Bringing Data Back To The Community

“Will all this data ever really help the people of Nakuru?”

It is the question that keeps coming back in every ward, in every community meeting, and in every conversation between residents and AngaWatch ambassadors. In 2025, it was also the most persistent concern raised by the ambassadors themselves. There is no simple or linear answer. The value of RESPIRA-AQM lies in a slow chain of steps – from stories and sensor readings, to evidence, to policy discussions, and eventually to changes in everyday practice.

Over the past quarter, the RESPIRA team has been immersed in coding and labelling the stories collected through Voices that Count, running sentiment analyses, and exploring patterns in the narratives shared by residents across Nakuru. These stories show something crucial: people almost never talk about “air quality” on its own. Instead, they connect breathing problems to noise, blocked drains, overflowing sewers, trash burning, dust, traffic congestion, and industrial odours. Air quality, in other words, is not a narrow technical issue. It is woven into the texture of daily urban life.

This kind of "thick" data also raises uncomfortable questions. How do habits and perceptions change over time? When does pollution become so familiar that people stop noticing it? And how do we prevent the normalisation of harm?

One of the most important ways our team tries to tackle these questions is through regular feedback sessions with ambassadors, county officials, researchers and partners. These moments of collective reflection are about checking whether the project is reaching new people, whether residents know that the AngaWatch sensors and app exist, and whether they realise they are only one tap away from real-time information about the air they breathe.

The most recent of these sessions, held on 16 December 2025, brought together community members, the county government and our project partners. Participants discussed how coded stories and sensor readings can feed into proposals on waste management, drainage, mobility and other everyday infrastructures that shape exposure to pollution.

County representatives were candid about the challenges they face. Strong policies, they explained, require structure and reliable evidence. Yet examples from Nakuru itself – such as the city’s strong performance on non-motorised transport and smart mobility – show that when data and planning align, change is possible. Our project's broader roadmap equally aims to insert air-quality evidence (both the voices of our ambassadors and sensor data) into these same policy conversations, so that future investments are air quality proof!

Collaboration is also taking place beyond meeting rooms. On 9 December, team members joined a community clean-up organised by local leaders and environmental activist Mr. Raini, together with Nakuru County and the Kenya Wildlife Service.

Looking ahead to 2026, there is growing momentum to involve children and young people. Miriam, an ambassador from Free Area, committed that the school hosting a RESPIRA sensor will take more ownership of air-quality conversations, integrating them into school life so learners can understand both the numbers and what they mean for their health.

A full analysis of the discussions from this latest stakeholder meeting is still underway, but this brief overview already shows how we are translating big data and thick data into community action, shared responsibility, growing awareness, and the first concrete steps toward cleaner air in Nakuru.