00:00it is said that a city's soul flows through its rivers if that is true then
00:14for many years Nairobi soul has been suffocating choked by a river once full
00:20of life now turned into a duck's car winding through the heart of Kenya's
00:25capital the Nairobi River has for decades been an open wound once a source of water
00:35and pride it became a dumping ground receiving the waste of factories homes and
00:41entire informal settlements the water turned black the smell unbearable people
00:48avoided it some forgot it even existed but not everyone turned away across the
00:58city a movement is stirring young people many of whom have never known the river in
01:03its clean state arising to bring it back to life among them is Joel Mapinduzi a name
01:11that in Swahili means revolution and revolution is exactly what he is leading
01:17this is not unafanya to kazi ya kupanga gabions
01:21uh... ii kazi ilianza early late this year lakini mini mefanya kwa takriba na miaizi mitatu
01:29Joel once struggled to find steady work life was uncertain the streets and forgiving but when the
01:38opportunity came to join a river cleanup initiative he grabbed it with both hands
01:42uh... ii imeningizia mapato mengi kweli kwasababu apu awali si kuwa na kazi ajira imekua shida lakini tangu
01:52hii kazi yanze nimekuwa na mapato mema tena nime at least nimepata malipa kuingia kila subui
01:57his journey is more than personal it reflects a new path for many others especially young men who were once labeled as thugs
02:07some of them had turned to petty crime and victims of unemployment but now they are river warriors earning honest wages and transforming not just the environment but their identities
02:19mimi kama kijana wakorokocho mimi project imeniokoa
02:25jusa aine za jistamilinau kuwa kuwangu kukimaisha kama hii project hii kuwa tudukotunaibia tu watu kuwamta
02:33lakini jusa project imekam
02:35asa si tunafanya tu kazi tunangananayo
02:38the work is not glamorous there are still pockets where raw sewage flows freely into the river
02:46above scavenger birds still circle a grim reminder of what the river has endured
02:53but the air is a little clearer now the smell though still present no longer knocks you off your feet
03:00the garbage has lessened and most importantly the stigma is beginning to fade
03:06for residents here this is not a small change it is a transformation
03:12itapatilisa ata environment environment itakuwa safi
03:18ata hewe itakuwa safi
03:20mambo ya kasi itapatikana
03:23chuu imeembroi watuengi
03:25so itaonge sa risiki
03:28kitaambo ise utapata imeachiri watuengi vire na ndrea
03:31security hapa pia atleast imeembrove kwa sababu wale wenye walikuwa napata mashidea kazi
03:37atleast wameengizwa
03:38hakuna mambo mingi ya kunyanganyana
03:41wame wamewaika wamekua busy
03:43then ukiangalia wame mto kwa sasa atleast
03:47unaona kuna kazi inendelea
03:49hii kazi inendelea wana jaribu kusafisha
03:53hii mto ndiyo ikuwe safi
03:56hii kazi kwa kwangu mimi mama hii kazi nansaidia sana
04:01nalipa school fees napata chakula ya watoto
04:04ee napia umavazi zao tunapata mali hapa
04:08hii kazi ime nisaidia by the way
04:10ime nisaidia ati ime nichange life
04:13hii kazi saia taneza ulipia mtoto school fees
04:17mimi wana angu alikuwa liniyacha na watoto
04:21na hii kazi sasa ndiyo wana angu
04:24na ndiyo ina nisaidia kila kitu
04:26according to the nairobi county environmental department
04:30over 60 percent of informal waste still ends up in rivers
04:34now the data shows reduced air pollution around affected areas
04:39residents reports fewer cases of respiratory issues
04:43the nairobi river may still run black but around it hope is blooming
04:52you
04:57you
04:59You
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