THE WARD [2]: Dandora 2 Ward

Dandora 2 MCA Stephen Kambi (left) during an event at James Gichuru Primary School.

With a population of 28,238 people based on the 2009 national census, Dandora 2 is the smallest of the five wards in Embakasi North Constituency. The other four wards in the constituency are Dandora 1, with a population of 28,239 people, Dandora 3, with a population of 42,784 people and Dandora 4 with a population of 42,785 people. The other ward is Kariobangi North, with a population of 39,342 people.
 

Education in Dandora 2
Dandora 2 has two public primary schools, James Gichuri Primary School and Wangu Primary School, and one public secondary school, Dandora Secondary School.  

But the ward is also served by several privately-owned primary and secondary schools. Friends Secondary School and Brightkids Education Centre are two of the privately-held schools in Dandora 2.
 

Recent developments in the ward
Several roads in Dandora 2, which cover more than 1,500 metres, have recently been rehabilitated. These include the road that runs from Mutito (Equity) junction that nearly cycles the ward before emerging at Mwisho Mwisho junction. 

Dandora 2 social hall also got a facelift.

Dandora 2 social hall.

 

Business in Dandora 2
Dandora 2 is served by two Nairobi City County-owned markets, with one mainly offering tailoring and beauty services and other dominated by artisans. 

For financial services, Dandora 2 is served by a full-fledged Cooperative Bank branch and an Equity Bank auto branch.  

Dandora 2 leadership
The Member of County Assembly for Dandora 2 is Mr Stephen Kambi, who was elected in 2013 and currently serving his first term as the ward’s MCA. 

Mr Kambi vied for the Dandora 2 ward seat on the ticket of The National Alliance (TNA) party. He beat Richard Obae of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and Edward Chege of the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK).

Dandora 2 ward political leaders

Election Year	Cllr/MCA	Party	Notes
1997	Joel Mwangi Thayu		General election
2002	Jackson Gachanja	NARC	General election
2007	Mwangi Waititu	PNU	General election
2013	Stephen Kambi	TNA	General election

THE WARD [1]: Dandora 1 Ward

The late Cllr. Jackson Gachanja.

Dandora Today will be publishing a series of profiles of county assembly wards in Embakasi North and part of Embakasi West Constituency on a weekly basis. It is worth noting that a portion of Embakasi West is in Dandora Division. As such, our coverage includes Kariobangi South and Mowlem wards as well.

This week our focus is on Dandora 1 ward, which is officially known as Dandora Area 1 Ward.

Dandora 1 is one of the five county wards in Embakasi North Constituency. The ward has a population of 28,239 people according to the 2009 national census data, making it the second-least populous of the five wards in Embakasi North. The other wards in the constituency are Dandora 2, Dandora 3, Dandora 4 and Kariobangi North.

MCA Peter Wanyoike.

Education in Dandora 1
Dandora 1 has one public primary school (Dandora Primary School) and one public secondary school (Dandora Girls’ Secondary School). But the ward has several privately-held schools offering primary and secondary education programs. Privately owned learning institutions in Dandora 1 include Jupiter High School, Mt. Zion High School and Jitegemea Academy, which is affiliated to PCEA Church Dandora.

Dandora Girls’ Secondary School admitted its pioneer students in 2016, which means that it first lot of KCSE candidates will seat for their national exam in 2019.

Dandora Girls' Secondary School.

Vocational training centre
Dandora 1 is set to host a modern vocational training centre known as Green Light Project, which will be constructed at a cost of Sh180 million. The vocational centre is a product of a collaboration of Nairobi County Government, Kia Motors of Korea, Korea International Cooperation Agency and Good Neighbours Kenya. 

The centre will offer training in technical areas such as motor vehicle maintenance, fashion design and garment making technology. The facility will sit on a 2,000 square-meter piece of land donated by Dandora Primary School.

Business in Dandora 1
Dandora 1 is the home to the pioneer outlet of Karia Supermarket chain. The ward is also served by a Nairobi City County-owned market, which mainly renders tailoring and beauty services. Dandora 1 is also served by Jerusalem Chemist, the largest drugstore in the ward and possibly the largest drug outlet in Embakasi North.

For financial services, residents of Dandora 1 are serviced by WAC Financial Services, which is a microcredit institution affiliated to the Catholic Church. 

Dandora Jua-kali workshops.

Dandora 1 leadership
The Member of County Assembly for Dandora 1 is Mr Peter Wanyoike, who was first elected in a by-election in 2009 following the death of Cllr. Jackson Gachaja in 2008. Mr Wanyoike was re-elected in the 2013 general election on the ticket of The National Alliance (TNA).

In the 2013 election, Mr Wanyoike beat Mr Benard Mwangi of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and Samuel Mbugua of the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK). Mr Mbugua defected to APK after losing the TNA ticket to Mr Wanyoike during party primaries ahead of the general election.

Dandora 1 county ward political leaders.

Election Year	Cllr/MCA	Party	Notes
1997	Joel Mwangi Thayu		General election
2002	Jackson Gachanja	NARC	General election
2007	Jackson Gachanja	PNU	General election
2009	Peter Wanyoike	PNU	By-election
2013	Peter Wanyoike	TNA	General election

Before the 2007 general election, the current Dandora 1 ward and Dandora 2 ward made up a single civic ward.

EFL Kids Showcase Talents At Our Lady of Fatima

Gilbert Sakwa (left) and Teresia Wanjiku (right) of Kariobangi Baptist Education Centre.

Scores of pupils drawn for various schools in Dandora, Korogocho, Kariobangi, Huruma and Mathera and who are members of a mentorship program called Education for Life (EFL) converged on Saturday at Our Lady of Fatima Secondary School to showcase their talents.  

The Saturday event preceded a major talents exhibition event planned for next weekend at Sarakasi Dome, an entertainment a facility located along Ngara Road.

Ms Nelly Wambui, the coordinator of EFL, told Dandora Today that the event at Our Lady of Fatima was part of their talent development program and the main event of the day was football.  But the participating kids showcased talents in other fields outside football including acrobatics, dancing, drawing and modelling. 

The talent development program is designed to identify talents in kids from an early age and create an environment to nurture those talents with those that those who go through the program successfully can become self-reliant when they leave school. 

Data show that transition from primary to secondary school in Kenyan schools is far from 100% despite the subsidised secondary school education offered by the government. It is estimated that the number of candidates who sat KCSE in 2015 was only 42% of the pupils who enrolled in Class One in 2004.

Participants
One of the models was a pupil called Teresia Wanjiku from Kariobangi Baptist Education Centre, which is one of the schools participating in EFL’s programs. Gilbert Sakwa, a teacher at the school, said that he felt participating in the EFL programs has had a positive impact on his pupils. “The program has boosted confidence in our pupils and improved class attendance,” said Mr Sakwa.


The mentorship program
Ms Wambui said that EFL is weaved around talent development and lifeskills education. The mentorship program runs for a period of 17 Saturdays and the current program began in April. 

“It’s an in-school program covering eligible schools in Huruma, Mathare, Kariobangi and Dandora. There are 35 schools in the program and each school has an Education for Life club with 30 members, which brings total club membership to 1050 pupils,” said Ms Wambui.

But EFL clubs only admit pupils in classes five through seven and it is rolled out in a cycle of three years.
“We identify talent mentors for the kids, such as a mentor on drama, a mentor on football […] the guy who mentors the team (football) is from MYSA,” she added.

Composition of club membership
It turns out that EFL has a criterion for identifying eligible pupils to join its talent and lifeskills clubs. Ms Wambui said that 80% of club membership is allocated to special group pupils and 20% for the average pupils.

EFL is a program of a nonprofit organisation called Integrated Education for Community Empowerment (IECE). The organisation runs another separate program called JIkaze Utafaulu Program (JUP), which is focused on self-empowerment and targets young people who are out of school.