Bʏ Mᴀsɪʟᴀ Kᴀɴʏɪɴɢɪ
Kenya’s flower industry loves the spotlight: roses paraded in Amsterdam, bouquets snapped up in Dubai, headlines about billions in export earnings. But here in Naivasha, the applause rings hollow. Because the real question isn’t where the flowers go, it’s who shows up when the community bleeds.
Let’s be blunt. Safe houses for abused women? Kept alive by some committed growers and suppliers. Karagita Maternity and Naivasha General? Running because industry money plugs gaps the government ignores. Schools, dispensaries, even police posts, standing because flower shillings hold them up. Without that support, Naivasha would buckle.
And yet, where are the giants? Those flaunting global awards, raking in royalties, those making millions from this soil? They turn up to collect sales, to clink glasses at international trade shows, to flood social media with PR gloss. But when the call is for real community investment, silence. Their brochures preach CSR, but their balance sheets show otherwise.
The Naivasha Horticultural Fair is the test, the mirror. If your logo isn’t on that sponsors’ board, don’t kid yourself, your absence is a statement: we profit, but we don’t give back.
To the freeloaders: the community sees you. Your absence is loud. Your excuses are stale. And your reputation? It’s wilting.