Lawrence Ochieng is a Kenyan volunteer, hip-hop artist, and activist who uses his platform to raise awareness about climate change and to advocate for better environmental protection. Driven by his passion to clean up the environment, he’s currently volunteering on a VSO recycling project in Nairobi, where he’s helping to empower waste pickers. Read about his incredible work.
Meet Lawrence, a climate champion
Lawrence first started volunteering with VSO in December 2023 on the From Waste to Work project. However, before his VSO volunteer journey, he was already a climate warrior, organising river clean-ups, and attending UN events to lobby key policymakers.
Lawrence joined VSO as he was inspired by the training the organisation delivered on waste segregation—training that he now delivers himself. “I was excited to be part of a positive movement that is impacting the globe in a very different way. I also loved how sustainable VSO operations are,” he explains.
The From Waste to Work project works in two key locations in Nairobi: Kibera, the biggest informal settlement in Africa, and Dandora, the biggest dumping ground in Kenya. The project aims to support 3,900 young people and collect 6,000 tonnes of waste by the end of February 2025.
Challenging situations
Lawrence used to live in Kibera, and he had a recording studio where he would make music to raise awareness about the environment.
Having lived in Kibera himself for thirteen years, the project resonated with Lawrence: “Kibera has a place in my heart.”
Lawrence's experience in Kibera means he’s aware of the challenges affecting the community. This knowledge, coupled with his passion to clean up the environment, fuelled his desire to volunteer:
Lawrence Ochieng“I feel like for now we don't have another planet. The environment is something we all share, and that's where we get everything.”
VSO community volunteer
A lot of Kibera and Dandora’s residents live in homes with no electricity and some even live in makeshift tents made of tarpaulin sheets and leftover materials. Lawrence has seen some of these houses swept away when there is extreme weather.
Many of the women Lawrence works with also earn so little that every day they must make the agonising choice between buying food or clean water.
Diseases like hepatitis B are prevalent for waste pickers handling rubbish with their bare hands.
Furthermore, waste pickers face discrimination and are called ‘chokoras’. “Chokora’ is a really negative word. It means dirty or worthless. I don’t like this word,” says Lawrence.
One lady that Lawrence has worked closely with is Doreen.
Meet Doreen, a strong, determined and enterprising woman
Doreen is a 24-year-old waste picker and mother of two. She often has to sit in the dark as her house has no electricity. Every day she goes to the dumpsite, trying to earn enough to feed herself and her children while doing an essential job of cleaning up the environment.
Before, Doreen used to pick through waste all day with her bare hands, making her susceptible to infections and cuts. She also faced an impossible choice: leave her little daughter at home, knowing other children have been taken by traffickers, or carry her on her back at a dumpsite where trucks go in and out and there have been accidents.
Doreen used to take the rubbish she collected to one of the middlemen who would sell the waste on to the big recycling companies. “Before VSO came, I was collecting waste and selling it to brokers who didn’t give me a good price. They would call me names and they would pay me how they wanted with really low prices. They never gave me hope,” explains Doreen.
Doreen even faced abuse from male waste pickers.
Doreen“They would tell me that I don't deserve to be in that space. Once a waste picker hit me on my head and they took away the waste I was able to set aside for myself.”
Waste picker
Brighter prospects
However, with support from VSO volunteers like Lawrence, waste pickers like Doreen are seeing their fortunes improve.
Lawrence has delivered training on waste segregation so waste pickers know how to pick the best waste for the best price. This helps them to earn more, which means they can buy food and water for their children. Lawrence has conducted training in financial literacy and life skills to help waste pickers manage their incomes.
“We also teach them how to form waste picking groups effectively so that they will thrive and achieve goals that are set by the members,” Lawrence explains.
Lawrence has been inspired by the resilience and determination of the waste pickers he works with.
“With Doreen, I noticed her because she was really vocal during the trainings. She was asking questions, and if she didn't understand anything, she would raise her hand and express herself freely. She took all the notes that we wrote. This shows real dedication,” notes Lawrence.
VSO volunteers have provided personal protective equipment to waste pickers to protect them against infections and diseases while at the dumpsites. They have also helped connect women like Doreen to a better buyer, James, who works at a buy-back centre.
“The introduction of the buy- back centres supported by VSO, has really changed things for the waste pickers since they’re getting better prices now,” Lawrence explains.
Furthermore, the project has helped change perceptions of waste pickers, something that Lawrence feels very strongly about.
“The community is treating me with more respect. They never thought a waste picker could get such an opportunity and even there was a gentleman that used to see me in the streets. Now he treats me with respect, and he even salutes me,” exclaims Doreen.
In addition, VSO is working with the local community to build a childcare centre to take children off the rubbish dumps for good.
The best part about volunteering
“My best moment so far has been the training sessions. Honestly, I never thought I would be a teacher. I couldn't imagine it,” says Lawrence.
Lawrence has enjoyed seeing the transformation in women like Doreen: “It's amazing to see the positivity coming from our interaction through the trainings.”
“Volunteering is so important because we should always put people over profit; it's not always about what you can gain, but it's how you impact your neighbour’s life. There's no special person and there's no person who doesn't deserve anything. We are all the same and we deserve to be treated kindly,” adds Lawrence.
For anyone considering volunteering, Lawrence recommends that you’re open-minded and come with an inclusive heart since VSO works with a diverse community.
Hopes for the future
“My hopes for the project are that it will reach all the waste pickers and empower them," says Lawrence. Additionally, Lawrence wants to see more recycling centres in Kibera and in other informal settlements in Nairobi.
He hopes waste pickers will be treated with more respect and people will realise the invaluable work they’re doing to protect the planet.
You can help VSO volunteers like Lawrence continue their important work with waste pickers by supporting our Christmas appeal.
Lawrence at the Volunteer Impact Awards 2024
Lawrence is also a hip-hop artist, also known in the music industry as Larry Dwayne. He uses his music to create awareness about the degraded state of the environment and the importance of conservation for creating a better, more sustainable future. He's kindly recorded a very special performance which we'll be playing at the VSO Volunteer Impact Awards on Friday 6 December 2024.
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