May 2009

April 2009

Video Slideshows

Video Slideshow for Safewater Project


Video Slideshow for Y-Clean in Nairobi

December 2008

Special Thanks from Kenya - Letter from Councillor Leonard Otieno Oriaro

Councillor Leonard Otieno Oriaro enjoying safewater on opening day

4th December 2007

Local firm becomes project partner

JH Williams & Sons makes welcome $10,000 contribution

Local firm JH Williams and Sons has joined the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program (TKMP) as a project partner.

The long-established building and hardware supplies company is making a welcome $10,000 contribution to the program, which aims to improve water and sanitation in Kenyan communities.

JH Williams joins Tweed Shire Council ($10,000) the International River Foundation ($10,000), Tweed Shire Council staff ($13,000) and local business, churches and individuals as project partners.

The Mentoring Program employs one full-time staff member and operates from an office in Kibera, which is a township on the outskirts of Nairobi. The TKMP needs $50,000 a year to maintain the desk.

The program has recently provided a water treatment facility for the community of Obambo-Kadenge in the west of Kenya, and is managed within the Tweed Shire by a team of Council staff and volunteers from a number of community groups.

Tweed Shire Council General Manager Mike Rayner said this sponsorship would enable the TKMP desk in Nairobi to be sustainable in 2008.

“As we learnt from the three Kenyan youth volunteers who visited the Tweed in September, a network of 500 young people is engaged through soccer events to join environmental programs run through the desk,” Mr Rayner said.

The TKMP has established a youth action network focusing on environment, public health, water supply and sanitation.

“Collectively, these young people are making a real difference in their communities and gaining control of their lives,” he said.

December 2007

Siemens Corporate Responsibility Award for Safe Water Project

‘The three low-cost water filtration units using Siemens technology and provided by the non-profit organisation SkyJuice™ Foundation are now ensuring the villagers of Obambo-Kadenge have access to water which exceeds World Health Organisation standards,’ Marty Hancock said.

The SkyHydrant water filtration unit uses a low-pressure membrane water filter which removes suspended solids, bacteria, protozoa and a limited number of viruses. The solar-powered, sustainable system can produce up to 10,000 liters of safe drinking water per day.

‘Clean, safe water is something we take for granted in the Tweed Shire, but now in Obambo-Kadenge it is really saving and changing lives,’ said Mike Rayner, Council’s General Manger and founder of the Tweed-Kenya Mentoring Program. ‘This partnership between the Tweed community, SkyJuice™ Foundation, the International Riverfoundation and Siemens Australia has shown what a powerful and real difference we can make to the lives of people across the world,’ he said.

Council staff are already planning another Safe Water Project in rural Kenya and are aiming to have it completed by late 2008.

The International Riverfoundation provides financial support and in-kind services. In recognition of the outstanding achievement of the Safe Water Project the IRF has increased its financial contribution.

7 November 2007

Samuel is back in Australia

Samuel with Bernie, Sandy, Ricky, Kurt and Ryan Zietlow

Samuel Mwangi’s outstanding soccer skills led him to being selected to come to Australia for six months last year, as an offshoot of the Tweed Kenya Mentoring Program. Youth had been identified as a way of connecting with the wider community.

Sam has now returned to the Tweed to complete his high school education, with the support of Lindisfarne Anglican College at Terranora.

His ‘Mum and Dad’ Sandy and Bernie Zietlow are thrilled to have Sam back at their Clothiers Creek home, after a long battle to secure his student visa.

“It’s like he never left, as if he’s been on holidays as he’s slotted right back into the family,” Sandy said.

Their sons Ricky, 16, Kurt, 13 and Ryan, 11 are enjoying running around the backyard with Sam again, and are working hard trying to copy his host of new soccer tricks.

Sam plays soccer on Wednesday nights in the local six-a-side competition in Murwillumbah and trains once a week with an elite development squad. In winter, he will play with his ‘brother’ Kurt in the Murwillumbah Services Soccer Club Under 14 side, coached by his ‘Dad’ Bernie.

The Tweed Kenya Mentoring program established the formal links between the two countries but it was soccer that spoke the common language.

Sandy and Bernie, both Tweed Shire Council employees and heavily involved with a local soccer club, were instrumental in two large collections of soccer equipment from the Tweed community making their way to Kenyan youth.

Many young Kenyans like Sam love the game, playing on dirt fields in bare feet with a soccer ball woven from plastic bags, rubber and string.

The donation of this equipment from the Tweed means some Kenyan children can now wear strips (uniforms), boots and play with real balls. The items are also used as prizes and incentives to take part in the YCLEAN youth campaign to educate Kenyans about the importance of cleaning up their degraded environment.

The hope for Sam is he will return to his home country to become a community leader, working with others to improve the standard of living in Kenya.

“We’ve said to him he can get back on a plane and go back if he ever wants to, but he says he’s happy here. When he gets older it’s up to him, but he has always said he wants to go back one day,” Sandy said.

He may get to visit his home country in 2010 if Sandy’s plan to take the soccer-mad Zietlow family to the World Cup in South Africa (via Kenya) in 2010 comes off.

A trust fund has been set up for Sam to pay for educational costs associated with his trip to Australia. Anyone wanting to contribute can contact Sandy on (02) 6670 2604.

6 September 2007

Kenyan Youth Leaders are in the Tweed

Thetu presenting at their official welcome

(l to r) Grant Malcolmson, Korey, OJ, Thetu, Leigh Davison demonstrating garden use of compost from composting toilet

The three environmental advocates have been sponsored by the International Riverfoundation to attend this year's River Symposium in Brisbane to tell their story.

The three volunteers arrived on Saturday 25 August and have spent their first week in the Tweed. So far they have undertaken training across a range of Council activities which have exposed them to new ideas and enhanced their skills for the work that they are doing in Nairobi. A major component of their first week has also been spent meeting staff from Tweed Shire Council and the community who support the TKMP.

The TKMP has established a youth action network focusing on environment, public health, water supply and sanitation. The network is called Y- CLEAN and is led by OJ, Korey and Anastacia (Thetu). The program operates by engaging young people through soccer, which is very popular in Kibera. Over 200kg of soccer equipment has been collected in The Tweed and shipped to Nairobi, and this has generated tremendous interest and enthusiasm in the activities of the mentoring program. By combining soccer tournaments with workshops on environmental education and activities such as river clean ups and tree planting, the volunteers have held two ‘Great Nairobi River Sports for the Environment Tournaments’, the last one attracting 550 youth.

While staying with us in the Tweed, these three young ambassadors have provided a graphic illustration of the work that has been able to be achieved with the support of the Tweed community, and expressed their gratitude to the Tweed community for that support. By meeting individuals, schools, service clubs and Council staff to tell their story, Korey, OJ and Anastacia (Thetu) have enabled us to gain a better insight into the program's achievements. At the same time they have engendered a deeper appreciation of our own privileged position and the need to protect our natural heritage and environment.

6 August 2007

Mentoring Program Volunteers Preparing for Tweed Training Tour

(front row l to r) John Kori, Pauline Nyoto, Anastacia Karugo, Christopher Martin. Olita Ogonjo in the back row

In September this year, Anastacia, John and Christopher are being sponsored by the International River Foundation to attend the River Symposium in Brisbane, where they will share their experiences and learn from some of the worlds leading practitioners in river management and environmental rehabilitation. As well as attending the river symposium, the mentoring program volunteers will spend two weeks in the Tweed Shire, undertaking a tailored made program of training that will assist them in their work at home.

Council staff from across the organisation will be running the team through practical lessons on topics ranging from water quality to media management and preparing applications for funding grants. While in the Tweed, the group will be billeted by local families, and will get to know the community that is supporting their efforts to improve the lives of youth and the health of their local environment.

6 March 2007

Samuel Arrives Home in Kenya

We are also still working on a student visa for Sam to come back and study here at the Lindisfarne School at Terranora for the next 4 years. This has hit a bit of bureaucracy in that Sam does not have a 'legal' guardian to sign his student visa so we are currently pursuing this through the court system in Kenya. Once this is finalised it should not be too hard a task to get the rest of the visa in order and then for Sam to return to Australia.

Thanks once again to everyone who has helped Sam in his quest for an education and we will keep you updated on any new circumstances.

Bernie and Sandy Zietlow

21 April 2006

Mwangi is Coming?

Hi my name Mwangi I am 14 years old and live in the slums of Kibera, Kenya, Africa and love to play soccer. I come from a very poor family, I am an orphan child and the soccer ball has kept me off the streets and in school. My dream is to play against the boys in Australia and see how they live.

The Tweed Community is undertaking a mentoring role with a community in Nariobi. A strong bond is developing between the two communities, including an interest in youth soccer. Murwillumbah Services Soccer Club came up with the idea of donating all their old soccer shirts/boots/ball etc to the children in Narobi.

The Great Nairobi River Youth Soccer Tournament was held for both boys and girls with up to 400 youths from 24 clubs from around the Dagoretti Catchment attending. The Australian High Commissioner was a special guest of the Tournament Finals and issued soccer kits as prizes. Youth have been identified as the way to connect with the wider community.

Mwangi's dream is about to come true. Council staff have decided to provide him with an opportunity to come to Australia as a result of his background and soccer talent. Mwangi is not only an amazing footballer who captures the heart of many with his amazing football skills but also very well behaved, mature for his age and disciplined.

Preparation is well underway with Mwangi's travel documents now up to date and living arrangements finalised in Australia. Mwangi will be staying with two staff members and their family until September. He will attend a local school and play soccer. He will learn from us and we will learn from him as a further positive development of our Mentoring Program.

To make Mwangi's dream a reality and to give him an opportunity in life to use his skills, Council staff are sponsoring his airfare to Australia.

21 March 2006

Tweed-Kenya Mentoring Program (TKMP) Status Report

1. Introduction:

The TKMP, launched in September 2005 officially begun work in October 2005 with a partnership desk at GNet (a local NGO) in Kenya. The overall aim of the partnership is to rehabilitate the polluted Nairobi River catchment and the living standards and health of Nairobi residents. This will be achieved through river rehabilitation, improving access to clean water and sanitation for residents and commencing solid and liquid waste management in the catchment. The TKMP will undertake a pilot program along a small river section at the headwaters of the Nairobi River, it is envisaged that this pilot will then be implemented throughout the catchment

2. Achievements to date:

• The Kenya Mentoring Desk is situated at REG (Riruta Environmental Group), Dagoretti, Nairobi

  A program desk fully operational with a full time desk coordinator.

• Links established with various agencies – National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), Nairobi City Council, the Nairobi Water Boards, NGOs (Greenbelt Movement, Maji Na Ufanisi, Riruta Environmental Group, International Technologies Development Germany) and Youth-Community in Dagoretti, Kibera and Kiambiu. It is intended that businesses will also be targeted in the future.

• Mobilization and awareness raised among the youth community on links between improved environment and improved community health and living standards. This has been achieved via seminars, meetings and touring the Nairobi River catchment.

• The first Great Nairobi River Youth Soccer Tournament was held in December 2005. Five hundred youth participated and guests included the Australian High Commissioner and the Dagoretti Member Parliament. The prizes, uniforms and balls, were donated by the Murwillimbah Wanders and Tweed Shire Council. NEMA facilitated lecture series on river catchment.

• Formation of informal youth network for improvement of the Dagoretti river catchment drawing youths from 8 slums areas of Dagoretti, Kibera and Kiambiu.

• Youth groups have since initiated clean ups and tree planting with guidance and support from the TKMP desk.

• Supporting the youth groups to apply for AusAID funding proposals.

• A funding proposals underway for potential partners that include AusiAid, Ford Foundation, UNDP-Community Water Initiative, Veolia Foundation.

3. Funding:

Already Aus$20,000 have been disbursed to the program to date being part of the annual fund allocation by the IRF & TSC. The funding runs out on 31st march 2006 and the next funding cycle begins in July 2006. The challenge for the program in this case is to keep running in the period and beyond in ways that does not erode the achievement so far made..

4. Challenge:

The program now has a clear and developed project program aimed at rehabilitating the Nairobi River catchment. Funding remains the key priority with energy dedicated to fund raising.

21 December 2005

Tweed mentoring program launched in Nairobi by Australian High Commissioner

The Australian High Commissioner to Kenya George Atkin launched the Tweed Mentoring Program in Nairobi Kenya last week.

Four hundred youths from 24 clubs, using soccer shirts, shoes and socks provided from the Tweed community took part in the great Nairobi River Youth Soccer Tournament. The High Commissioner presented soccer kits as prizes in a three-day soccer tournament which involved both boys and girls. Kenyan youth have been identified as the key group to link the program to the broader community and a program of youth community service through sports and culture, developed by Tweed Shire Council, is proposed to assist Nairobi people overcome some environmental difficulties.

Nairobi project officer for the Tweed Mentoring Program Olita Ogonjo says the idea was that youth groups and soccer clubs would be assigned sections of the Nairobi River from the head waters where they would be responsible for cleaning, revegetating and maintaining. The incentive would be to support the groups to start income generating projects especially in the area of waste management in ways that could support youth sports and cultural activities. The mentoring program dates back to 2003 when Tweed Shire Council attended a world water forum where the Nairobi problems were revealed. The mentoring partnership formally commenced in May 2004 when Tweed Shire Council hosted two staff from a non-government organisation to learn about a number of key activity areas including water quality testing and monitoring, trade waste management, environmental and cultural education and waste water and potable water treatment.

Stage two of the partnership involved a Tweed Shire Council environmental scientist Karen Cranney working free of charge with the Nairobi group for two months, developing a concept note in relation to trade waste, using Tweed Shire Council as a model.

Photos from the event can be viewed in the Photo Gallery

19 December 2005

The Tweed Soccer for the Environment day was held in Nairobi over three days, 14th - 16th December. The tournament was used as the oppurtunity to launch the program in Nairobi. The Australian High Commission attended the event.

Youth have been identified as the vehicle to deliver the program to the wider community. See reports (State 3 - First Report - December 2005) for more details.

Thirty-six teams competed, including two from the Dagoretti Pilot area.