#MEET Converting garbage in slums

#MEET Converting garbage in slums 

This is a short interview we conducted with Kennedy Lamwenya, the founder of “Converting garbage in slums”. If you like the concept of this idea and would like to vote for it, click HERE.

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• What is your background?

I am Kennedy Lamwenya, 29 years old, founder/CEO at Sunpoynt Health. I am a highly skilled strategic planning,execution and sales and marketing professional with proven experience in building professional relationships, developing successive sales strategies, developing and implementing new strategies and procedures ,am confident that my in-depth experience will enable me achieve the set targets coupled by a Bachelors Degree in Marketing management. My main focus is to aggressively develop and structure robust distribution channels for consumer products and services within East Africa coupled by impeccable customer service to build brand loyalty. Am a social entrepreneur with over 9 years combined experience in sales and marketing where i have spent 6 years in building rural distribution structures for social enterprises ,water ,health solutions and energy efficient technologies in East ,Central & West Africa Africa. My greatest desire is to combine social entrepreneurship to fight energy poverty levels as well as increase health access among slum and rural communities in East Africa. Am currently working on building my new start-up micro-insurance business that focuses on providing poor slum residents in Nairobi with access to healthcare using an easily available resource-garbage. I believe that health is fundamental human rights. But, in reality many people can't get health access because they don't have enough money and the cost for medication is expensive. Then, I start to think, how can I create health financing model which will permit all of people to get health access. Yeah, Garbage is the best solution, because almost every day every house produced garbage which is not used, so that all citizens can join with our program. Besides, in general, residents must pay a fee to dispose of their garbage, we offer to residents to submit their garbage to us, and they can go for free treatment, counseling in clinic, and get protective, preventive, and rehabilitative health program.I therefore founded Sunpoynt Health. My Project Name: Converting garbage in slums into a health fund for children & women.

• Describe your idea or project in two sentences.

Sunpoynt Health is a health micro insurance program which uses garbage as financial resources. Community pay clinic service using garbage. This way the community mobilizes their own resources to improve health access and breakdown barrier between health facilities and community. Until now, "limited resource" becomes the cliche for poor health service for the poor.Our model entails a case where slum residents’ collected garbage is processed into money towards towards the"health fund" by ; 1. Organic garbage is processed to be fertilizer by applying compositing method and inorganic garbage(such as bottles,plastic,cans,etc) is sold to private recycling companies whom we partner.

• What are the benefits you take from the Entrepreneurship Campus?

Massive exposure globally, networking with fellow entrepreneurs,links to funding opportunities,entrepreneurship mentorship & training.

• What motivates you to be an entrepreneur?

I am greatly inspired to be a change maker for slum residents who are purely neglected by the governments. These are people who are grappling with massive healthcare,garbage, no medical insurance for expectant women & kids and sanitation challenges daily.Kids below 5 yrs die daily from preventable,curable diseases due to lack of money to access treatment.Inspired by these narrative,i decided to build a health insurance fund for slum residents utilizing the readily available resources i.e garbage. Until now, "limited resource" becomes the cliche for poor health service for the poor. The same applies to waste management. However, any endeavors that are arranged by the government and private sectors in enhancing the quality of public health could have significant impacts if accompanied by individuals and communities awareness. If organized, community can mobilize their own resources to improve the service they need. We open health access.I believe that health is a fundamental human right. However, in reality many slum poor can not get health access because they do not have sufficient money and the cost for medication is expensive. Kenya has a huge problem regarding access to healthcare among slum poor . Many can not get access to health care due to financial factors.In responding to this heart-breaking social phenomenon, then, I started to think how i could create health financing model which permitted all people to access health. Garbage was the best solution since its abundance.

• Imagine you have ‚supreme power’ to create and innovate: how would your world look like? What changes would you like to make in your community and/or in the world? Share your thoughts from a ‚supreme power’ and entrepreneur standpoint.

As a change maker,i would develop an all inclusive low cost healthcare access system for under-served population utilizing an affordable and easily accessible payment model which improves the health status of the majority.

• What would you say to potential voters who may be reading your interview?

Your vote is equal to one life of a slum child being saved daily. Support us to save millions of lives in Africa. Vote! Vote!Vote!

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