Kenyans are laughing all their way to the phone bills courtesy of the ongoing mobile company price wars. - Calling rates have became the cheapest ever both for on the network calls and out of the networks. Kenyans who has been longtime feeling that mobile phone companies have been raking huge profits at their expense can know make calls without sticking their thumbs on the 'end call' button. This comes after one of the main mobile network company Zain slashed their phone call and sms prices by more than 50 percent in a move tackle the dominant Safaricom. Just hours later another company Yu (Essar's) lowered its calling rates to match Zain's. Eyes were on the remaining …

Kenyans last Wednesday came out to vote in largest numbers in a historic attempt to give their country a new constitution. - The poll opened at 6.00am Kenyan time to long queues of people who had arrived earlier in the morning. So far no incidences in Nairobi have been witnessed. Kenya has experienced ethnic violence in the past years after elections but this time round the poll is expected to be peaceful. Kenyans are seeking to either reject the proposed new constitution or accept it to replace the constitution they had inherited from the British colonialists after independence.

The Thompson's Falls, one of Kenya's places that once attracted many tourists from all over the world has in recent years experienced a decrease in tourism and other related activities. Environmentalists, especially those from Tree is Life, have blamed this on the deforestation that has gone beyond the proportions in the Nyahururu area. - The once a bee-hive of activities market that’s just adjacent to the market is now a lonely center with a few traders. Curio shops was of the most of the most profitable business ventures at the Thompson’s falls site but now one of the sellers told me that the last time he made an order for new curios was 8 months ago. Some have consid…

As local communities in Kenya continue to depend on natural resources for their day to day activities, the resources will become depleted with time. The depletion will lead to other environmental disasters like drought. Tree Is Life's intervention is working with groups to seek other alternative sources of livelihood other than the non-renewable natural resources. - I met a local women’s group that locally produces oil and soap from the sunflower plant. The group receives technical skills from the Tree Is Life Trust's field officer Mr. Simon on such innovative income generating activities. The group plants sunflower, squeezes oil out of the seeds, makes soap out of the oil an…

Ndaragwa and Laikipia forests like many others in Kenya, have been adversely affected by human activities. The forest's indigenous trees have been indiscriminately cut by illegal loggers and the local community. The Kenya Forest service intervened to stop any human activity in that forest. It was never effective because the institution itself did not have enough resources to protect the entire forests. On the other hand the local community felt that they were denied a natural resource that they have been using since their ancestral times. - With that situation a way out was essential. The environmental problems affected the community and the community itself was responsible for it. That…

One thing that a traveler in Nyandarua and Laikipia districts (Kenya) will notice is the beautiful painting on the walls of houses. One could easily mistake them for advertisements because of their numbers. They are murals painted by Tree Is Life Trust through the local artists on environmental awareness. - The paintings carry different messages that encourages the community to take action on natural resources conservation. The murals are the best communication tool because they can be understood by most of the people here inclusive of the illiterate and the children. The murals are done mostly on the roadside structures. There are also in schools. Tree is Life Trust also entered into par…

Ken Dam is a small dam with half the size of a football. It is used as a fish farm by a local group composed of people around it. The dam's waters are reducing fast because of the human activities. The waters are diverted into small tunnels to their crop farms. The groups leader, Mr Kimani shows the earlier size of the dam, its only a half of what it used to be. - He says that the depletion of water from this dam will not only affect the community's drinking water source but also the survival of the fish they keep in it. The fish farm is the group's sole source of income and of water. Other member are already leaving as their hopes of an avarage harvest is getting dimmer. The…

About two years after the post-electoral nightmare that badly affected the Kibera residents in Nairobi, the same residents marked on Monday their World Peace Day by joyfully marching on the slum' s streets, singing and raising awareness about preventing conflicts. The activity, which was organized by several NGOs operating there, brought together the slum dwellers to appreciate the existence of peace in the area and condemn violence that rocked over a year ago. - The political class kept away from this day despite their role in the 2007 post election violence. The provincial administration did play a greater role with the area's District Officer addressing the gathering and providi…

Four young Kenyans were trained earlier this month on the basic of mobile reporting. VoicesofAfrica regional coordinator Ramadhan Khamis instructed the the four new camera journalists - Adhe Dida Adhe in Isiolo, Beryl Atieno in Nairobi, Yusuf Maleli in Kibwezi, and Bulle Kassim in Malindi. - Like the previous two projects in the same country, this one will last six months and cover local community-based issues, events, and perspectives.. Read more.

Kenya is now set for faster and cheaper internet thanks to the coming of the first fibre optic cable last week and another one, which is expected in a few days. The cable, which is the first of its kind in East Africa, arrived at the Kenyan coastal town of Malindi from the United Arab Emirates town of Fujairah. It will reduce the cost of internet by 80 percent by replacing the expensive satellite connection on which Kenyan has been depending. - In cyber cafes, downloads are often limited mostly to not more than 6Mb because of the available bandwidth. This is about to be an old story, with the coming of the cable

It's finally raining in Nairobi. This comes when a lot of areas in Kenya including the cities were receiving no rainfall. Nairobi residents are receiving the rain. Many farmers in the city were already in the process of giving up this occupation. - The roads were very dusty and the sun was at its hottest. The rain, stable and intense, shows no signs of being a short-time guest, and that is the wish of the largely agricultural population. “No rain no food” says one Nairobi resident. Problems due to lack of rain were also included water shortages which necessitated water rationing by the authorities. This is due to the reduced capacity of power-generating dams. Nairobi has…

Kenyans are now finding ways of overcoming the financial crisis. The global financial crisis getting worse and worse especially in developed countries, but its effects are felt on the Kenyan market where cloths and other imported commodities are getting more and more expensive. Kenyans are now taking advantage of the situation by operating 'financial crisis friendly' businesses. - They include repair work and manufacturing locally commodities that used to be imported. That solution makes two categories of people happy: on the one hand those getting jobs and thus income, and, on the other, those who can afford cheaper commodities. This mobile report feature a tailor’s work…

Kenyans, especially Nairobi workers timidly celebrated the 1st May Labour Day due to the current financial crisis, and the mistrust created by the difficult political cohabitation between president Mwai Kibaki and prime minister Raila Odinga. - In this report, a casual worker expresses his views about why this year’s Labour Day has less significance for him.

Nairobi residents are now finding ways to cope with acute water shortages in the city. The upper class hire water tracks to deliver water to their door steps, while the middle and low classes have turned to boreholes as their water supply. - Having no other alternatives, residents have organised themselves and contributed money to pay for the digging of wells. Most of the boreholes are dug manually by 'experienced' borehole diggers usually fetched from rural area. Hiring a borehole driller would be another story, requiring huge amounts of money. The Nairobi Water Company, the authority responsible for the supplying of water to the city, is surpassed by the demand of water. Resid…

They are described as moving art, customized is the transport industry in Nairobi and other cities like the coastal town of Mombassa. That was some time ago. Now the so-called Matatu has become moving discos. The louder the better. - The owners whose matatus play loud music are reporting large profits as compared to the others in this industry. The main reason is that their customers are mostly the youths, who in fact make up more than 50% of the general population. In this report I take a ride in two matatus, one with loud music and the other without music.

Like many other musicians Joseph lives in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. He doesn't drive a Mercedes Benz neither does his sing about it. He lives in an uncompleted house with no windows. One will barely notice him unless you are a reveller at Lucky Summer restaurant where he performs once a week. - All of this doesn't bother him, his message must reach home. His patriotism and what he saw during the post-election made him pick up his guitar. He says he cannot demonstrate in the streets, he can access his leader, he himself doesn't have enough money to campaign for those leadership positions but with his he says, he can make the change himself. He sings about his country Keny…

The Korogocho slum is one of the largest slums in Kenya with the particularity that life in there is the worst. The youths and the children are the most affected. Steven Malowa is one of the people trying to reverse the situation. - Though he never grew up in Korogocho, he grew up under similar conditions as he schooled thanks to World Vision. He says he understands what the slums kids are undergoing every single day of their lives. Together with the other like-minded people, he decided to come up with an local organization called TADECI (Transformative Agents and community Development Initiatives), a name that is greeted by warm smiles by the children and youths living in this slum. In …

The Kenyan government through the finance ministry has announced that it was putting a stop to infrastructure development expenditure till the new budgetary year. The reason is that the government is broke. - But stopping infrastructure expenditure will most likely discourage investments which the country badly needs to stimulate the economy. In this reports, two Kenyans give their views.

Kenya experienced fuel shortages in recent weeks and much was said of the reasons for that. There was an outcry by the public about this situation. In this entire period of hardships, all was said except the retailer's story. - I managed to meet one who told me how hard the situation was, especially how he managed to keep his head out of water thanks to a fundraising organised by his relatives. He purchased quantities of the rare but essential commodity and resold it to make profit.

A price of a new soccer ball is about 16 USD. This amount is too big for people in areas with low-income residents. They played balls made with plastic bags and polythene papers. - This makes it hard for the youths who engage in football to compete with others effectively. One of the youths, Jeff Kasisi decided to teach himself ball sewing and repairing skills. He acquires football balls that are old, torn and are to be disposed by club teams and others who can afford to replace their spoilt balls. He does it for free.

Many slum dwellers can't afford to buy a TV set. For that Peter Mwashi decided to open up this video watching place. This helps the local community catch up with the local and international news at a price of $ 10 cents per news hour. - At other times it serves as an entertainment place, where the people watch movies and football matches mostly the English premier league. In the night, films are projected, though illegally, and police repeatedly harasses the owner. This place can be turned into an avenue where positive and educative information can be channelled to the slum residents.

The number of people dying in fire accidents keeps growing in Kenya, where big majority of people ignore the basic measure or assistance needed in fire-related emergencies - A few weeks ago, a tanker took fire while people were emptying its content. Over 90 died. In the same period, another 26 people lost their lives trapped by fire in a supermarket. This mobile report shows younger Nairobi residents all asserting ignoring what to do in case of fire.

There is rapid expansion in urban residential areas in Kenya. This is a positive sign of development but it could also lead to over stressing of the resources and social utilities if the government doesn't keep up with the development. - In this video I take a look at the developments and the urban youth residents' comments.

Due to the current food shortages in Kenya that cause hunger in many households, some Kenyans living in the suburbs of the capital Nairobi have invaded unoccupied fields and turned them into sources of survival. - The major obstacle is the irrigation of these fields as the nearby streams are reputed for containing chemicals from factories. Mr. Njoya is one of these suburban farmers. In this video I take a look at his farm. He tells me that he sells his produce to brokers who then sells them else where. His family consumes the remainder.

With increasing poverty in Kenya, especially in the lower class, some inhabitants of the capital Nairobi and other cities have turned to illegal power supply as they can no longer afford official supply channels. - Due to security reasons, no body wanted to speak to mobile reporter Neville Omondi, but the image show clearly how the system works and how dangerous it is