Kamburu Power Station Hosts GIC Phase IV 3rd Runners Up

Arriving at the end of KenGen Kamburu Power Station’s descending tunnel, 30 young environmentalists from Ndelekeni Primary School, Machakos County, gazed in amazement at the massive machinery and rumbling turbines as they prepared for their tour of the power plant on 26 May.

The students, accompanied by their Green Teachers Raphael Mbithi and Boniface Mukanda, Head Teacher Irene Kivunzi, and Mr. Joseph Mutisya from the Teachers Service Commission, were on an educational tour of a power plant, having emerged position three in Phase III of the Schools Green Initiative Challenge tree planting competition.

Despite the din, the group was keen to catch every word from the technicians, asking questions and scribbling notes as they explained how the power plant’s control panels work.

Ndelekeni Primary School recorded the third highest in Phase III of the Schools’ Green Initiative challenge tree planting competition, beating 99 other schools in Embu, Machakos and Kitui counties to earn the trip.

The GIC is an afforestation project structured as a competition between participating schools. It involves schools planting indigenous tree for multiple benefits not limited to climate change mitigation, while creating awareness on environmental conservation and empowering communities.

Currently involving more than 600 schools at Embu, Kitui, and Machakos counties, the GIC is implemented by the KenGen Foundation in partnership with Better Globe Forestry, KenGen PLC, and other corporate partners. Due to the extreme arid weather in the project area, the GIC is dubbed as a challenge as the schools also compete in employing tree-growing innovations such as mulching and drip irrigation to earn more points against their competitors.

Ndelekeni was also awarded with a 10,000-liter water tank, cash prizes and certificates.

The first underground power station in the 7-Forks complex, Kamburu power station was constructed in the early seventies. The plant generates power from the Thiba and Tana rivers.

The students were later treated to lunch at Megawatt Café, KenGen Hydro Plaza and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying themselves at the Matendeni club swimming pool.

“I can’t thank the KenGen Foundation and the Green Initiative Challenge project partners for making our day”, said Mercy Mwende Nduku, a class seven green studen t and member of the school’s environment club. “Ndelekeni Primary School has something to smile about as we head home from this trip”.

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–Ernest Nyamasyo, Communication Officer

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