The air after a flood in Kibra smells of wet cement, paraffin, and worry. Paths narrow to balance beams between puddles; everyone knows someone who lost a mattress.
When floodwater pushes through shacks and eviction notices land on damp doors, hunger arrives wearing many faces. SDI–Kenya and ETCO moved together through Kibra with relief food — bags that weighed honest kilos, not promises.
We reached more than 500 people: families who had lost roofs, elders who cannot sprint when water rises, neighbours living with disability, anyone the community whispered should not be left behind.
Relief is a bridge, not a home. SDI committed to walking further with us — more joint distributions, more listening. That matters because the next flood will not wait for strategy papers.
We wrote names quickly because ink smudges when hands shake; we double-checked phone numbers because wrong digits waste a journey nobody can afford.
An old man leaned on a stick and accepted his bag with both hands — the small dignity of being seen as elder, not as "beneficiary" in someone's report.
If you can stock a pantry bundle or fund transport for the next round, reach out. Standing with Kibera means showing up when the cameras leave and the floors are still wet.
