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.
Easter Feeding Program
Thanks to Tim Ruff and Stephanie, ETCO hosted a warm Easter Friday feeding program for children at our new office—bringing joy, a good meal, and community together in Kibera.
ETCO's Kibera Slums Tour
We thank Tim Ruff and Stephanie for joining ETCO’s Slum Tour in Kibera—walking with us, listening to residents, and experiencing the strength and reality of our community firsthand.
FLOOD SUPPORT APPEAL – KIBERA
Heavy rains brought flooding to Kibera’s riparian areas—destroying homes, claiming lives, and leaving families in urgent need. ETCO appeals to well-wishers for food, clothing, bedding, medical support, and other basics, while urging everyone to stay safe around fast water and contamination risks.