Community Vaccination
By mid-morning at Undugu Grounds, the sun is already leaning hard on the corrugated roofs nearby, and the line moves in that patient Nairobi way — shuffling forward, someone checking the time on a cracked phone screen, a child balanced on a hip.
Kibera’s closeness is not a slogan. Neighbours share alleys, water points, and the same small shops — which is why illness can move fast here. It is also why, on a single day, you can reach hundreds of people with accurate information, a kind word, and a vaccine in the arm.
Saturday, 18 September 2021 — 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
ETCO invited the community to a vaccination drive aiming for at least 1,000 people, with the largest share coming from Kibera. If you had not yet been vaccinated, this was the day to come. If you already had, you could still show up — to encourage someone who was nervous, to keep a neighbour company, or simply to greet people you had not seen since the hardest months of the pandemic.
No one pretends a single event ends a global crisis. But each protected person is one fewer link in a chain — one more shop that can stay open, one more classroom that feels a little safer, one more grandmother who sleeps easier.
If you missed that Saturday, keep asking at your local facility what is available now. And when the next community day is announced, bring a friend — the queue is lighter when you do not stand in it alone.
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.