Indian vlogger’s tour of Nairobi’s slum shows families surviving on one meal a day

Indian vlogger Akash Chaudhary's video from Kenya's Kibera slum offered a raw and emotional look at the daily struggles of its residents.

Indian travel vlogger Akash Chaudhary took to Instagram, sharing a compelling video documenting life inside Kibera, one of Africa’s and the world’s largest slums, located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Many residents in Kibera struggle with alcohol addiction, often consuming locally brewed liquor, noted the vlogger.(Instagram/@kaash_chaudhary)

In the video titled “Inside the Homes of Africa’s Toughest Slum – KIBERA!”, Akash walks viewers through the narrow alleys of Kibera, home to around 1.5 million people. He highlights the staggering density, explaining that the slum occupies just 6% of the land but houses nearly 60% of Nairobi’s population.

The video captures the stark realities of daily life in Kibera. The homes are made of gobar (cow dung), soil, and wood, with roofs and sheds built from metal sheets. Basic amenities come at a cost: residents pay 10 Kenyan shillings to take a shower and 5 shillings to use a lavatory.

Akash also filmed the cramped interior of one such home, where a family of 12 resides in a space scarcely large enough for a single bedroom where barely two people can stand. In one heartbreaking moment, he reveals that families with up to 15 members often can’t afford three meals a day and must choose which one meal to eat.

Take a look at the video:

Many residents in Kibera struggle with alcohol addiction, often consuming locally brewed liquor that contains dangerously high alcohol content, sometimes as much as 50%, he noted. With limited access to education and job opportunities, many youths are caught in a cycle of substance abuse. Crime, including petty theft, has also risen in the area. Most families survive on less than one dollar a day, highlighting the extreme poverty and lack of resources in the slum, said the vlogger.

The video quickly went viral, drawing a flood of emotional responses in the comments section. One viewer wrote, “This video made me realize how blessed and ungrateful I am.” Another commented, “Mujhe apni zindagi se pyaar ho gaya hai ab” (I've fallen in love with my life now).