From the onset Purity’s life seemed to have the perfect balance, but upon closer introspection there was a restlessness within her that made her seek a purpose bigger than herself. The first born in a family of four, Purity grew up in Nairobi and went to ordinary schools. During her university days she studied Microbiology and Biotechnology at the University of Nairobi. Upon completion, she took on to the job market like every other graduate. Her employment stints were few. She dabbled as a waitress for six months at the exclusive Artcaffé, and then pursued something closer to what she had studied for, as she was later interned at East Africa Breweries Limited as a quality analyst. However three months into it, she called it quits and sought to stay at home. She was looking for something, and she did not know what it was. She was restless.
Then she attended one of the highly acclaimed church conferences dubbed “Fearless Summit” at the Mavuno Church Hill City Campus and she found what she was looking for. You see for a long while, Purity had had a burden for a cleaner city, but was too shy to do something about it. Whenever she passed through parts of town on her way home, she would endlessly complain to her friends about the wanton manner in which people seemed to litter and not care. This burden propelled her to start a clean-up campaign for Nairobi Central Business District and its environs. Having been ignited at the conference, where the participants were challenged to go beyond their comfort zones and step out fearlessly into the world to make a difference, Purity did find the courage to step out and clean the city.
It has been said, the journey of a thousand miles starts with one, and the same rang true for Purity. As she looked around, there was so much she could do, yet all she needed was that small step to propel her forward. In 2013, she stepped out in an attempt to clean the city, her first initiative ever. She was green in the field and did not know how to go about it. She shared her passion and intention to a close friend of hers, and together they were able to mobilise 80 volunteers, half of whom were friends, and well-wishers. They say charity begins at home, and since she lives in South B, their first clean-up was at the South B Shopping Centre. They took to partnering with the city county on this venture and much to her surprise, they were willing to help and very cooperative. After the clean-up, the exhilaration of it all, the thrill and the high that she got, did Purity know she had found what she was looking for. Later on in the same year, November to be precise, Purity went ahead and formally registered Mazingira Safi Initiative (MSI) as a community based organisation (CBO).
Mazingira Safi Initiative is a non-profit, volunteer-driven CBO that seeks to inspire communities to own the responsibility of keeping the environment clean through action and community participation through clean-ups and education. The initiative in addition creates employment opportunities for young people within the communities and mobilises volunteers all across the county to participate in the community based activities. As an initiative, they seek to partner with other community based organisations, churches, environmental agencies, county and central government to promote awareness and encourage community participation in the clean-up and awareness programs. Their main agenda is to develop a proper litter management system in Kenya through education, attitude change and action whilst creating employment for the youth.
Determined to know more about the environment and for the betterment of her new founded organisation, Purity went back to school to pursue a masters in environmental studies and did her project on littering as that was the main focus of her business. During her time in school, opportunities opened up for her as a result of her initiative, and she got an acceptance into a fellowship program. In the same breath she went to Canada for a program called The Global Change Leaders and in 2016 she joined the Mbugua Rosemary Foundation for a course on entrepreneurship. During all these opportunities, Purity began to look at the bigger picture in what she was trying to do. She could only go so far with cleaning up the city and soliciting for funds from well-wishers, donors and other companies. Even though years later they still had the goodwill of the public and corporates, she decided to come up with a sustainable model for her initiative to survive and thrive in. Her search led her to charcoal briquettes.
Briquettes are a form of green energy. They are smokeless, sparkless, affordable and burn longer than ordinary charcoal. She came up with this idea after having discovered that the most common reason for death, especially in the slums, is the carbon released from the smoke and the inhalation of the same that releases toxins to the body. Because she is all about clean environment, Purity once more took to cleaning the environment, one charcoal briquette at a time. She began the project in 2016 and has a five-year plan in place for its growth. Starting was almost as easy. Having received some money from the fellowship program she completed, she was able to buy a manual machine for making the briquettes. Up until then, she had kept her staff at a minimal at Mazingira Safi Initiative, and most of those she worked with were volunteers. However then she needed two full time employees who would handle the production of the charcoal briquettes. After a few bad choices, she finally found the right personnel who she has till today. The charcoal briquettes are made from waste charcoal dust and paper. With the machine they use, she is able to produce at least 50 packets of charcoal briquettes per month. She sells a packet which weighs a kilogram to those who dwell in the slum areas and its environs at a minimal amount of Ksh.30 to corporates and Ksh.25 to individuals. Her biggest market to date has been the Kwa Njenga slums located in the outskirts of Nairobi’s South B estate; farmers, small hotels and individuals.
Despite her noble efforts to clean up the city and to produce clean and safe charcoal briquettes, her enterprise has had challenges of its own. Since inception back in 2013, Purity has constantly found herself battling with having to change the management a couple of times, leading her to question if anyone truly believed in her idea or her noble intentions for a cleaner city. Another challenge that causes her grief every day is that in Kenya, not many people take really that much notice of the country and the state of its cleanliness. Whereas in other countries the environment is a big thing, in Kenya only a handful of people take it seriously. As a result it’s hard to build a company in the environment industry. Her progress has been slow as penetrating the market is definitely not easy. Like any other entrepreneur, Purity has had her own financial challenges. “You always need to be a step ahead,” says Purity who is glad that with the briquette business she is able to have normal business operations. There are days she felt that what she was doing really did not matter, and countless of times she has wanted to fold her business and go back into employment. However whenever she makes up her mind to close shop, she always gets a well-wisher donating to her initiative or a company buying her charcoal briquettes, thus encouraging her to go on.
Her team is comprised of seven members, five of whom consist of her board, and she is looking to expand her team once her briquette venture picks up. For marketing Mazingira Safi Initiative, Purity relies on social media as well as word of mouth and networking. Through Facebook and her website, she has been able to get international recognition and donors as well. She relentlessly talks about her work on all platforms. To sell the briquettes, Purity relies on word of mouth and personal visits to potential clients.
To date, Purity has engaged over 2,000 volunteers, who in one way or another support her cause and vision without expecting much and are all too happy to help in any clean-up happening. She has done over 28 clean-ups since inception, partnering with various organisations and institutions like churches, hotels and various schools. In five years from now, she envisions a clean country. Her noble achievement since the inception of her organisation in 2013 was to be nominated for an award by an international organisation, Energy for Impact, for her efforts towards a clean country and clean charcoal.
One lesson she has learned that she carries everywhere she goes is “You cannot walk alone.” Purity discovered on the onset that to grow, she needed a team around her and notably so, the right team. Another lesson she learned early was that she needed to believe in herself and in her dream. Especially when people walked out on her, it was crucial to remember that. She also learnt the importance of having people who are smarter than you on board, as this gives your organisation growth and propels you forward. Lesson aplenty she has learned, but her favourite one has always been “Find a way to motivate yourself; where you get your energy and regenerate your passion.”
We take a pause, for Purity has been talking animatedly about her passion over a meal. Her enthusiasm is contagious and I catch myself being conscious of how clean our surroundings are. “Can you imagine when I was young; I wanted to be a pilot?” Purity quips and I can’t help myself but laugh! Talk about dreams gone wrong!
I am curious about women and books that inspires her, and without missing a beat, she mentions her grandmother. Mothers are special no doubt, and Purity’s grand mum is no exception. For she saw her mom work hard, and even when they lacked, their mother always found a way to provide for them, give them a good education and never tired of listening to their complaints. To date, Purity looks up to her and whenever she feels stuck in her business, she always runs to mum. “My grandmother didn’t go to school yet she worked very hard to bring up my Mom and her siblings. She was the brains behind the many businesses her and her grandfather opened. Now that I have an education, how much more can I achieve if I apply myself?” A book that changed her view of the world and business is the bestselling The Alchemist by the award winning author Paulo Coelho. To unwind, Purity loves to cook, read and write. A true Jack of many trades.
As we conclude, I have to ask the 27 year old before me, who took a leap into entrepreneurship at the tender age of 24, to give us a parting shot for other budding female entrepreneurs out there, and these are her words: “If you do not listen, you do not learn,” and secondly “Commitment is the key to success. The degree to which you are willing to commit to your achievement is the degree to which your success comes in.” I honestly could not have put it any better.
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