GPF and Kariobangi youth joined a neighborhood cleaning effort.

According to city officials, an increase in population and waste, but not of public works funds, has “steadily deteriorated” the quality of life in Nairobi city.

In an effort to improve the city, officials have started encouraging citizens to take ownership of their city. On Saturday June 29th, the Nairobi City Government declared the last Saturday of every month a city wide cleaning day.

On the last Saturday of August, GPF and the youth of Kariobangi, a lower income district in northern Nairobi, joined a neighborhood cleaning effort. Daniel Juma, executive director of GPF-Kenya said the project goes much deeper than cleaning; it’s about “the dignity of the African people.”

The cleaning efforts are about community driven change. It places the onus of change and progress in the hands of the local residents, not on a higher official, or foreign aid.

David Juma says the project is about “the dignity of the African people.”

If makes each citizen responsible to be informed about proper sanitation and disposal methods, and be the ones who improve the quality of life of the city. It is a promising venture to revitalize Nairobi City.

Community clean-up

The hope is that more residents take part in the community clean-up as the word spreads. More importantly, that their consciousness shifts making the residents the agents of development and improvement in their city.