Christmas with a difference in the semi-arid ‘Karen C’

The foodstuffs ready to be delivered to the homes identified earlier, a total of 110.


BY KIUNDU WAWERU

People stood with their mouths open as an ambulance inched slowly at the Ndarakwa Shopping centre more popularly known as Ng’amba.

It is a rare sight here, as residents are ferried to hospitals at the dead of night by generous neighbors blessed with a vehicle; it is the same for mothers in the throes of childbirth. But on this day of December 23, 2024, the ambulance was here for a completely different mission, preventative rather than curative.

It bore a doctor, nurses and other health care professionals here to offer the first free medical camp in the area, which is in Limuru Constituency but close to Kikuyu town, about 15 minutes’ drive. Alongside the medical camp tent, was another tent where young people from the area were arranging foodstuffs ready to be donated to the residents of Ndarakwa in the spirit of the holiday season.

Ndarakwa is in Ndeiya Subcounty, which straddles Kikuyu and Limuru Constituencies in Kiambu County. It is expansive, neighboring Maasai land in the great rift valley in Nachu and Nguirubi which is largely semi- arid, to the more affluent and green Limuru and Kikuyu. There is little economic activity, save for small scale subsistence farming, which is also sporadic for most times the rain fails, earning residents’ years of ridicule for poverty despite being close to the capital, and in the second largest Kenyan county.

However, since the tarmacking of Thogoto Mutarakwa road, and the Kikuyu- Makereca road, the landscape is changing, with palatial homes sprouting from the land that for ages lay bare, now subdivided by a horde of real estate agents.

In Gikambura, just after Thogoto – about 20km from Nairobi, the middle class have bought land in droves, forever changing the landscape so much so the area has earned a new name, Nairobi Ndogo. Clubs, petrol stations, hotels and firms are also fast emerging.

Unfortunately, land sub-division leaves in its wake millionaires who suddenly squander all the money gained selling ancestral land as they have never before come across such a fortune; they do not know how or where to invest it.

Ndarakwa Christmas Kitty Chairman and PCEA Imani Elder, Michael Kamau.

I am from here, Ndarakwa, in a little shopping centre known as Ng’amba, which is famous for its nyama choma at Mungai’s. Every weekend, and weekdays, goat rib lovers from far and wide visit the area, some driving top range fuel guzzlers.

But this has done little to improve the economic activities of my area. Last year, 2023, with a couple neighbors, we started the Ndarakwa Christmas Kitty, which, through a WhatsApp group appealed to the sons and daughters of Ndarakwa to contribute towards buying foodstuff for the needy amidst us.

The response was overwhelming, and we were able to reach 80 families with a package of wheat and maize flour, cooking oil, rice, sugar, soap, and match boxes. The idea of the Kitty was borrowed from the neighboring Thigio sublocation who have offered foodstuffs to their folks every Christmas for the last 16 years. In 2024, we were upbeat to go even bigger. The sons and daughters of Ndarakwa did not disappoint.

This time, on December 23, 2024, we distributed similar foodstuff to 110 households. We had gathered the youth from the area, a strong 36 boys and girls, some in college others still in secondary school who helped with the distribution and who took home two packets of Unga each. “It was a resounding success,” mattered Michael Kamau, the Kitty’s Chairman and Imani PCEA Elder, “we are empowering the youth so that in future, we can tackle the issue of unemployment and food insecurity,” he adds.

But we did one better. During the year, there emerged many cases of illness, deaths and education needs that people reached out to the group for assistance. The residents can only do so much. We thought that if we appealed to the people to have their health checked, maybe we could save lives as they would be encouraged to seek medical treatment early.

We approached the Lifecare Hospitals in Kikuyu, and thankfully they accepted. It was surprising to see a long queue at the medical tent, mostly of the elderly. In all, the medics cared for over 60 patients and about 50 registered with the Social Health Authority (SHA). “We offered regular tests like blood pressure, blood sugar, and free medical consultations,” said Dr. Caroline Munyua. “we advised those who need further medical care and encouraged them to register for SHA so that they are not forced to pay from their pockets in case of an emergency.”

As an environment and climate journalism trainer, I realize that we all must go beyond rhetoric. That is why we have introduced tree growing every Christmas season to encourage the people of Ndarakwa to proactively participate in realizing a more sustainable future. With devolution, we call upon the local and indeed national leaders to empower the community with new farming methods, as well as introduce new income-generating activities.