Sensitization & Clean-Up
The hall at Canaan Estate filled early. Chiefs and administrators do not always share a stage with youth groups and plastic collectors, but dirty rivers make strange neighbours of everyone. This was not a lecture; it was a community claiming its own corridor of responsibility.
Local leaders joined us—among them local administration, the area chief, the Assistant County Commissioner, and estate management led by Hon. Hannah Wanjiru (Shiro). Partners stood with us too: Wilson Miugo (Whispers), Stephen Oduor (Kibera Plastic Initiative), Samwel Odhiambo (Kenya Forest Club), Bernard Otieno (Lang’ata Local Water Forum), Joyce Wambui (KFC Kasarani), Michael Wanjohi (Youth Better Days), and representatives from other groups who care what happens to water after it leaves their own plot.
What we measured at the river
After the talking came the doing. Two hundred and ten community members took part in the clean-up and sensitisation. Along 150 metres of river, teams pulled out what should never have been in the water in the first place—3.2 tonnes of wet waste and 0.12 tonnes of dry waste.
Someone joked that the river had been treated like a dustbin for so long it had forgotten it was a river. The joke landed because everyone knew the truth: cleaning is not punishment; it is repair. Hands got dirty so the water could run clearer for even a few metres—and those few metres matter when rain comes hard.
Numbers do not tell you the smell, or the sound of githeri being shared after work, or the relief of seeing water move again. But they do tell you this: when rivers clog, neighbourhoods flood; when people clean together, rivers breathe. If you live upstream, remember someone downstream is walking through what you refused to bin. #LetTheRiversFlow
🎓 ETCO Education Empowerment Program
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Creating Impact, Building a Better Tomorrow
At ETCO, we're committed to creating lasting positive impact by keeping our environment safe and clean while creating meaningful employment opportunities for our communities. Through innovation and strategic partnerships with like-minded stakeholders, we're working together to achieve shared goals that drive sustainable development. We're also conducting a comprehensive economic survey to better understand the project's returns, impact, and scalability—ensuring every step we take is informed, effective, and built for long-term success.