Another day for Fish - Ugali after Clean Up.
The trench in Soweto East smelled the way trenches do before you touch them — stagnant water, old plastic, yesterday’s cooking oil. Two hundred and sixteen people showed up anyway, gumboots sucking mud, jembes ringing against concrete, clearing an 800-metre stretch from Cultures toward Darajani.
While hands worked, Victory Farms Kenya kept another fire going — fish frying, ugali steaming, oil popping in a rhythm that travelled on the wind. By afternoon, water moved a little faster in the ditch, and more than 860 children ate fish and ugali until their fingers shone.
Friends who came with us
Ngong River Regeneration Network Zone 2 turned out in force: Lang’ata Local Water Forum, Mazingira Women Initiative, Baricho Youth Group, Kibera Talking, Soko Moko Youth Group — names that mean sweeping, mobilising, arguing with blocked drains until something gives.
Join the next cleanup roster with your youth group — we post dates at the office and on our community chalkboard; bring gumboots if you have them.
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.