Youth-Led Response to Climate Emergencies in Informal Settlements A Case Study of Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Youth living in informal settlements are often heavily affected by climate–related disasters, yet they are rarely included in formal disaster planning processes. Building on the lessons documented in an earlier study of Mathare's youth-led COVID-19 response – which demonstrated that emergency response is most effective when the community is on board and youth are meaningfully engaged at every stage – this study extends that model to the context of climate emergencies, with the goal of developing a scalable framework that can inform how youth-led organisations in informal settlements globally are supported to lead disaster response and recovery.

This study examines how youth in the Mathare Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya responded to severe flooding in April 2024. It is written jointly by UN-Habitat staff, academics, and community members who were directly involved in the flood response – a collaboration that strengthens the analysis by grounding academic interpretation in lived experience, ensuring that findings reflect local realities rather than outside observation alone. It documents how youth organisations relied on partnerships, local knowledge, and prior experience to coordinate rescue, relief and recovery where formal support was limited. Data comes from interviews, observation, focus groups, and community consultations conducted by the Mto Wangu from January - February 2025, alongside documentary and community-generated materials produced during the response.

Mathare is a large informal settlement built along the Mathare River within a densely populated valley. With over 206,000 residents living in just 3 square kilometres, it is one of the most densely populated areas in Kenya. During the April 2024 rains, the river overflowed and floodwaters moved rapidly through the settlement. More than 7,000 residents were displaced within a month, at least 15 lives were lost, and schools and sanitation facilities were badly damaged. The government not only failed to provide assistance but actively demolished homes along the riverbanks, citing illegal occupation of riparian zones. Residents were clear that it was the youth groups who were first to respond.

The effectiveness of the 2024 flood response built directly on experience gained during the youth-led COVID-19 response between 2020 and 2022. Youth organisations had already established trust, networks, and coordination systems through that earlier crisis – including the use of community radio, peer-to-peer communication, and livelihood-linked volunteering. These foundations meant that when the floods struck, youth were able to act immediately without waiting for external direction.

Youth groups including Mto Wangu, Mathare Roots and the Mathare River Regeneration Network (MRRN) mobilised support through partners – including UN-Habitat, SHOFCO, and the Canadian High Commission – to assist with evacuations and provide food, clothing, and temporary housing. Youth prioritised public health by distributing water purification tablets, cleaning drains, and reinstalling handwashing stations from the COVID-19 response. Recovery efforts extended further, including the creation of a community park and the mapping of flood-risk zones along the riverbanks. Their response was backed by strong community trust, which made it easier to mobilise volunteers, share information, and coordinate activities across the settlement.

The study identifies seven key elements that shaped the effectiveness of the response — from the pre-existing trust and networks that enabled immediate action, to the importance of meaningful youth engagement at every stage, enabling partnerships with external actors, livelihood support for volunteers, and honest acknowledgement of the structural challenges that remain unresolved. What runs through all seven elements is a consistent finding: that youth-led responses work best when they are rooted in community ownership, supported rather than directed by outside actors, and sustained by conditions that allow young people to remain engaged over time.

The Mathare case demonstrates that established networks, trust, and experience carried forward from earlier crises are what made the difference. That this seven-element model was developed collaboratively – by the people who lived it, the practitioners who supported it, the researchers who analysed it, and the policy makers who can create an environment for it to happen –gives it a credibility and practical grounding that conventional externally-authored research rarely achieves. What Mathare youth groups have demonstrated is that when youth agency is recognised and supported, young people are not passive victims of crisis but capable leaders of recovery – and that this capacity, properly resourced and embedded in policy, can be replicated in informal settlements around the world.