Recently, 39 young students from the Art Class of the Dream Building Service Association, Afristar, took part in a public welfare activity to explore the century-long evolution of railway development in Kenya.

As part of the company's corporate social responsibility program supporting education, the activity aimed to broaden the young people's horizons, inspire independent thinking, and foster an emotional connection between them and the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

The students and teachers traveled by passenger train on the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR between Nairobi and Emali and visited the Nairobi Railway Museum, taking an immersive journey through a century of railway development in Kenya and creating railway-themed artwork.

During the journey, the students enjoyed the smooth and comfortable ride, gaining a firsthand appreciation of the convenience and benefits of modern rail transport. Many picked up their brushes to capture what they saw and imagined on paper.

After the railway experience, the students visited the Nairobi Railway Museum to explore Kenya's railway history. Through their firsthand experience of modern rail transport and exploration of the  century-old railway history of Kenya preserved in the museum, the young visitors gained a deeper understanding of the development opportunities rail transport has brought to local communities.

The firsthand experience provided the students with ample inspiration for their creative work. They will later create themed paintings about the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR, depicting the railway from their unique perspectives, telling heartwarming stories about the railway, and showcasing the changes and opportunities modern rail transport has brought to local communities. The paintings will be exhibited together.

Kenya's mainstream media outlets The Star and The Citizen reported on the activity.

From rail to canvas: Mathare children begin an SGR-inspired art journey (The Star) 

From the rail to canvas, Mathare children begin SGR-inspired art journey (Citizen Digital)