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
World Menstrual Hygiene Day Celebration
In celebration of Menstrual Hygiene Day, ETCO, in partnership with Rotary Club of Nairobi Connect and with support from the Safaricom Foundation, today donated 900 sanitary towels to girls at Joash Olum Primary School. This initiative was aimed at supporting the girl child by promoting menstrual dignity, boosting confidence, and helping keep girls in school so they can stay focused on their education and future careers.
Kikuyu Rotary Club Team site visit - partnership
It was a pleasure hosting the Nairobi Rotary Club Connect’s Yumbya Nyamai, who also represented Ecologists Without Borders (EcoWB), alongside the Kikuyu Rotary Club Presidents—past, current, and incoming—George Ngotho, Patrick, and Marion respectively. We truly appreciated your visit to the site and your interest in the upcoming waste management project.
Efforts: Inputs - Waste Management Project Strategy
Soon, just very soon. It will all make sense. Efforts, sleepless nights.... Stress, strategies, failures and minor successes... One day, I'll look back and say, Yes, I created a *System* Generation System... Me and the people I serve will be grateful... I'll be happy to have served my purpose in this world. 😊😊