Social party launched to help in curbing the use of harmful cooking fuels

    A  cross-section of Kenyan society – including ordinary citizens, celebrities and influencers – have formed a social party  with the aim of rallying Kenyans around the problem of dangerous cooking methods. The party is known as CHUJA – an acronym for Chama Cha Usalama Jikoni Amua.  Its objective is to highlight the dangers of cooking with charcoal, firewood, kerosene and illegally refilled gas canisters in favour of cleaner and safer alternatives.

“The impact of using dirty cooking fuels is grossly under-reported and unknown by many,” said DJ Shiti, actor on The Real Househelps of Kawangware and one of the founding members of CHUJA. He added: “We have formed CHUJA because it is the high time that Kenyans took control of their right to decide to create a better environment for our families and country in general.”

In Kenya, it is estimated that 8-10% of early deaths are attributable to indoor air pollution because of cooking with charcoal and firewood. This also adversely affects the environment due to toxic emissions and cutting down of trees.