas of Malindi district are moving in to the town in search of jobs or greener pastures. The town has also witnessed rapid expansion due to increased need for housing. Kisumu Ndogo being an informal settlement area was most affected ,unchecked mushrooming of housing structures led to huge populations and lack of proper amenities e.g. roads ,drainages system and waste management. The sudden increase in population has overstretched the services offered by the municipal council who are charged with the responsibility of waste management.
The economy of Malindi is mainly tourism driven. Malindi is a major worldwide tourist destination; the tourists come to enjoy our beaches which are some of the best in the world .The Malindi marine park exhibits how diverse our marine ecology is. All this threatened by improper waste management. The face of Malindi is now very filthy and the fishermen exploiting marine resources are experiencing diminishing yields due to contamination of the coastline.
Kisumu Ndogo being the most populous area in Malindi town is a major contributor of solid and liquid waste. MYRERC being an organization doing its actives and existing in this area will continue to address and respond to the situation in collaboration with the community at large.
OBJECTIVE
To restore Malindi town to its former glory where it was voted the cleanest town in Kenya through a waste management plan that will have positive multi-linear effects to the community
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Current Activities conducted include: Peer education on Drug Abuse, HIV/AIDS prevention, stigma reduction, environment awareness to the community, clean up campaigns and sports.