In this episode of The Visions of a Better World podcast, 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 nonprofit organisation registered in Kenya, Finland and Switzerland. Working alongside the local community, it develops initiatives supporting 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 centres 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 the organisation’s inclusive early-childhood education, support for children with disabilities, vocational training and social enterprises designed to strengthen local livelihoods and 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 have exchanged perspectives on sustainable development, global responsibility and locally relevant responses to shared challenges.
The conversation examines how rising living costs, changes in international development funding and growing pressure on healthcare services are affecting everyday life in rural Kenya. Salim and Viola consider the consequences for food security, education and access to essential services, particularly for women, children and economically vulnerable families.
Climate change and environmental sustainability form another central theme. Drought, unpredictable rainfall, warming coastal waters and declining fish stocks are already affecting farming, fishing and household incomes. Salim and Viola discuss community-led responses, including mangrove restoration, solar energy, recycling, waste management and environmentally 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, the system aims to provide safe drinking water for the organisation’s healthcare centre and the wider Makongeni community.
The episode foregrounds communities not as passive recipients of assistance, but as sources of knowledge, leadership and practical responses to global challenges. It considers how local action, community ownership and international partnerships can contribute to resilience and hope amid a changing world.
The Visions of a Better World podcast is available on RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and most podcast platforms. Listen to the episode here.
Learn more about and support Home Street Home:
https://www.homestreethome.fi
