Week 15 - Welcome Visitors
Rodger Mulla brought friends from Colombia, England, and France — passports thick with stamps, shoes still uncertain on our steepest climbs. Eleven years had passed since high school hallways; the reunion smelled of sweat and roasted maize instead of chalk.
We walked Kibera the way we always do with guests: slowly, pointing out the beauty that does not advertise — a tailor’s neat stitches, a mural arguing with grey tin, children inventing games where city planners saw only gaps.
A good day is not performance. It is honest answers, shared chapati, and the moment a visitor realises “informal” does not mean “without dignity.” We hope you left with fuller eyes — and if you did, tell someone else to come. Referrals are how trust travels faster than any brochure.
If your school, church, or company wants a grounded tour with community hosts, reach out. We schedule carefully so visits support, not strain, the people who open their lanes to you.
French and English braided with Kiswahili in the lane; a child sold sweets from a bucket and practised counting in three languages because that is how Saturdays go when the world walks through.
Rodger’s friends carried questions that did not sound like pity — more like people trying to learn a song by ear. At the office steps we paused so someone could point out where a church choir rehearses on Thursdays, where a metalworker files sparks into the gutter, where a mural has begun to peel and still refuses to disappear.
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.
High Level NRC & Development Partners Meeting
Representing the Ngong River Regeneration Network, I'm having the privilege of attending a high-level breakfast meeting convened by the Nairobi Rivers Commission (NRC) in collaboration with the Kenya Permanent Mission to UN-Habitat. The meeting has brought together Development Partners, Government Agencies, Private Sector representatives, and Community representatives to deliberate on the restoration and sustainable management of Nairobi’s rivers.