Happy New Year
On the first morning of 2024, while the city nursed its New Year’s headaches, we chose a different kind of celebration: smoke from the kitchen, songs we didn’t plan, and a queue of children who arrived like confetti.
We kicked off the children’s feeding programme for the year with full plates and full hearts. Youth drifted in to help serve. Elderly neighbours settled on plastic chairs, swapping stories while the smallest ones ate with both hands.
Someone’s grandmother prayed quietly before she ate — not performative, just grateful. A boy tried to keep his new shirt clean and failed immediately. The year began with sauce on sleeves, which feels honest.
It is a strange, sweet way to begin a calendar — not with speeches, but with spoons. We are carrying that same spirit forward: show up, feed honestly, stay kind.
If your January is full of budgets and school fees, know that many families here are doing the same maths with smaller margins. A strong start matters — for bodies, and for hope.
If you welcomed 2024 with resolutions, consider one that tastes like ugali and generosity. Support ETCO’s Saturday meals or walk beside us as a volunteer; we would love to share the work with you.
New Year’s Day is easy to photograph; the rest of the year is harder. We are choosing the harder part — showing up again next week, and the week after.
Thank you to everyone who shared the day — children, youth, elders — and to those who gave quietly so the sufuria could be full before the sun climbed high.
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.