mwanga.(n)  origin: Swahili

a source of illumination.

By empowering impoverished children and young adults through education, we believe overcoming socioeconomic challenges is possible.

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The Mwanga Centre is an urban site redevelopment project intent upon bringing high-quality education facilities, arts programming and eco-friendly practices to the community of Korogocho, an informal settlement of over 400,000 urban poor in Nairobi, Kenya. The current site, St. John's Community Centre, lies on the edge of one of Africa's largest dumpsites, the Dandora Landfill, where its facilities and users are exposed to the dangers of spontaneous fire and toxic air pollutants on a daily basis. 

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With the goal of addressing these problems, Opus 1 and its partners have committed to a total 10-acre transformation of St. John's and a portion of the landfill into an eco-friendly, self-sustaining center for education and cultural enrichment.

The  new campus is conceived as a four-point compound: a vocational education center, arts center, an urban farming institute, and several green spaces with recreational fields.

Built entirely by the use of sustainable materials, and the incorporation of renewable energy & recycled water systems, the Mwanga Centre will be the first project of its scale to meet five of the United Nation's List of Sustainable Goals in East Africa: Quality Education, Good Health & Well-Being, Clean Water & Sanitation, Affordable & Clean Energy, and Sustainable Cities & Communities.