Youngsters Craft Ways to Combat Corona Effects
By The COAST Reporter
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Nestled along the sandy shores, semi-permanent local bar and a restaurant written JAMBO GOLDEN BEACH emerges. We were ushered into a compound with cool bongo music. Looking around was thatched sheds with wooden chairs and plastic tables occupied by people having their lunch. In the forefront was empty beach loungers and float rings.
We sat in one of the sheds. An average height, slender waiter with lengthy, thick dreadlocks down his back appears. He introduced himself as Ndanga. He presents the menu and requests we make orders. Having already taken our lunch, we only had to order for soft drinks.
As we were enjoying the soft drinks we invited Ndanga Nyamawi and his friend Kambi Kambu to accompany us and have a chat with them about the tourism in their restaurant.
At this point we realized that they were the owners of the restaurant who had been working in the hotel industry as waiters and were rendered jobless during the corona pandemic. They started income generating projects along the Malindi fishing jet commonly known as Buntwani beach.
Kambu disclosed that they were forced to look for another alternative after staying home jobless for a number of years and they came up with the idea of setting up a semi-permanent restaurant along the Malindi Buntwani beach last year.
“Before Corona Virus pandemic we were working in hotel industry as waiters in Watamu. The life was good because we were able to provide for our families. When the pandemic spread and hotels were closed down we suffered because we had no source of income,” said Kambu.
“On March 2023 we had an idea of coming up with this local restaurant. We used to go for casual jobs to earn little money that enabled us to start this project.”
The restaurant serve grilled sea foods as well as cold drinks at a affordable prices. They also rent the space for birthday parties and any special occasion that one would like to hold at the beach.
They urged the Kilifi County Government and any well-wisher who would like to support them to come through and empower them.
