Kibera; It can be done

Friends,
We brought you the damning images of Kibera the other day.
Today, we want to give you hope; It can be done.
Just look at these 3 Photos, all taken in Kibera;

Case 1 in Kibera

Case 2 in Kibera

Case 3 in Kibera as reclaimed by our Strategic Partners; Kounkuey Designs Initiative.

This gives us hope, that another Kibera is possible. 

With Strategic Support from the Public Service Transformation Department at the OPM, and The Chief Public Health Officer in the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation Dr Kepha Ombacho, we will be addressing the Kibera Waste and Garbage question. And to set us all rolling, a few Key Strategic Partners have been invited for a strategic planning session at the Boardroom at Afya House on Wednesday the 3rd Oct 2012 as from 9.00am to help develop an action plan and time lines with which we can convert all the wasted public spaces into something useful as we remove all that filth and garbage.

We want to appreciate some of our Partners who have confirmed participation.

Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.


Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,                                                                

                                                                                                                             The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch.blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

Another Kibera is Possible

Friends,
My Team and I were in Kibera as promised and today, we want to bring you what we saw. You may look at it and ignore it, and move on as if it does not need attention. Or, you may look at it and do something, join with us in sorting it out.

The Mess

The Mess

The Mess

Oto in Green with the Area Chief Mr. Patrick Adira

An ablution block built from a reclaimed land by Kounkuey Design Initiative in Kibera

We have posted more on our Facebook Pages for your attention.
We talked with residents and the Area Chief, and we are agreed that we must sort out this mess. A small Strategic Team will be invited for a meeting on the 3rd October 2012 at the Boardroom Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation Afya House at 9.00am to think through this mess.
The meeting will be Chaired by The Chief Public Health Officer at the Ministry Dr Kepha Ombacho. We will then host a Consultative Forum on the same with the residents of Kibera Laini Saba and Lindi on the 12th October and this meeting will be Chaired by Area Chief Mr. Patrick Adira.
We will then roll out a Massive 10 Day Programme to remove all this filth and Waste on the 15th October 2012 onwards.
All People of Goodwill are invited to join with us in this Massive Campaign. Another Kibera is Possible and these are also as human as we are.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50, even as we join in celebrating the life and times of my Uncle.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,

The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

Celebrating the life and times of Uncle Andrea Owuor Oswilo

Dear Friends,
The weekend was tough on me, very tough.
I was in a function in Nakuru when I received word that my Uncle, my only Uncle Mzee Andrea Owuor Oswilo had passed on at about 4.30pm Saturday the 22nd September 2012.
I was for the first time hit so hard. This has come barely one week after we had buried a Cousin the other weekend.
It has been tough on me this year. I have lost a Brother, a Mother, a Brother-in-Law, several Cousins and the resources can never be enough to handle such cases.
We met as a Family yesterday and we have decided to bury Uncle on the 29th Sept 2012 at his Home in Ndere Alego. We will be meeting with our Friends and Relatives on Wednesday the 26th Sept 2012 at Walkers Restaurant in Nairobi to help plan and fill in the gaps to enable us give Uncle a befitting send-off.
I want to invite Friends who are able to stand with me once more to help me bury my Uncle.
I want to thank Mr. Evans Machera and Mr. Elijah Agevi who have sent me their supports. Thank you and God Bless you:

1. Mr. Evans Machera- Kshs 500.00
2. Mr. Elijah Agevi- Kshs 1,000.00
3. Ms Brigitte Frey Kshs 5,000.00
4. Mr. George Anyumba Kshs 1,000.00 
5. Ms Judy Gitau- Kshs 2,000.00.

Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50, even as we join in celebrating the life and times of my Uncle.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,

The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

Kenyan rubbish dump offers little money for much misery

This is a real tragedy; 50 Years into our Independence; Oto

Campaigners want to close a dump in Nairobi that spreads disease, but thousands of scavengers rely on it for survival  

• Clar Ni Chonghaile

• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 18 September 2012 15.14 BST
  Men and women pick through a rubbish truck at Dandora dump, Nairobi, in search of anything they can sell on or take home to use. Photograph: Clar Ni Chonghaile

  A man with a sack slung over his shoulder trudges up a mountain of rotting rubbish, where Marabou storks perch like mournful sentinels. In the valley below, a woman pulls a jacket from the rubbish and holds it up, appraising it with a critical eye.
  At Nairobi's Dandora rubbish dump, the working day is in full swing. Men and women pick through a newly arrived truck, looking for plastic, food, clothes, paper and bottles – anything they can sell on or take home to use.
  Robert Ondika, 27, straightens from sifting through the rubbish with an iron hook. He has been working in Dandora, one of Africa's largest rubbish dumps, for three years and earns between 50 and 500 Kenyan shillings a day (between $0.60 and $6). "We come here to earn our daily bread," he says in Kiswahili. "Here, we touch different things, we could step on something sharp. It is only God who is helping us here."
  For these foot soldiers in Nairobi's unregulated rubbish business, the work is perilous and the rewards paltry, to say nothing of the discomfort of spending the day in a smoky, stinking wasteland. But for those who live in the neighbourhoods around the dump, it offers survival.
  That is Dandora's paradox – it is source of life, but also of illness and, occasionally, death. In a report released on Tuesday, Concern Worldwide, Italian development group Cesvi and church group Exodus Kutoka say the dump is "one of the most flagrant violations of human rights" in Kenya.
  The report says the city council of Nairobi, local government departments and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) bear legal responsibility for the hazardous living conditions in the slums nearby.
  The dump, which lies 8km (5 miles) from the city centre, was declared full in 2001, and since then campaigners, including Concern, have sought to have it decommissioned.
  The report, Trash and Tragedy: The Impact of Garbage on Human Rights in Nairobi City, says the rubbish had polluted the soil, water and air, affecting more than 200,000 people, including up to 10,000 who spend the day seeking treasure from it.
  Most of them do not wear gloves or masks and many suffer from respiratory ailments, such as asthma. Other conditions that have affected workers include anaemia, kidney problems, cancer and frequent miscarriages.
  A 2007 study by the United Nations Environment Programme found that at least half the children in surrounding neighbourhoods had heavy metal concentrations in their blood that exceed the minimum level set by the World Health Organisation. Some estimates say around half the workers on the dump are under 18.
  A site for a new dump was earmarked near Nairobi's international airport, but that idea stalled this year when the Kenya Airports Authority said birds attracted by the rubbish could endanger planes.
  The Trash and Tragedy report says many workers do not support plans to close the dump, where 850 tonnes of waste are deposited each day.
  Father John Webootsa, who lives nearby in Korogocho slum, understands this. "It brings money and it brings death," says the Comboni priest, who has campaigned for years to have the 30-acre dump relocated. He organises vocational training and loans for scavengers to help them escape.
  "We believe this is not a life that human beings should live," he says. "Many [people] have died and others are dying. Others have been burned by the acid, the 'boilers' [contaminated industrial waste barrels] that are there. Beneath that garbage, there are boiling chemicals, and people may be burned if they step on them by accident."
  Korogocho, which means "crowded shoulder to shoulder" in Kiswahili, appears to have been forgotten by the government. On one of the narrow streets, pigs snuffle among piles of rubbish, just yards from the body of a dead dog. Webootsa says people here feel rejected by society and by the government. "Social amenities are not provided, the government is not here. We do not have a public health facility … there are only two schools, and they were built by us," he says.
  But the dump is a source of wealth and power for the men at the top of an informal cartel that runs the site. With no government control, there is plenty of room for gangsters to wield their influence. Visitors must organise and pay for "security" to walk around the site and to take photographs.
  The report says powerful business interests have rallied communities against the decommissioning process. "Most of the anti-decomissioning forces have deeply vested business interests that thrive in the prevailing chaos," it says.
  The report argues that any solution requires a sea-change in Nairobi, a city of more than 3.5 million people where recycling is non-existent, or ad hoc. "Residents of Nairobi must take responsibility for their waste … a key step is to demand urgent delivery of a safe and comprehensive waste management system, with a functional sanitary landfill," the report says.
  Concern and its co-authors urge the government to use modern technology to isolate toxic waste in Dandora, and identify a site to build a sanitary landfill.
  Webootsa stresses that any solution must take into account the thousands working as scavengers. "They don't need the dump. They need the job," he says. "They don't need the rubbish. They will be happy to have a clean environment, they will be happy to breathe clean air, and of course, there has to be a proper livelihood."
  

'Incinerators are junk and they kill' - air pollution expert claims

EMISSIONS from waste incinerators are to blame for child deaths, birth defects, increased cancer rates and heart attacks, according to an air pollution expert who spoke at Hardwicke Village Hall on Wednesday, September 5.  
Retired GP Dr Dick van Steenis, who has spent 17 years working in toxicology, urged residents to 'rise up' and oppose plans for a £500 million incinerator at Javelin Park, near Haresfield.  
He said lax regulations in the UK meant populations living downwind of the facilities were being exposed to hazardous levels of PM1 and PM2.5 particles, which he claims are responsible for causing premature infant deaths as well as a host of other illnesses and diseases.  

Dr van Steenis, who in the past has given evidence to a House of Commons select committee on air quality, said incinerator operators are putting 'company profits before public health' because they are burning waste at temperatures which are too low to fully break down refuse.  
Alternative waste disposal technologies, like plasma arc gasification, treat waste at higher temperatures and are cheaper and cleaner, Dr van Steenis said.  
"It is now up to the people to rise up and say enough is enough. We do not want any extra deaths. These incinerators are junk and they kill," he said.
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Dr van Steenis was invited to talk by parish councillors from Hardwicke and Quedgeley who are opposed to the incinerator.   
Ian Butler, chairman of Hardwicke Parish Council, said he felt it was important that residents were given the opportunity to hear an alternative viewpoint on the issue.  
The Health Protection Agency announced in January that it had commissioned a major new study to look at the potential threat incinerators posed to public health.  
Preliminary results from that study are not due back until 2014 however - a year after building work is scheduled to start on the Javelin Park incinerator.  
Cllr Stan Waddington, GCC cabinet champion for waste, said: "The Health Protection Agency's position on energy from waste facilities is clear.  
"Well run and regulated modern municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health. Energy from waste is a tried and tested technology and there are currently more than 350 operating throughout Europe."  
Javier Peiro, project director for Urbaser Balfour Beatty - the company hoping to build the plant - said: "We were disappointed that no representative was invited from UBB to provide a balanced discussion of the topics at the recent meeting.  
"Dr van Steenis has raised his concerns at a number of public inquiries in the country where his evidence on health effects and alternative technologies has been considered but not accepted.  
"All thermal treatment facilities, including energy from waste and gasification plants preferred by van Steenis, must comply with the same stringent emissions limits.
"Had we have been invited to Dr van Steenis' presentation we would have been able to provide the alternative perspective on energy from waste, which is based on credible evidence rather than scaremongering."

Friends of A Clean Kenya,

First and foremost, TCKC wishes to thank all of you for being consistent in the struggle to get Kenya out of the current rot, we are making this a revolution that is awakening our country not only to the realities of our situation but also what we can collectively do to salvage the situation.

The last few months has seen a tremendous success in awakening Kenyans to the possibility of A Clean Kenya as we turn 50 years next year; that living in decent, cleaner and safer environment for all is possible. We must all value our health and thus the environments we live in.

TCKC wishes to unveil the team of technocrats in government who have joined with us and given us the boldness to tackle this menace. As we strive to deliver A Clean Kenya at 50 next year, we must appreciate the following with whom  we plan and execute massive national awareness and sensitization, mobilization, training, monthly and rapid response cleanup events among other activities.

1. Mr. Emmanuel Lubembe, Head, Public Service Transformation Department at the Office of The Prime Minister.
2. Prof Karega Mutahi- Permanent Secretary Ministry of Local Government.
3. Arch Philip Sika- Permanent Secretary Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development.
4. Mr. Ali Dawood Mohamed- Permanent Secretary Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources.
5. Prof George Godia- Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education.
6. Mr. Andrew Mondoh- Permanent Secretary- Ministry of State for Special Programmes.
7. Dr. Alice Kaudia, The Environment Secretary- Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources.
8. Mr. Njoroge Ndirangu, PC Nairobi.
9. Dr. Kepha Ombacho, Chief Public Health Officer, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation.
10. Mr. Peter  Kibinda, Director Policy and Environment, Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development.
11. Mr. Salim Mola, Senior Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Local Government.
12. Mr. Titus Simiyu, Provincial Director of Environment, NEMA, Nairobi.
13. Mr. Philip Manoti, Assistant Director Quality Assurance and Standards- Ministry of Education.
14. Mr. Simon Ole Morintat, The Deputy Town Clerk, City Council of Nairobi.
15. Mr. Mario Kainga, The Assistant Director of Environment, CCN.
16. His Worship the Mayor of Kisumu-Councilor Sam Okello.
17. The Town Clerk Kisumu, Mr. Chris Rosana.
18. Mr. Tubman Otieno , The Town Clerk Municipal Council of Mombasa.
19. Mr. Stansilus Ondimu,The Town  Clerk , Municipal Council of Eldoret.
20. Mr. John Sande, The Director of Environment Kisumu Municipal Council.

We also want to appreciate the following Teams for their consistent support to The Clean Kenya Campaign;

1. The Public Service Transformation Department at the OPM.
2. A Better World/SOF-DI.
3. Akiba Uhaki Foundation
4. Mugumo Communications Ltd
5. And a whole list of individual Friends of TCKC as listed in our website under Partners.

We note with satisfaction that The Municipal Council of Kisumu have sustained and made prominent The Monthly Cleanup Campaign in Kisumu since the launch and it is beginning to bear fruit. The Municipal Council of Kisumu has set a target for themselves to be the cleanest town in The Great Lakes region within the next few years. Surely, we must be proud when our leaders take such bold steps. We encourage the other councils to believe in something, the way this council has set out a target with a strong belief and commitment to it. They have a Facebook account for residents- kisumu environ.We also laud the Municipal Council of Eldoret for setting aside Ksh 700 million for Solid Waste Management. This is the right direction.

This is supposed to be a stream in Kibera.

We want to appreciate the Municipal Council of Mombasa for investing in new Garbage Collection Trucks and Loaders and also continuing with the Monthly Nationwide Clean-ups.

We made a resolve in this national and trans-formative agenda to partner with public servants who have a desire for public service. It is the only way to get things working and we can showcase the effects of this partnership in the period we have engaged. We have continued a sustained environmental awareness campaign. Several groups across the country have taken up the initiative, especially the monthly cleanup and awareness campaigns and driving it on their own. We have hosted two successful forums on Solid Waste Management which came up with The Practical Steps towards Separation and Conversion of Waste. We are happy that this November, we will begin pilot training of waste collectors across Nairobi in recycling the bulk of the waste instead of dumping it. We are creating a data bank of groups and initiatives in waste management. We are structuring solid waste management initiatives to ensure maximum impact.This is to consolidate, compliment, up scale and build their capacities. We also look forward to information and knowledge sharing in waste management, investment in this sector, bench marking and showcasing innovation and best practices. Eventually, we will produce literature on solid waste management.

This is supposed to be a stream in Kibera.

These photos of Kibera, the mess that runs through Kibera, is an eye sore throughout the streams that snake the informal settlement.  This situation requires rapid response and a lasting solution to waste disposal. Human beings cannot live like this amongst us and we sleep soundly without disturbed conscience. We have begun plans for a 10 day Operation Rescue Kibera From Waste that will remove that rot. We must also offer alternatives to how they are disposing waste. Service delivery is one area that MUST now be taken seriously and Kenyans must demand the same from all Public Officers.We must help them through regular collection of that garbage otherwise the situation will revert back.

Across Nairobi, Outer Ring, Juja, Enterprise, Lunga Lunga and Jogoo Roads among others are becoming dump sites. Nairobi is slowly being swallowed and chocked by waste.These are the worst that require rapid response for restoration. Many other informal settlements are not any better, but we must begin somewhere and move in.

As we get into the tougher phase of influencing policy on waste management through separation and recycling, we will need much more support and goodwill. We trust that we will get it from believers of A Clean Kenya.

This is supposed to be a stream in Kibera.

All that we have done requires commitment, dedication, support and above all, resources. It could not have happened without the support of The Public Service Transformation Department at the OPM, A Better World/ SOF-DI, Akiba Uhaki Foundation, the corporates who have occasionally sponsored our activities, events and outreach programs and the many believers in a Clean Kenya who have continued supporting us one way or the other. We have managed to make some difference with the little they have offered this process. We could do much better with structured facilitation and partnerships.

Lastly, we want to appreciate the Media Houses that have consistently hosted us in their Talk Shows and consistently reported on The Clean Kenya Campaign. You are our Partners in this Journey of Hope across Kenya. Today at 8.00pm, we will be hosted at Family TV during the  'All in the Family' Programme.

These efforts will pay off and as we turn 50 next year, we want to look back and be proud that we begun this journey together as a Team.

Otieno Sungu,

Programmes Manager,

The Clean Kenya Campaign- TCKC,

Tel; 0729 294 743

Email; sunoti@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT-CLEANING MARKETS, AWARENESS, TRAINING AND MEDIA

Yesterday, the 19^th of September 2012, we held our 2^nd planning session with the market leaders of all the 53 markets in Nairobi. The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC working in partnership with the market leaders and the City Council of Nairobi-CCN plan the launch of a sustained cleaning, upgrading and face-lift of all our markets. This is where our foodstuff comes from and we must be disturbed at the deplorable state in which most are.

After attending our 2^nd Consultative Forum on Waste Management at the KICC on the 28^th Aug. 2012, the market leaders made a resolve to play their part in cleaning and maintaining cleanliness. They have in turn asked the CCN to also play its role effectively to ensure we have cleaner and safer markets.

Yesterday’s planning meeting was hosted by the CCN and Mr. Geoffrey Kihoro, Deputy Director of Environment represented the Council. Also in attendance was Mr. Robert Kiriago, the Senior Markets Superintendent, Mr. Wanjohi of Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation representing the Chief Public Health officer at the Ministry Dr. Kepha Ombacho, Madam Margaret, DO Makadara representing the Provincial Administration and the Chair-lady of Nairobi Market Traders Society-NMTS was also present.

The following were matters addressed;

Follow up on the request to the City Council of Nairobi by market leaders for provision of;

1.       Regular Cleaning and security services for all markets.

2.       Provision of water services to markets.

3.       Painting and face-lifting of markets.

4.       Re-carpeting of market floors.

5.       Unclogging drainage systems within and around markets.

6.       Provision of electricity within all markets.

7.       Provision of designated waste collection points/receptacles for waste.

In his presentation of behalf of The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC, Mr Otieno Sungu reminded the traders of the rallying call that a clean Kenya begins with each one of us. As we take responsibility, we want to focus on service delivery. This way, we can compliment the efforts of those offering services and also demand quality services from those whose performance is wanting. He noted and appreciated the various public servants who have come out strongly to ensure the issue of waste is managed in a better manner. He informed the traders of the plans of continued massive national awareness and sensitization coupled with training in waste management that TCKC and partners have embarked on. His rallying call to all; councils, traders, corporate, schools and colleges, government departments, organizations and private citizens was that we strive to make our towns and cities cleaner and safer by the 1^st June 2013 as we celebrate our Silver Jubilee.

Mr. Wanjohi reminded all that despite the right in the constitution for a clean environment for all, we should make this a personal initiative that takes care of our personal health. He pledged that his Ministry will support this initiative. In line with this, we wish to indicate that we will be following up on the pledges made by The Minister for Public Health and Sanitation, Hon. Beth Mugo for provision of waste receptacles for Separation of Waste as we begin the market clean ups. We will also be following up with The Prime Minister’s office, The Ministry of Education, The Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development and The Ministry of Environment on specific policy directions that they have made in our past events. We would wish to ensure that what is said in these forums is translated into action and implemented for the benefit of residents. We will also take follow up with various stakeholders who have indicated interest in ensuring decent, cleaner and safer environments especially people living in informal settlements.

Guess what this is?

Looks like a stream to me!

Oh Nooooo...it is garbage!

Mr.Geoffrey Kihoro, Deputy Director for Environment at the CCN took note of all the concerns of the traders and pledged that these will be addressed in due course. He commended the initiative and the markets traders for coming forth to clean our markets and to compliment the efforts of the City Council of Nairobi. He also welcomed the idea of inviting corporates to help face lift our markets through branding. TCKC will be engaging specific corporates in this regard.

He lamented about the challenges the council faces especially in terms of staffing and resources. The council has about 11, 000 employees in total and about 800 in the Department of Environment. It also has about 8 working trucks to collect all garbage in Nairobi thus having to contract a further 20 trucks at a cost of Ksh. 40 million monthly to compliment their capacity.

While we appreciate these challenges, we would also wish to point out to the council to use resources prudently. It would make much more sense to spend Ksh. 40 million monthly to buy at least 4 trucks every month and within 1 year, the Council would have a total of 48 trucks, within 2 years, the council would be able to build their capacity to provide trucks for all the divisions of Nairobi. In essence, the years after that, the council should only be spending funds on service and fuel. Such trucks can be bought on a loan arrangement.

These are the priorities we wish to engage the Council on to better services to residents. Unless there are vested interests that prevent such basic and reasonable thinking, the council should do better on planning. We welcome the CCN’s efforts in solid waste management, but it must go beyond doing Master Plans like they did in 1998 only to review the same in 2010 without implementing. This is not acceptable.

We must also appreciate the Media Houses who have come on board to help us drive this trans-formative national agenda. Family TV(which has been hosting us for their Friday 8.00pm Program-It is All in the Family), GBS TV who not only covered our forum but followed up with a panorama, The Star Newspaper, The Citizen Weekly both who have been prominently featuring our articles, Kiss FM, Radio Waumini and Radio Umoja, all who are driving this sensitization through offering us airtime to speak to Kenyans. We appreciate your belief that Kenya can be cleaner and safer at 50 next year.We welcome the rest to join in making Kenya a clean country of efficient service delivery.

We are also planning, with organized groups, partners and residents of Kibera a massive operation to remove all the waste in Kibera streams in the coming weeks, we will announce the specific dates soon.Fellow Kenyans must not be reduced to living like animals while we watch. We must provide leadership in resolving the overwhelming waste in that area.Life in informal settlements must not be a resignation to filth, diseases and lack of service delivery.This is social injustice.

In the meantime, we wish to announce that we have acquired office space courtesy of one of our main sponsors, A Better World SOF-DI. We are happy that they have now structured their support to this campaign to carter for office and some logistics. We also appreciate the office hosting we received from Mugumo Communications Limited for the last year.

We will be focusing on implementing the Practical Steps agreed upon during our 2^nd Consultative Forum and in this regard, we will follow up with all who have shown interest in moving this process forward. We must also not forget that efficient, satisfactory and timely service delivery is a key component in sorting out the mess that is garbage in our towns and cities.

We look forward to more structured sponsorship for this initiative as we continue our programs currently focusing on cleanups and awareness campaigns, training on separation and conversion of waste as well as documenting waste management initiatives for up scaling, consolidating, complimenting, bench marking, show casing best practices, information/knowledge sharing and building capacities.

Programs Manager.                                                                                                                    

The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC                                                                                               

 Tel; 0729 29 4743                                                                                                                     

 Email; otienoraphael@gmail.com                                                                                         

Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch.blogspot.com                                                                  

Website; www.kcdnkenya.org                                                                                                                                                                                     

Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@yahoogroups.com  

Clean ups; Are they effective?

Friends,
The Clean Kenya Campaign has elevated the question of Municipal Solid Waste Management, or its absence, to new levels in Kenya.
We have sent many Journeymen scampering in all direction with our bold and well grounded approach to the question of Waste Management through our combined approach of Awareness and Clean-up Campaigns.
Now, I have heard this tired thinking from some quarters for some while now; Are Clean-ups effective? And I want to respond to these journeymen in very clear terms- Clean-ups are very effective.
Now, the team that has been asking this tired question are technocrats who have all the means at their disposals and yet, they have failed miserably to manage our waste across Kenya.
The other team that has been asking this question are the perpetual conference goers. They do nothing except hope from one conference to another, just to talk.
At The Clean Kenya Campaign, and with minimal resources, we have been able to host meaningful Consultative Forums before and after all our Clean-ups. In these Forums, we discuss real issues that affect us. No theories like the conference goers. And the result of this has been the massive turn outs by Kenyans in all the Clean-ups that we host.
Can this heap of waste deposit itself here? And can it remove itself from here?
For the journeymen, they wake up in the morning and head for a Clean-up without any prior consultation with the people and they expect to see Kenyans joining with them. They have resources that can be used for mass mobilization, but they opt to print T-Shirts and find any other convenient means of skimming Government Funds in the names of hosting a Clean-up.
Definitely, this can never work. Instead of mobilizing Kenyans to know why we need to keep our Towns and Neighbourhoods Clean, they are busy looking for how best to spend funds in areas that have no bearing to the actual Clean-ups and Awareness Campaigns. They spend no funds in Awareness Campaigns and then they turn around to ask this tired question; Are Clean-ups effective?
We also have the question of commitment. How can you succeed with a process you are not committed to? The Clean Kenya Campaign Team is committed to working for a Clean Kenya, and we have proved that a Clean Kenya is possible. But some technocrats who are mandated to keep our Country Clean are not committed to the oath of their office.
If one is not committed to a course, it will never succeed. This is the scenario that has been obtaining from many of our Councils. There has been no commitment on the part of the top leadership to ensure that Clean-ups are a success story. However, look at what is taking place in Kisumu now?
The people of Kisumu under the leadership of KICOCEN have taken to the Clean ups as their way of supporting a Council that is proving that it is committed to keeping Kisumu Clean. In Kisumu, there is commitment right from His Worship the Mayor Cllr Sam Okello, the Town Clerk Chris Rusana and the Director of Environment John Sande.
This team have even opened a Facebook Page- kisumu environ and their commitment and dedication to keeping Kisumu Clean is paying off through the massive turn outs in the clean-ups.
We have also seen commitment and support from the Town Clerks in Mombasa and Eldoret. We are now seeing some enthusiasm in Nairobi from the Town Clerk, the Deputy Town Clerk and the Assistant Town Clerk Reforms. But we are yet to see any commitment from the Director of Environment.
So, how can a bunch that has never been committed to Clean-ups, never factored any serious budgetary allocation to power the Clean-ups, and never tried even in any one day to mobilize for a Clean-up be the judges that conference with this tired thinking?
I would appreciate the question of how effective the Clean-ups are, if the process failed despite commitment and support. But this question coming from conference goers means very little to us.
Lastly, in Rwanda the Clean ups have been a resounding success. Do you think that the Clean-ups just happen by themselves? No. There is commitment and support right from the Presidency. I am yet to see this kind of commitment and support in Kenya to warrant these journeymen start the debate of how effective Clean-ups are.
I will be hosted at 8pm on Friday at All in the Family Programme at the Family TV and I will talk about this careless attitude we all seem to have towards ourselves and in Public Service.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,

The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

Kibera Public Space Project 04

The Kibera Public Space Project 04 was launched on Saturday the 15th September 2012 by Mr. Hesbon Kayesi- District Officer Laini Saba when he presided over the Ground Breaking Ceremony in a function that was well attended.
Mr Hesbon Kayesi- DO Laini Saba officiating in the Grond Breaking Ceremony
The KPSP04 is an initiative of Kounkuey Design Initiative in partnership with local Community Based Organizations. KDI partners with residents of impoverished areas to create low-cost high-impact built environments-[Productive Public Spaces] that transform communities, improving the residents daily lives and future prospects and in the process, working towards a Clean Kenya.
This is the 4th site being reclaimed from Garbage and converted into a Productive Public Space by Kounkuey Design Initiative in Kenya. They also have a heavy presence in Haiti, Morocco and the US.
The KPSP04 was designed by two young architects- Michelle and Margaret under the watchful eyes of the KDI Team led by Joe Mulligan- the Country Director. I attended the Ground Breaking Ceremony and for the first time, I was scared of taking photos and sharing with the World.
Michelle and Margaret- the two young Architects who designed the KPSP04 with their designs
We had parked about 500 metres from the site and what I saw was shocking. I have never seen people live in such desperate situation side by side with massive filth and yet, life goes on as if nothing is wrong. I have seen garbage sites across Kenya, but I have NEVER seen what I saw in Kibera. We are living as if there is no Government and this is unacceptable.
The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation must move in and do something. This is a disaster we cannot let remain like this. The Ministry of Special Programmes must move in and save the situation. The National Youth Service and the Army MUST be mobilized to remove all this garbage from the streams in Kibera. And the City Council of Nairobi MUST do something. Then, the local leadership stands accused. They are a fraud on their subjects. We must hence unite efforts and sort out this mess. Living in a slum must not descend this low. We can live in the slums and still manage our waste effectively.

I have seen garbage across Kenya, But what I saw in Kibera on Saturday the 15th Sept 2012, made me shake to my bones. I was even scared of taking such photos

We must all get annoyed and help these colleagues who are living in such places. The part of Kibera that I visited is Pathetic. There is a complete breakdown of simple service delivery. Garbage is everywhere, toilets are dysfunctional, and where you have a pit latrine, it is full and messy. Yet, our people are forced by circumstances to live in such desperate situations.
Garbage, garbage, yet, basic service delivery can ensure that such garbage is collected and disposed of
Friends, we must all join hands and do something for this part of Kibera. There is no way we can all live happily and pretend that all is well. I will go back and help in mobilizing the Locals for action.
The Government Departments which are tasked with garbage collection must swing into action. Those who are tasked with sanitary care must roll their sleeves and we must remove all this piled up garbage clogging the rivers and the streams in Kibera. We must provide the people with alternatives and move proudly  as a team towards Vision 2030.
Otherwise, we will be failing in our duties by pretending that sections of Kenya can attain Vision 2030 at a time that basic service delivery is missing in some other section of Kenya.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,

The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

A Better World/SOF-DI and KDI; The Clean Kenya Campaign

Friends,

Kounkuey Design Initiative -www.kounkuey.org will be hosting a ground breaking ceremony tomorrow the 15th September 2012 at Lindi/Laini Saba in Kibera for their 4th site that they have reclaimed from garbage and filth.

In the place, a beautiful sanitary block and some social amenities will be erected for the benefit of the locals. KDI has partnered with three groups to design, construct, and manage the new Productive Public Space: SlumCare, Usalama Bridge Youth Reform, and Ndovu – Laini Saba/Lindi Development Group. 

When something is nice, you must claim it. This is the University of Nairobi Chiromo Campaus

KDI is composed of a Team of Volunteers from the United States of America and they are concerned, just like we are, that a Clean and Better Kenya is possible. This will be the 4th site they are reclaiming and turning into Productive Public Space. 

During the cleaning process last Saturday the 8th September 2012, the City Council of Nairobi was present in her full capacity to help give direction to the reclamation process. We must sincerely thank Mr. Marion Kainga who stood in ably for the Director of Environment.

The Clean Kenya Campaign is happy to be associated with these groups turning Kibera around. This is the Clean Kenya we are talking about and we want to invite as many people who may join with us tomorrow to do so.

Kenya will not attain some clean status by itself. It must be some concerted efforts from all of us and from our Friends. It is with this in mind that I want to also publicly acknowledge and appreciate A Better World/SOF-DI for the continued support they have extended to The Clean Kenya Campaign.

Ms Brigitte Frey has been one very consistent supporter and believer in what we are doing at The Clean Kenya Campaign, and her support to us has always given us the edge and the drive to continue.

A Better World/SOF-DI has written to me and pledged their structured support to The Clean Kenya Campaign beginning this Month. Their support will pay for our office rent and support a few logistical and Administrative issues every quarter.
A Better World/SOF-DI- www.sofdi.com is engaged in improving the sanitary conditions of many people in Western Kenya especially in Kisa and Emuhaya through sustained organic farming.
The two cornerstones of SOF-DI’s activities are the transfer of knowledge for the sustainable production of sufficient and healthy food supply by means of organic farming and for providing adequate access to clean water.
Please visit their website and see how The Frey Family is using their Family Resources for the good of Kenya and Kenyans.
When something is nice, you must claim it. This is the University of Nairobi Chiromo Campaus
Such are the Friends we need in Kenya. And The Frey Family have gone a step and joined as Key Partners in The Clean Kenya Campaign. It is also important to note that Ms Brigitte Frey sits as a Member of The Board of Trustees at The Clean Kenya Campaign.

I want to appreciate the many Friends of The Clean Kenya Campaign, men and women whom I harrass for support everyday, and true to their belief, they never let us down; Mr. Elijah Agevi, Dr Abraham Korir, Mr. Richard Mogoko, Ms Irene Wasike, Mr. Oduor Ongwen, President Daniel Mogeni, Mr. Norman Magaya, Mr. John Ogutu Omondi, Mr. Hesbon Omondi, Mr. Daniel Masetu, Mr. Isaac Muraya and the entire team. Thank you.
And lastly, without the strategic support from The Public Service Transformation Department at the OPM, Akiba Uhaki Foundation, A Better World/SOF-DI, The Provincial Administration, the Town Clerks Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret and the entire Team of Technocrats from the various Government offices in Kenya, The Clean Kenya Campaign could not have been.
Thank you all as we gear towards The Massive Market Shut Down in Nairobi on the 10th October 2012.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,

The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

Rest in Peace Mr. David Nalo

Friends,
Cancer has robbed us of yet another distinguished son of the Soil.
As most of us woke up this morning, Mr. David Nalo- the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of East African Community, had made peace with his maker and therein he was resting, for he left us at about 2.00am.
May the good Lord rest his soul in eternal peace.
With this said, I want to believe that it is time we addressed the state of our Health Care as a Nation. Cancer has become one of the major grim reaper in our times. All the mighty, men and women of means, those who have the protection of the Gun and of immense financial resources, have found in Cancer a major opponent.
Many are our gallant sons and daughters who have lost this battle with cancer and sadly, we have no capacity to help them. A very painful exercise indeed.
Garbage at every corner you turn
Kenya will be celebrating 50 Years of our Independence next year, and one major cause of Cancer all over the world is dirt, garbage and waste. We all know that in Kenya, we are eating some foods whose root sources lead us to garbage and waste sites.This is a sad reality killing many Kenyans quietly.
Recently, the mass media brought to our sitting rooms cabbage being grown in sewer, and these form the sumptuous meals that we hog in our homes and in the 3 Star Hotels in Kenya.
As we mourn David, I want to challenge Kenyans to follow their trash. Where does your waste go? You may think that you are well off in your neighbourhood by dumping all your waste to the less affluent areas. The question is, does this waste find its way back to your body?Back to your food?
In many instances, we all buy our groceries and foodstuffs from the markets. And look at the current state of our Markets?
All the Hotels buy their foodstuffs from these dirty havens and we all bury our heads in the sand and pretend that all is well. All the big shots eat at these 5 Star Hotels whose daily provisions are sourced from our dirty and dilapidated markets.
This is why The Clean Kenya Campaign, working in partnership with the Nairobi Market Traders Society, the City Council of Nairobi, the Provincial Administration, and any other willing partners, will be cleaning all the 53 Markets in Nairobi on the 10th October 2012 as from 7.00am to 10.00am in an operation dubbed Massive Market Shut Down in Nairobi.
Garbage does not even respect the Corporates
If you believe that we can help make change happen in Kenya, and in paying tribute to Mr. David Nalo, let us all join hands and work for a Clean Kenya. And a Clean Kenya starts with the Markets where we all source our FOODS.
May the good Lord rest the soul of Mr. David Nalo in eternal peace, and may He give us the knowledge to advance in sciences that can arrest Cancer as a major grim reaper.

Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,

The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com
Blogspot; http://kcdnkomarockswatch. blogspot.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org
Facebook; Odhiambo T Oketch 
Facebook; Monthly Nationwide Clean up Campaign
Mailing Group; friendsofkcdn@ yahoogroups.com  

The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.