Once again, the Progress Welfare Association of Malindi not only distributes vouchers to help organizations of beach workers and families in need, but combines the help with the work of erudition, preservation and respect for rules in collaboration with Kenyan institutions.
During the first distribution, which involved more than 80 citizens who were left without work and consequently, considering the families, about 500 people to feed, the Kenya Wildlife Service, with whom a beach cleaning program was launched, was supported and talked about how to behave with tourists. The Youth Beach Operators Association has so far collected 385 kg of plastic and the Baharini Women Group 400 kg, plus several quintals of ordinary garbage along Silversand beach. KWS has granted them a special permit to clean every day in the early morning hours.
For the distribution that took place at the Tuskys supermarket with the assistance of the branch manager Edwin Nyakwana, in Malindi on Monday and Tuesday, PWAM requested the intervention of the Ministry of Tourism through the office of the Tourism Regulatory Authority, in order to sensitize beach operators and the various groups operating on the beach to regularize their licenses.
All this took place in the presence of T.R.A. office manager Sam Kibe, Beach Operator and beach-related activities managers John Paul Onyango and Julius Mureithi.
The list of regularly registered Beach Operators is available on the TRA website.
Only 8 of them have a license for the year 2020 and they have been asked to comply with the regulations so that they can be part of different projects or initiatives, if this does not happen by the end of the year they will no longer be able to manage their beach activities.
In the presence of the President of PWAM Kate Mwikali, the executive members Effue Opyo and Gicharu Kimani and other members such as Karen Hagermann and Deborah Goodhart, yesterday an initiative was launched, a sort of competition to create beach baskets using recycled or biodegradable materials. In a week the operators will have to bring an example of what they can do and the project can be funded. Other funding for vouchers came from Penelope Deubel and other donors who, either privately or through PWAM sent money via Mpesa to the Tuskys supermarket or used their Safaricom 'Bonga Points' to convert them into vauchers, an initiative the supermarket chain has joined nationwide to help in the Covid-19 emergency. Also important is the collaboration of Irene Okoth, Catherine Muli with the Kenya Association of Women in Tourism.
PWAM, of which Malindikenya.net is also an operational member, is also looking for sponsors to provide wi-fi internet to the four organized groups of beach operators (Baharini Womens group, Silversand Beach Operator, Silversand Youth Beach Operators, Mungano Beach Operators), each in its own location, in order to be able to start an online business selling handicraft products or, for those who have regular licenses, booking excursions. It would also be interesting to find volunteers to give them design lessons to create local handicrafts or lessons to open small online booking agencies.
They were also offered to wear traditional hando, Kikoi, masaai clothes because here on the coast there is a large representation of all the cultures of the country.
In this way even those who approach them can learn something about their culture and it would also become easier to identify them.
The initiatives of PWAM for an active solidarity that makes the community grow and the awareness of a Malindi to improve under the motto "Our Town our responsibility" continue.