Michelle Wanjiru Work Portfolio 2022

TRANSFORM AND CO DESIGN THE DANDORA

STREET WITH THE

RESIDENTS.

This was a multi

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The lack of employment and the illegal

tapping within the slum created an opportunity and need for solar

in Kibagare. The illegal electrical connections in Kibagare led to a fire that left 200 families

in 2016. 30 women were selected from organized

groups to learn, build and test the viability of this micro economy model before scaling up.

International

HABITAT,

Town

(INTI) Placemakers, Cave Bureau,

Dandora

JOB

LITER OF LIGHT KENYA

KIBAGARE SLUM, NAIROBI, KENYA

GOAL: CREATE A MICRO ECONOMY IN KIBAGARE BY TEACHING WOMEN HOW TO BUILD AND SELL SOLAR POWERED LAMPS.

LITER

The empirical research aimed to create a network of

spaces in Tatu City that is socially, economically,

and culturally connected, yet safe and

This was done while incorporating the water networks to create a synergy of ecology, to collectively contribute to a beautiful and strong identity for Tatu City, that is contextually in tune and united with its neighbouring communities of Ruturu, BTL community, Membley and Ruiru town.

As part of the International New Town Institute team, I conducted fieldwork research to provide urban planning design solutions to combat some of the challenges the report addresses and presented it to Tatu City Management and local authorities.

In 2018, the Making Cities Together team invited a diverse group of practitioners, government officials, academics, designers and experts on public space and urban design (both locally and globally) to advocate for enlightened planning and design, community engagement, good urban governance and management in addressing urbanization challenges for the future of Nairobi city.

Through design thinking workshops, urban solutions and action plans were developed for public spaces in areas such as Kilimani (Mid to high income area), Mathare slum (Informal settlement) and Dandora (Low income area).

TATU CITY, NAIROBI, KENYA

UN GIGIRI, NAIROBI, KENYA

GOAL:

GOAL: COORDINATE THE URBAN THINKERS CAMPUS (UTC) MODEL WHICH IS AN INITIATIVE OF UN HABITAT’S WORLD URBAN CAMPAIGN, CONCEIVED AS AN OPEN SPACE FOR CRITICAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN ALL STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS.

I

This

The conference aimed to bridge the gap between research and policy initiatives pertaining to urban planning, public safety and gender based violence issues and challenges facing women working in the transportation sector.

GOAL: PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR PRACTITIONERS, RESEARCHERS, POLICYMAKERS AND OTHER KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO ENGAGE IN SKILL-BUILDING, IDEA SHARING AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THAT WILL INSPIRE NEW SOLUTIONS TO TRANSPORT CHALLENGES FACED BY WOMEN AND OTHER VULNERABLE ROAD USERS.

The project in Kilimani Primary School aimed to alert local

on the health dangers of polluted air in schools and

lack of road safety measures for primary school

mapping was done to understand the most

zones along the children's paths between school and home. An air quality test was performed and the results were presented to government officials.

The project involved the installation of solar powered servers and wifi boxes in 3 schools in Aitong village in the Maasai Mara conservancy which has poor internet access. The Aluna technology includes an e learning platform that features educational material, entertainment and reference videos that promotes digital learning in rural communities.

The research was created by food scientists from the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands. The project used a

application bot to measure fruit and vegetable intake and food choice motives. The research focused on over 300 participants living in 3 urban neighbourhoods in Nairobi from diverse economic backgrounds.

KILIMANI,

KENYA

MAASAI MARA, NAROK, KENYA

GOAL:

GOAL: INSTALL SOLAR POWERED INTRANET TO REMOTE SCHOOLS IN MAASAI MARA TO PROVIDE E LEARNING ACCESS.

SEMA GAME BASED LEARNING APP

NAIROBI, KENYA

GOAL: PROTOTYPING SEMA, THE GAME BASED LEARNING APP BY KUKUA IN INFORMAL AND LOW INCOME AREAS IN NAIROBI DURING THE BETA TESTING PHASE.

Kukua is an educational entertainment company building a pan-African children s franchise around Sema, Africa's first animated child heroine. Sema is brought to life with animated TV Series, educational games and toys to address child illiteracy which is one of the most pressing issues in Africa. In 2018, Kukua raised USD $2.5 million worth of seed funding from First Minute Investment to expand the Sema app operations and accessibility globally.

TIMELINE 2016

ST MARTINS SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM

KIBAGARE SLUM, NAIROBI, KENYA

GOAL: SUPPORT ST MARTINS MONTHLY FEEDING PROGRAM THAT SERVES CHILDREN IN KIBAGARE SLUM.

With most parents in the Kibagare slum living below the poverty Line, the Liter of Light project developed a donation program that enabled our stakeholders to financially assist by raising funds for this monthly feeding program run by the local school targeted at providing nutrition to children.

BELIEVERS COURT IT CENTER

TIMELINE

Ethnodesign conducted research to understand how the residents in Dandora use smartphones in 2020. The research aimed to understand the community's needs, current internet usage and the level of digital literacy. The project is currently in the fundraising process to construct and develop the first community IT center in Dandora which aims to provide e learning access and digital commerce resources to the community.

TIMELINE 2018-2020

ACTIVITY Impact Strategy Planning, Community Development, Project Implementation, Stakeholder Engagement and Communication, Community mapping and identification PARTNERS Ethnodesign

JOB TITLE Project Coordinator

DANDORA, NAIROBI, KENYA

GOAL: SET UP A COMMUNITY IT CENTER THAT GENERATES INCOME FOR LOCAL YOUTH WHILE PROVIDING ACCESS TO DIGITAL RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY.

CHILDREN

DISRUPTIONS.

Ethnodesign conducted a country-wide book drive to collect

700 books worth USD $10,000 and funded the construction of the library. Local youth manage the project

earn a consistent income for over 2 years from the

financial model that ensures users pay USD

cents monthly to access unlimited books. The project

successfully transformed the local reading culture with

age 4 to 57 borrowing books monthly.

Traditional Manyatta’s are originally built using wood, mud, cow dung and thatch. The Nyumba 2 design concept aims to use paper tubes created from waste paper to create a structural system spattered with mud ensuring we conserve traditional construction techniques. Besides cow dung and mud, the design includes additional construction materials; mainly the use of canvas and high density polyethene culvert pipes. The walling and flooring between the tubes are made up of mud mixed with straw/grass. Straw and dung are used as binding agents to prevent cracking and it enhances the plasticity of the mixture for easy application.

TIMELINE

Eco- Manyatta Africa, JKUAT: School of Architecture

DANDORA PHASE 2, NAIROBI, KENYA

NAROK, KENYA

GOAL: DEVELOP A

AFFECTED

GOAL: REDESIGN THE TRADITIONAL MAASAI HOUSING (MANYATTA) FOR CULTURAL PRESERVATION.

Lapid Leaders Africa is a community of

to being Africa

It

Koch fest is an annual community cultural event that started in 2010 that helps celebrate Korogocho reclaiming public spaces and redesigning them to promote more child friendly spaces and promote graffiti art amongst the youth. The playground project was implemented in Korogocho primary school, the largest public school in the area. The playground is accessible to the residents over the weekends thus promoting play therapy.

NAIROBI, KENYA

KOROGOCHO SLUMS, NAIROBI

GOAL: RECYCLE WOOD AND OLD TIRES TO BUILD AND CO

A SAFE PLAYGROUND WITH THE STUDENTS OF KOROGOCHO PRIMARY

Changing

Design thinking has the ability to yield a long term mind shift in the students as they actively came up with the

to this problem that they all equally felt self conscious about. The process aimed at creating a prototype solution that could be tested to tackle the design challenge. The project was conducted in a two day workshop with students aged 11 14 attending. Students were encouraged to share their menstruation shame stories with their caregivers to help them build more confidence around puberty.

SHOFCO,

NAIROBI, KENYA

KIBERA SLUMS, NAIROBI

GOAL: CELEBRATE LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS

GOAL: DESIGN THINKING ON MENSTRUATION SHAME AND STIGMATIZATION FOR YOUNG GIRLS.