At Parity Africa Initiative (PAI), we recognize that the greatest obstacle to the actualization of the goals of millions of Africans is not a lack of vision or potential, but the many obstacles and hurdles that they face in a bid to create the standard of living they have always desired for themselves and their families.
Makoko community is a riverine community on the Lagos mainland whose inhabitants have been generally known to be poor and disadvantaged. The community is tagged as a slum as it is devoid of many of the basic necessitates of life and living. While many have lived in this community for years, there is no doubt that the level of degradation and standard of living reduces yearly in spite of the number of interventions that occurred. It is right to therefore say that the Makoko community is in a state of emergency.
The predominant occupation in this community is fishing, howbeit with an unpredictable season comes an inconsistent and low income. Women in Makoko are largely confined to homes as full Housewives to take care of the children and help the men with the bye products from fishing.
Malnourished children are in the full glare of the public with the majority of families unable to afford even as little as a two meal per day. The level of illiteracy is on the high side as the number of out-of-school children skyrockets every year. With the meagre income realised from fishing comes low savings, investments and by extension wealth creation.
In Makoko, the canals and rivers are used for several purposes, thus access to clean water is a tall order. The houses found in this community are basically makeshift houses of wood built on canals. The level of environmental degradation is unbelievable as every pandemic thrives in Makoko. With canals for fishing also used for the disposal of sewage and refuse altogether, the quality of health is low with water not available. Climate action is at its lowest hub; in periods of torrential rainfall, hundreds are rendered homeless as canals overshoot their bank and the exposure to dangerous animals and objects is exposed to the environment.
The peace in Makoko is being threatened by the gathering of criminal gangs largely influenced by the high unemployment rate.
Thus, across all 17 SDGs, the Makoko community is lacking and so requires immediate intervention.
It is for this reason that The Marvellous Nnaji Foundation (MNF) is partnering with Parity Africa Initiative (PAI) to intervene in Makoko. We will be touching on more than 5 of the SDGs in a two-legged outreach tagged ‘the Makoko Rescue’. We hope to reach more than 1000 residents (Men, women, and children).
