From Nairobi to Khwisero: two weeks in Kenya with our UWaterloo fellows
Two weeks ago, three University of Waterloo students landed in Nairobi to begin their placement as EWB Canada Elevate Fellows. Edna, Julian and Peter arrived to grey skies and steady rain. Many Nairobians were complaining about how cold it had been.
The fellows saw it differently. They had braced for either a Canadian-style chill or the blazing heat people often picture when they think of Africa, and found neither. It was cool enough for a sweater, but never cold enough for a winter coat.
A week of in-country training
The first week in Nairobi was dedicated to in-country training, EWB Canada’s crash course in living and working in a new country.
The fellows started with the basics of getting from point A to point B, which in Nairobi means the matatu. These privately run minibuses are hard to miss, with graffiti art painted on their sides and music loud enough to feel through the seats. One fellow put it simply: “I feel like I’m on a party bus listening to Kenyan drill music.”
Next came M-Pesa, Kenya’s mobile money system. With M-Pesa set up on their phones, the fellows rarely need to carry cash. They can pay for groceries, buy things online and even cover their matatu fare, all from their phones.
Health, wellness and safety sessions rounded out the week. These gave the fellows a chance to compare what they learned in pre-departure training in Canada with what they were now seeing on the ground.
Training could not end without some fun. The fellows said goodbye to Nairobi at the Giraffe Centre. Visitors can no longer kiss the giraffes as they once could, a practice that stopped with COVID-19, but the fellows still got close enough to feed these gentle animals by hand.
Eight hours west
In-country training wrapped up on Wednesday. On Thursday, the team set off on the eight-hour drive to Khwisero in Kakamega County, western Kenya, their home for the placement.
The first stop was the viewpoint at Mai Mahiu, looking out over the Great Rift Valley and its escarpment. In Narok, the team paused to stretch and refresh while tour vans streamed past toward the Maasai Mara for the great wildebeest migration. From there, the road climbed into the Kisii highlands, through rows of lush tea plantations –a reminder that Kenya is one of the largest tea producers in the world. Then came the descent onto the Kano Plains of Kisumu and the shores of Lake Victoria, followed by the final stretch into Khwisero.
They arrived on a rainy afternoon to a warm welcome from the M-KOKO team.
Settling into Khwisero
The next few days were full of meetings and introductions. The fellows got to know their surroundings, their new colleagues and the purpose of their work in the community.
Weekends brought a different kind of orientation. The fellows attended a Sunday church service, were invited to a local wedding and received local names from their hosts. Peter now answers to Petero.
Two weeks in, the fellows have settled into life in Kenya. They are ready to roll up their sleeves and start the work that brought them here. Follow EWB Canada and the fellows on social media for updates from the field.
Why we run fellowships like this
EWB Canada’s work starts with people. We believe the most lasting change comes from investing in individuals and giving them room to bring ideas to life. Opportunities like this one are one way we do that. Fellows spend a full term working alongside local partners such as M-KOKO Trust in Kenya, seeing firsthand how communities solve problems and where engineering and systems thinking can help.
The learning runs both ways. Edna, Julian and Peter bring technical skills and fresh eyes to M-KOKO’s work. In return, they gain what no classroom can offer: an understanding of how change happens on the ground, and the relationships and humility that come with it. They will leave Khwisero with new ideas and a different sense of what is possible.
When they return to Canada, they will not be the same people who left. We expect them to come home motivated to act on what they learned –in their studies, their careers and their communities. That is the return on the investment: a growing network of socially engaged Canadians who have seen these problems up close and are driven to do something about them, both in Canada and overseas.
The next cohort
Back in Canada, applications have closed for the next cycle of fellows, who will head to East Africa for the January to April term. Interviews are underway now to select the next cohort.
If you are a University of Waterloo student interested in the program, reach out to the EWB UWaterloo chapter or the EWB Canada national office for details.
We also want to open this opportunity to more students. EWB Canada plans to explore partnerships with co-op departments at various universities across Canada so we can extend placements like this one to our chapters across the country.
