Urban October.
On World Cities Day, Pumwani Social Hall filled with the low hum of chairs scraping concrete and Kiswahili greetings bouncing off the walls. Outside, Nairobi traffic roared; inside, people who live along the city’s rivers leaned forward, swapping worries about rubbish, smell, and the slow betrayal of waterways that once carried life.
ETCO joined the Nairobi Rivers Commission for an event themed “Let The Rivers Flow” — honest talk about what it takes to keep Nairobi’s rivers from becoming open sewers. His Excellency Sebastian Groth, Germany’s Ambassador to Kenya, sat with UN-Habitat representatives, the Commission’s Assistant Chair, and groups that spend weekends in gumboots.
The Ambassador did not speak in riddles: support should land where communities feel it — wheelbarrows, rakes, spades, gloves — tools that turn goodwill into visible change. The Assistant Chair sketched thematic areas so cleanup crews would not work in circles.
From the hall to the banks
ETCO CEO Collince Onyango thanked NRC and UN-Habitat for technical help, finance, and the simple dignity of listening. He announced ETCO’s readiness to launch the first Nairobi Dam tributaries cleanup on 10 November 2023, naming EcoWB and Power Engineers as partners shaping sustainable restoration designs. Rivers belong to everyone who drinks from this city; cleaning them still begins with those willing to show up.
World Cities Day can sound like speeches in another part of town; at Pumwani it became a working conversation — maps on tables, questions in Kiswahili and English, the shared annoyance of blocked drains. People left with gloves in mind and dates in diaries, which is what a city day should do.
Ngong River Regeneration Network - Zone (1-6)
The Ngong River Regeneration Network Zone Coordinators (Zones 1–6) held a productive meeting with the Commissioners representing the Ngong River, chaired by Commissioner Benjamin Langwen, alongside Commissioners John Kioli and Dr. Loice Jepkemboi Kipkiror, together with Inspector Ashford - NRC Secretariat. The meeting was highly engaging and inspiring, leaving us even more energized and committed to advancing the river restoration agenda. Together, we reaffirmed our shared commitment to not only regenerating our rivers, but also promoting a cleaner environment, encouraging food production through downstream farming, and creating sustainable job opportunities through riverine activities. #NgongRiverRestoration #NairobiRivers #EnvironmentalConservation #RiverRegeneration #ClimateAction #CommunityEmpowerment #GreenJobs
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.