The work is ongoing

Tthis project has come a long way since July – but the writing of a 200-page book and the initial posting of a website are only the first small steps of what the authors hope will become a lasting impact on the people of Kibera.

Milestones

The Slum project is very much actively pursuing a broad set of goals as it presses forward, including the following:

1. Initial distribution of books (Nov '09 - Feb '10): the team has elected to publish the first edition of Slum through an independent print-on-demand provider in order to minimize upfront costs, maintain control over distribution, and accelerate the process of getting the book out there. However, the team hopes the reader will agree the book has been neither rushed nor poorly done.
2. Discern audience response: the goal of the initial distribution is to "test the market" to determine how the collection of narratives resonates with readers. The team hopes to learn much from the reactions, critiques, and questions from the readers of the first edition.
3. Identify commercial publisher (spring/summer '10): if the first run is successful and proves a viable audience, the team plans to share the work with mainstream publishers to identify a partner that shares the author's vision and passion for serving the people of Kibera. We very much welcome any inquiries from interested publishers.
4. Usage of book profits: in the initial distribution, any profits generated in excess of the printing and shipping costs will go directly to Genesis and Faith to be used directly in helping meet the needs of people in their community (including the people featured in the book); it is important to note that none of the profits will accrue to the editor or stay in the US. If a publisher is identified and the project goes to the next level, the team will work to identify a more formalized method for receiving and disbursing funds. That will be a great problem to solve!
5. Follow-up visit to Africa: the editor, Greg Lanier, plans to return to Africa in the summer of 2010 (following the birth of his daughter) to conduct further work with Genesis and Faith on the project, which will hopefully include (a) expanding the audio/visual components of this project and (b) identifying opportunities to start or partner with an organization that can use funds to benefit Kibera.