Beginning with love
The first Saturday of the year arrived without fireworks — just morning cold lifting, chai in plastic cups, and children tumbling in with new shoes and old sweaters. We played, argued over game rules, and sat in circles until laughter felt like its own kind of heat. Friendship here does not begin with speeches; it begins with shared time on a bench someone wiped clean.
Money is tight everywhere — prices at the market do not care about New Year wishes — yet donors still sent what they could. Some gave small amounts through M-PESA; others arrived with bread and greens. That consistency keeps the feeding programme from becoming a memory.
As numbers grow, we are experimenting with ways to engage adults too, but children remain at the centre of our worry. They are often unsupervised when parents hustle — easy to lose to idleness, to bad company, to a shortcut that looks sweet until it sours. Gathering them is our way of standing with mothers and teachers: extra eyes, extra care, one Saturday at a time.
If you began the year hoping to give more generously, start here — where a plate of food and a safe afternoon still change the shape of a week.
Engaging Children through Feeding Program
Thanks to Chris and Jayne, ETCO had a warm feeding program for children at our new office—bringing joy, a good meal, and community together in Kibera.
Project Site Visit by Rotary Club of IPSWICH (USA) and Kikuyu (Kenya)
It was a great and engaging day of partnership and learning as we hosted the International Rotary Club of IPSWICH team, led by Environmental Lawyer Chris and his wife, Jane, Former President of Rotary Club of Kikuyu Hon. George Ngotho and Rotarian Yumbya for a visit to our project implementation sites. The visit provided an opportunity to review the project areas on the ground, discuss implementation priorities, and strengthen our shared commitment to sustainable environmental and community development. We also had the opportunity to visit the Nairobi Rivers Commission (NRC), where we were hosted by Commissioner Dr. Loice Kipkorir, a member of the Ngong River Committee. We explored opportunities to strengthen collaboration and align our work with the Nairobi Rivers Commission's Restoration Framework.
Community Capacity Building Training
We are currently participating in the ongoing PROVE (Public Space Governance Research, Observation, Validation and Experimentation) Pilot Programme, a four-month initiative by Public Space Networks (PSN) bringing together 11 community groups from Kamukunji and Korogocho. The programme focuses on strengthening community organizations’ capacity to manage, protect and improve public spaces as well as restoring rivers and it's ecosystems. The ongoing capacity-building training is helping CBOs and community organizations better understand the connection between public spaces, river restoration and ecosystem conservation, while exploring practical approaches and stronger collaboration among communities, government agencies, development partners and other stakeholders.