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Our employees' commitment to sustainability goes beyond their day-to-day work. Joaquín Garnica, sales manager at Tradebe Valdilecha, has collaborated with Kubuka, an NGO working in Kenya and Zambia. Kubuka has promoted the "Kleanbera Recycling" center in Kibera (Nairobi) to foment the collection and treatment of plastic waste. 
We invite you to discover more about Kubuka, and Joaquin's experience here:
What is Kubuka?
It is an NGO that works in Kenya and Zambia. Kubuka is a Swahili word that means to advance, to awaken and to progress.
What does it mean to you and how did you become aware of them?
When we are aware of the extreme poverty in which many people live in this world, we cannot remain indifferent. My daughter Ana has been collaborating altruistically with Kubuka for years. Through this, I became involved with the association.
What is the main work of this NGO?
Kubuka understands, that in order to advance and awaken, two pillars are necessary: Education and Entrepreneurship. Therefore, Kubuka promotes schools for boys and girls, both in Kenya and Zambia. It also provides microcredits for the development of very specific projects, and the association itself helps and guides them. Most of these microcredits are given to women, as they know the best way to manage these resources.
Tell us a bit about your experience there?
In April 2017, I was with my wife Sara and my daughter Ana in Kibera, a slum in Nairobi with a million inhabitants, where poverty, poor sanitary conditions and crime are the most visible realities. Among other projects, it was there that I had the opportunity to learn about the centre promoted by Kubuka called Kleanbera Recycling, whose aim is to promote the recycling of plastics.
What struck you the most?
My stay in Kibera left a strong impression on me. Seeing "in situ" how hundreds of thousands of people live in this poverty and in these subhuman conditions is heart-breaking. But I would also like to highlight that it was a very positive experience meeting people, many of them young, who work for and with others who were not lucky enough to be born in a comfortable world like ours.
How can we collaborate with Kubuka?
There are many ways to collaborate with Kubuka, from becoming a member of the NGO with a monthly contribution, sponsoring one of the schools, or making a one-off donation. The best thing to do is follow them on their social networks and find more information at https://kubuka.org
