After losing friends and family members to violence, Joseph Kariaga and other young men chose a different path—turning a former dumping ground into an urban farm that feeds children and restores hope.
Joseph Kariaga does not hide the life he once lived.
Growing up in Mathare, he and several friends became involved in crime, including robbery and violent confrontations with police. It was a dangerous path that cost the lives of people around them.
The turning point came after Joseph’s brother was shot and killed by police.
“We said, ‘We cannot live like this. We are going to lose our lives,’” Joseph told the Associated Press. “Many of our friends had died. I reflected on my life. I had to change.”
That decision marked the beginning of Vision Bearerz—a youth-led initiative using urban farming to address crime, hunger and hopelessness in Mathare.
Turning a Dumping Ground Into a Farm
Joseph and nearly a dozen other young people established Vision Bearerz in 2017.
They began by collecting garbage and trading vegetables. While working, they noticed that Mathare had a limited supply of fresh produce.
With permission from local authorities, the group cleared a former dumping area and began planting vegetables.
The transformation was not easy. Polluted soil and limited access to water created serious challenges. The group later received training and materials that helped it introduce hydroponic farming methods.
Today, Vision Bearerz grows vegetables, raises pigs and farms tilapia in a small pond. The group also operates a car wash and public toilet to help generate income for its community work.
A place once associated with waste became a source of food, work and purpose.
Feeding More Than 150 Children
Vision Bearerz uses part of its earnings to provide weekly lunches for more than 150 children.
Produce from the farm is combined with maize flour and beans to prepare meals for young residents of the community.
For children living in households facing food insecurity, that meal carries real value. It offers nourishment, but it also communicates something equally important: their community sees them and cares about their future.
The group’s impact extends beyond food. Members conduct campaigns against drug use and crime, while women lead sessions helping girls understand feminine health.
Through these activities, Vision Bearerz is building the kind of support its founders wish more young people had received earlier in life.
Creating a Different Path
Joining Vision Bearerz requires members to commit to leaving crime behind.
That commitment does not erase the past, but it creates an opportunity to build a different future.
The farm gives participants work to do, people who depend on them and a positive role within their community. Members who were once feared are now being recognized as farmers, mentors and role models.
One founder described the work as therapeutic. Another reflected that their former lifestyle brought only loss, while their present work is helping them “win people in the community.”
Their transformation demonstrates the power of belonging. The same brotherhood that might once have pulled young men toward crime can be redirected toward service, responsibility and collective progress.
Farming as Community Leadership
Vision Bearerz is modest in size, but its story carries a much larger message.
Community transformation does not always begin with a major institution or large funding program. Sometimes it begins when people closest to a problem decide they will no longer accept it as permanent.
Joseph and his friends understood the pressures facing young people in Mathare because they had experienced them personally. That knowledge now helps them reach others before they follow the same path.
The group still faces difficulties, including limited funding, water shortages and the struggle to finance each week’s meals. Yet its members continue planting, feeding and mentoring.
“Farming can change the world,” Joseph said.
In Mathare, it has already changed his.
Why Joseph Kariaga’s Story Matters
At Sisi Kenya Spotlight, we believe transformation deserves to be recognized.
Joseph Kariaga’s story is not about pretending the past never happened. It is about taking responsibility, choosing another direction and using hard-earned lessons to protect others.
Through Vision Bearerz, Joseph and his fellow founders transformed a dumping ground into a garden, former offenders into community leaders and painful memories into motivation to serve.
Their farm grows vegetables, but its most important harvest may be hope.
Every meal served, every young person warned away from crime and every seed planted in Mathare represents the same courageous decision: the past may explain where someone has been, but it does not have to decide where they are going.
