Women bear the brunt of plastic pollution in rivers Nairobi Where do you take your plastic water bottle after drinking the water? Do you keep it in your bag or do you toss it by the roadside? In the wake of climate change, Kenya has been getting flash floods during the rains and when…
Halinishi Yusuf rescues thirsty households in Kenya’s Makueni County. Photo/Susan Mwenesi/AWiM Nairobi When Jonah Kyalo looks at what used to be River Kwekuyu, a sad feeling engulfs him, as it’s a far cry from what used to be a flourishing and bubbling river snaking its way through Makueni County. The river has since turned into…
Flood victims in Chikwawa District pondering their next move. PHOTO/ BRITTA MPATA/AWiM Lilongwe The months of November and December mark the beginning of the rainy season in Malawi, when people venture into farming activities, considering the fact that three-quarters of the population survives on subsistence farming. This year, the country is fraught with worry and…
Beth Waithira (2nd left with a head turban) who has embarked on planting bamboo along drying rivers. Photo/ Milliam MurigiNairobi Growing up, Beth Waithira Mburu Kibinda, 41, used to watch her grandmother get water from a natural spring a few metres away from their homestead. Unfortunately, because of people cutting down trees without replanting, the…
Harare Hop step and wade in foot deep in the slimy liquid is the norm for Mai Tineyi and fellow residents. Raw sewage that ironically used to be a common sight on the streets has made itself a permanent resident in the homes of this satellite town. The slow dripping sound of the precious liquid…
Harare Shupikai Chitauro from Guruve South Ward 10 smiles as she looks at a year old 4,500 gum tree plantation she and her Focus 2 Group planted, but sadness suddenly takes over as she recalls what they have been through as she implores gender equality to land access. Ms Chitauro laments how the group struggled…
Lilongwe Amid beliefs that the tree is spiritual, and cannot be replanted by humans, women of Malawi’s two districts are courageous to restore the Mulanje Cedar tree which is found only in this country and on this mountain It is the rainy season in Malawi. Most women are busy plucking abundant local leafy vegetables to…
The shift to cleaner cooking fuel The Covid-19 pandemic presented a lot of challenges to Kenyans from all walks of life. The lockdowns and the movement restrictions saw incomes dip in many families, forcing many women to turn away from cleaner cooking energy like LPG Gas to environmentally unfriendly fuels like wood, charcoal, and kerosene….
Blantyre The voices of minibus conductors rent the air as they rhythmically shout out the prices and destinations to townships surrounding Limbe Market. While some run towards the men and women laden with plastic bags others simply call out to their prospective customers to jump on a bus promising them a ride that will…
Umurava; a group of women involved in biodiversity conservation in Nyungwe National Park. PHOTO/Annonciata Byukusenge/ AWiMKigali Rwandan women around Nyungwe National Park are running activities that are aimed at curbing animal poaching. With 1,068 recorded plant species, 322 bird species, 75 known mammal species and 13 different primate species, the park provides 70 per cent…
Kisumu In the busy Nyalenda slums in Kisumu City, elderly women are kneeling down on a white gunny bag, spreading some black substance. The 25 women and five men organised a group christened United Destiny Shapers (UDS) a community-based organisation that makes briquettes as an alternative source of clean and safe energy. This has been…
Beula Gardens women at work sorting and processing baobab seeds.Photo/ Linah Mwamachi/AWiMNairobi Mombasa The baobab tree stands out from other trees by its two characteristics, its gigantic size and age. Known by its scientific name Adansonia digitata, the most common species of African Baobab is found in 31 African countries, including Kenya. The African Baobab…
