Sports: Final Whistles Tournament - Day 1
The first whistle cut through Sunday noise at Undugu Ground — boda-boda horns beyond the fence, someone selling boiled maize, boots scraping dry dirt. Under Sports for Sobriety, ETCO and partners kicked off the Final Whistle tournament: January to February 2025, fourteen teams, one pitch, the same stubborn hope that football can hold a week together when other things fall apart.
Andrew Ayuma — many here call him Mnyakuzi — runs the department with the calm of someone who has tied boots for more young men than he can count. The tournament focuses on male youth: not because women do not matter, but because too many young men here carry stress in their fists and find cheap escape in bottles.
Sundays at Undugu
Each weekend, sweat, shouts, and the thud of a ball become a language everyone understands. Off the field, there is room to talk — about work that did not come, about anger, about choosing sleep instead of smoke when the night presses down.
Sponsor a team’s jerseys, show up with water, or stand at the touchline and cheer — the fixture list needs feet as much as funds.
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.