I found Jesca Ciahcabi sitting beneath the shade of a crispy, brown banana tree. I reached for a handshake, but instead she hugged me. We were in Ndiruni, a small village roughly three hours northeast of Nairobi.
It was a straightforward story of exploitation. The people of the fragile Tana Delta, still recovering from tribal violence that claimed over 100 lives in September, were facing an assault on their treasured land by big business – in this case, a Canadian corporation planning a massive biofuel plantation in the region.
East Africa is facing a growing threat: By 2030, cardiovascular diseases are expected to surpass infectious diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS as a leading cause of death in the region.
It might look like a plain white metal cabinet. But for children living in this rural village in Kenya, it is a window to the world.
