End-of-Year and New Year Wishes
Late December light falls sideways over corrugated roofs. In the kitchen, the last sufuria of the year is scraped clean — not because waste is acceptable, but because hunger does not take holidays.
What we carry into 2024
2023 asked a lot of Kibera — and a lot of ETCO. Our Saturday feeding programme kept showing up: hot food when money ran out before month-end. Alongside that, teams kept pushing for cleaner corners and greener edges — small acts of care that make a lane easier to breathe in. At the ETCO Computer Centre, keyboards clicked where screens used to feel impossible; a child learned copy‑paste like a superpower.
None of that happens alone. It is staff who stayed late, partners who picked up the phone, and neighbours who defended the idea that a community can hold its own.
We are not pretending the road ahead is smooth. Poverty is not solved by a single programme. But we enter 2024 with the same stubborn recipe: feed, teach, protect dignity, repeat.
We still worry about rent, about safety, about the things that do not fit neatly into a year-end letter. If you are reading this from warmth and Wi‑Fi, carry us with you — not as pity, but as partners.
From all of us at ETCO — thank you for walking with us. If you want to start the year with something tangible, fund a Saturday meal, share our work with a friend, or visit and meet the people behind the numbers.
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.
High Level NRC & Development Partners Meeting
Representing the Ngong River Regeneration Network, I'm having the privilege of attending a high-level breakfast meeting convened by the Nairobi Rivers Commission (NRC) in collaboration with the Kenya Permanent Mission to UN-Habitat. The meeting has brought together Development Partners, Government Agencies, Private Sector representatives, and Community representatives to deliberate on the restoration and sustainable management of Nairobi’s rivers.