By Grace Okwisa and Anja Bruschweiler How a Kenyan plumber turned social entrepreneur is transforming community health and challenging expectations The first time Gloria Nduku Mutua picked up a plumber’s wrench, people were shocked. Some even laughed. “They said, ‘A woman in overalls with a wrench?’” she recalls. But Gloria wasn’t trying to make a
Mason and Landlord, Eric next to his newly constructed toilets In many low-income urban communities, the biggest barrier to improved sanitation is not the lack of demand but the lack of access to finance. For Eric, a mason and landlord living in Manyatta Kaego, a low-income settlement in Kisumu, Kenya, this reality shaped
In the heart of Embu County, Kenya, schools have long struggled with a challenge that often went unnoticed yet profoundly affected every child: poor sanitation. Dilapidated latrines, inadequate ventilation, and unsafe structures created unsanitary conditions that led to health problems, high absenteeism, and a daily fear among students of using the school facilities.
In Embu County, Kenya , Hanniel Kivitu, a dedicated Community Health Promoter (CHP), is transforming how his community views hygiene and sanitation. With over 5 years of service, Hanniel has become a trusted voice in his village, leading the charge to eliminate open defecation and promote safe sanitation through the FINISH Mondial Kenya programme. “Before
By Grace Okwisa The global theme for World Toilet Day, “Toilets — A Place for Peace,” transcends the realm of sanitation and highlights the transformative impact of clean, accessible toilets on the human experience. More than a simple utility, a toilet can be a place of safety, dignity, and even a catalyst for peace in
Rebuilding Dignity: How Sanitation Loans Transform Lives in Kenya By Grace Okwisa, FINISH Mondial Kenya Access to a latrine is a basic need, but it remains a challenge for some people, like Elizabeth. Recently, her situation took a positive turn with the help of a local savings and credit cooperative, BIMAS (SACCO). Remnants of
We are thrilled to share our latest feature in Smart Water Magazine, showcasing the innovative Busia Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant in Kenya. This pioneering project is turning human waste collected from hotels, schools, and households into nutrient-rich compost, revolutionising agriculture and aiding environmental preservation. By co-composting solid waste like food scraps with human waste, we
FMK participated in the Water and Sanitation Investors Conference (WASIC) to showcase the programme’s blended financing model for access to Safely managed Water and Sanitation FINISH Mondial participated in the Water and Sanitation Investors Conference (WASIC) held between March 6th-8th 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference’s theme this year was “Accelerating Investments for Sustainable Access
By Sajib Mahanta The relationship between ensuring access to safe sanitation facilities and overall well-being has been studied extensively. Although this access comes with challenges, it's also supported by different factors that facilitates the construction of safe sanitation systems. While numerous facilitators have been documented in the comprehensive review on Barriers and Facilitators to Water,
Micro-loans for improved sanitation are key to the FINISH Mondial approach. In this blog by our communications coordinator in Kenya, Grace Okwisa, published by the The Sanitation Learning Hub, we explain how we implement our vision of financial inclusion in Kenya: how we engage with financial institutions, what challenges we face and what mitigation strategies
