Purpose to attend. Tujiamini SportPesa and ETCO
Nairobi woke to a public holiday, but Nyayo Highrise Ward did not sleep in. Loudspeakers were scarce; purpose was not. Tujiamini SportPesa and ETCO set a simple agenda — touch soil, move rubbish, remember.
Matatus ran thinner; some shops stayed shut. In Nyayo Highrise the louder sound was shovel scrape, not street party — people choosing work over lounging because the ward still had to breathe.
Shovels bit into banks where plastic bottles gather like bad habits. Waterways that should carry rain away had narrowed to trickles; unclogging them is slow, filthy, necessary work — the kind cameras skip until the flood proves why it mattered.
Between trees and trenches, we paused for those lost to rising water — faces named in families, not headlines. Grief and planting share the same hands: both insist the future must be different.
Later, children lined up for the feeding programme; adults carried parcels home to empty cupboards. If you were there, you know — a holiday can be a headline, or it can be sweat, sap on your shirt, and rice steam in your face. We chose the second.
Come back when we call for the next ward day — bring gloves, not speeches.
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.