MATHARE, Kenya (AP) — Joseph Kariaga and his friends once lived the “gangster life” in Nairobi’s Mathare slum, snatching phones, mugging people and battling police.

MATHARE, Kenya (AP) — Joseph Kariaga and his friends once lived the “gangster life” in Nairobi’s Mathare slum, snatching phones, mugging people and battling police.

Mathare is approximately 6km north-east of Nairobi’s central business district. The name “Mathare” comes from the Kikuyu (the largest ethnic group in Kenya) word for Dracena trees.

The Mathare Valley, shown here in an aerial map, is one of the largest and oldest slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Residents are using hand-held GPS devices to map the area, which comprises 13 villages ...

The organization’s director, Silvia Orazi, said it was important that people at the school in Mathare, one of Nairobi’s oldest slums, participated in the furniture-making process and have a ...