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The Mathare slums is only a few kilometres northwest of the fancy hotels and shops in the centre of Kenya's capital, Nairobi. Its one of the biggest slums in East africa. The Mathare River runs through Nairobi and passes through the richest residential area, Muthaiga, where many diplomats and businessmen live. The Mathare slums start a few hundred metres downstream from them so some of the richest and poorest are neighbours but live in two opposite and separate worlds. The Mathare area is one of the largest and poorest slums in Africa and home for around half a million adults and children. Over 70% are hardworking mothers and their children whose fathers died or abandoned their family. But one problem about Mathare and other slums is there are so few studies and facts available. When the United Nations collects statistics they use only two categories, urban and rural . The slums with their urban poor are hidden inside the urban statistics, just as the slums are hidden in the city too so few visitors ever see them. Yet in Nairobi and many other big cities in Africa, more than half the population live in slums.