Empowering Kibera during political change: A case study through a Freirean lens. (March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gibson, Neil; Vertigans, Stephen; Mueller-Hirth, Natascha
• Is Part Of: International social work. Volume 66:Number 2(2023)
• Page Start: 388
• Page End: 404
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Subjects: Community -- education -- empowerment -- Freire -- photovoice -- politics; Social service -- Periodicals; Social problems -- Periodicals; Globalization -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Community development -- Periodicals; 361
• DOI: 10.1177/00208728211010215
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-8728

Abstract

Empowerment is an often used concept and the work of Paulo Freire has helped to define the application and outcomes of approaches. The researchers visited Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, during periods of political activity which had previously resulted in violence. Community members identified strategies employed in an attempt to curtail heightened risk. These factors were analysed to evaluate whether empowerment, as espoused by Freire, was still relevant in community development work. Empowerment strategies were multi-faceted and highlighted that they had created new issues for the community to address, suggesting strategy and outcomes need to be strong considerations in future work.