Three Masters students at Mount Kenya University (MKU) have won an international grant to distribute solar- powered lanterns to families in Kiandutu slums, Thika.
The COV-AID Graduate Student Mini-Grants by the Talloires Network of Engaged Universities and the Open Society University Network, will also enable the students : Rose Macharia, Nelly Kayanda and Daniel Kiriti distribute the lamps to kiosks, informal roadside stalls, community service points (such as bathrooms, toilets, and water points) and to security officers.
Macharia is studying information technology at MKU’s Thika main campus, Kayanda is majoring in counselling psychology while Kiriti is studying governance and ethics. The grant amounts to USD$ 2,500 (Kshs. 275,000).
Kiandutu, which is Thika sub-county’s largest informal settlement, has a population of about thirty thousand people. The houses are poorly constructed and lit. “Our initial target is two hundred homesteads but we aim to scale it up in due course,” said Macharia.
Through this grant, the MKU community will also offer mentorship to the youth in the slum. “Our primary focus will be on political and social radicalization, drugs and substance abuse and career growth and opportunities,” said Kayanda.
The call for applications for the COV-AID Graduate Student Mini-Grants attracted over one hundred applications from universities worldwide. The three MKU students were among the six whose proposals were picked. Talloires Network described the process of choosing the winners as extremely competitive.
The Talloires Network grants programme is designed to recognize the outstanding commitment to civic engagement by university students during the Covid-19 pandemic period. The Network’s secretariat is based at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA.
Last July, MKU won the 2020 Talloires Network Innovative Civic Engagement Award for distributing ten thousand water backpacks. The backpacks provide an easy-to-carry water method to people in arid and semi-arid areas.
The university’s corporate social responsibility projects in Marsabit and Kilifi counties have also helped fight the jigger menace, benefiting more than five thousand school-going pupils.
