Impacts of the begging industry in Nairobi

The presence of beggars in Nairobi is very obvious; men, women, and children walking along cars or sitting on the side of the road begging. Often it is people with visible disabilities such as missing limbs or children who are doing the begging. UNICEF estimated in 2012 that there were 250,000 - 300,000 homeless children …

White sneaks, black boots, muted colours–

My thoughts being plunked into a new world... White sneaks, black boots, muted colours—a few of my favourite things and closet staples—could not be more opposite than the regular streetwear or business attire in Nairobi or most of East Africa. Here, unorthodox, unmuted colour combinations of any abstract pattern are donned with confidence. I find …

THROUGH THE MEANS OF TREES

A Jacaranda tree, full of vibrant rich purple blossoms, was the first thing I notice when I woke my first day in Nairobi. I have not seen anything like it before. Especially on a gloomy day after the rain the bright purple is stunning. They seem to be the only trees with life. The rest …

Swings of Happiness: The Concept of Urban Public Space planning

I have been back home in Kenya for close to six weeks now, four of which I have been a patient, in fact, my feet have mastered the directions to all the health facilities I had to seek medical attention from, even blinded I can make it to those places as long as no one …

Organized Inaccessibility: The Challenges of the Urban Carless in Abbotsford

“The ‘matatus’ (public transit vehicles) are rowdy, chaotic and disorganized.” These have always been my thoughts about the public transit vehicles in Kenyan cities. I never thought I’d miss the chaos that penetrates deep into the residential areas with the city centre as the focal point. Holding a new transit schedule, confused and overwhelmed, my …

And Suddenly I’m Working in the Development Industry

There are three types of aid according to Dambisa Moyo – “humanitarian or emergency aid,… charity-based aid,… and systematic aid” these different types of aid are funded by different sources and are utilized for different reasons, a complicated global economy of aid is created with these funds totaling in the hundreds of billions annually. Yet …

CITIES FOR CHILDREN: THE PLACE OF CHILDREN IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING

The world's human population has been on the rise despite the finite resources to support the ecosystems. However, the numbers are not evenly distributed, with the urban areas being dense while most rural parts of the world are scarcely populated. The United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs shows that currently 55% of the …

Reflections on Dandora

Having the opportunity to visit Dandora was a day that will not soon be forgotten. This neighborhood of 140,000 people is located 11 km from Nairobi’s city center, and is notorious for holding a reputation that makes even the local’s question why we would go and visit that area of the city. Issues such as …

Changing Handwashing Behavior for Health Outcomes in Children

My internship in Kenya is with Practical Action, a UK-based organization that is a global innovator, inspiring people to discover and adopt ingenious, practical ways to free themselves from poverty and disadvantage.  More specifically, the project I'm working on is focused on handwashing, it is called the Safe Pair of Hands project (hereafter, SPOH).  This …

Wildlife Tourism

During our second week in Kenya, Alyvia, Christine and I decided to spend the weekend around Nairobi in order to get more acquainted with the city and all it had to offer. On a sunny Saturday decided to take a drive down to the south end of the city to visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife …