In this episode, we reconnect with Salim Edward and Viola Wallenius, two founding members of Home Street Home, to discuss community-led development, healthcare, education and climate action in Makongeni, Kwale County, Kenya.

Home Street Home is a non-profit organisation registered in Kenya, Finland and Switzerland. Working alongside the local community, it supports children’s and young people’s education, health and wellbeing.

Salim Edward is a Kenyan community leader and entrepreneur whose work focuses on financial management, organisational sustainability and community-led development. Viola Wallenius is a Finnish educator, author and director of Home Street Home. Her work focuses on programme development, global education and international partnerships. Both live and work in Makongeni, bringing perspectives grounded in everyday life within the community.

Salim and Viola discuss Home Street Home’s recent achievements, including expanded maternal healthcare, free ultrasound examinations and workshops for expectant mothers. They also describe inclusive early-childhood education, support for children with disabilities, vocational training and social enterprises that strengthen local livelihoods and the organisation’s long-term sustainability.

We also explore an EU-funded global education project connecting students in Kenya and Finland. Through school visits, workshops and the Together–Yhdessä event in Pori, young people exchange perspectives on sustainable development, global responsibility and locally relevant solutions to shared challenges.

The conversation examines how rising living costs, changes in international development funding and pressure on healthcare services are affecting food security, education and access to essential services in rural Kenya—particularly for women, children and economically vulnerable families.

Salim and Viola also discuss how drought, unpredictable rainfall, warming coastal waters and declining fish stocks affect farming, fishing and household incomes. Community-led responses include mangrove restoration, solar energy, recycling, waste management and sustainable sources of income.

Finally, we hear about Home Street Home’s new solar-powered clean-water system. Designed to treat saline and contaminated groundwater, it aims to provide safe drinking water for the organisation’s healthcare centre and the wider Makongeni community.

This episode shows how local leadership, international partnerships and community knowledge can build resilience and hope amid global change.

Learn more and support Home Street Home:

Website: https://www.homestreethome.fi Instagram: @homestreethomry

Hosts:

Astrid Aminoff and Max Tallberg

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Music licensed from PremiumBeat.