Limuru

Location

Limuru is a town located on the eastern edge of the Great Rift Valley about 40 kilometres (25 mi), by road, northwest of Nairobi, the capital and largest city in Kenya. The geographical coordinates of Limuru town are:1°06'28.0"S, 36°38'34.0"E (Latitude:-1.107778; Longitude:36.642778).

History

The native language of most people in Limuru is Kikuyu, with Swahili and English widely spoken.

Limuru serves as the capital of Kiambu West District which was formerly part of Kiambu District. In addition, it is also the name of a parliament constituency.

Most of the area of Limuru is now what was previously known as the "white highlands", a rich agricultural land just south of the equator. The term "white highlands" derived from the British and other Europeans who realised the productive potential of this area and settled in large numbers with the support of the colonial government, establishing coffee and tea plantations, cereal farms and ranches. Altitude of the town is about 2,500 meters. Limuru has a temperature of 10 - 28 °C (75 °F) year round.

Industry

Limuru is widely known in Kenya for the large amounts of tea it produces.

The tea plantations established around Limuru from 1903 onwards were the foundation of Kenya's largest export industry, which produces some of the world's highest quality tea. Limuru is home to BATA shoe company, the largest shoe factory in East and Central Africa.

Limuru has a railway station on the Uganda Railway. The Brackenhurst International Conference Centre, owned by the Baptist mission, is located in Limuru, as is the Nest Children's Home, which specializes in the care of children of imprisoned mothers. The town of Limuru grew with the railway, the tea industry (especially with major expansion from the 1920s), and the Bata shoe factory and head office.

People

Limuru residents rely mostly on farming and a shoe factory for employment. Early in the British colonial period (from the 1890s) Europeans settled in the area due to its proximity to Nairobi, the railway, its fertile land and pleasant weather. It is the birthplace of the African writer, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, as well as that of Bishop Caesar Gatimu and human rights and political activist Percy Faith Fawaki (Zartaj). Robert Kuria Ngure and Robert Biu, young poets, also live in Limuru.

Health care

Limuru town is served by one government run health facility, Limuru Health Center which is located within the town limits. Other health facilities in Limuru include Rwamburi Dispensary, Rironi Dispensary, Thigio Dispensary, Ndeiya Health Center and Ngecha Health Center. Tigoni District Hospital is the main government hospital and serves as the link facility between the rural health facilities and the main National referral hospital. Health care has seen an improvement in quality of services with the collaboration of other stakeholders. Services such as cervical cancer screening by VIA/VILLI is available at all government run facilities in Limuru. The nurses working in these clinics also conduct outreach programs to ensure more women are screened. Uptake of long-term contraceptive methods such as implants and IUCDs has also improved due to intensive community education and outreach programs undertaken by the staff working in the various government health facilities. It is for this reason that Ndeiya Health Center was confirmed the center of excellence in addressing family planning and cervical cancer screening in East and Central Africa. Ndeiya Health Center has mentored other health facilities in the area including Rwamburi Dispensary with an aim of replicating the success in the same. Constituency development fund has funded the construction of three rural facilities in the area. These are: Rwamburi Dispensary, Rironi Dispensary and Ngecha Health Center. Also, there are several private hospitals in Limuru.

Community strategy has been implemented in the area and community units such as Ndiuni community unit has been conducting various community health activities. These community units are linked to their respective health facilities where they refer patients.

Recent developments

Due to its proximity to Nairobi and its location on the main highway linking Nairobi to other towns like Naivasha, Eldoret and Kisumu, Limuru is beginning to attract investors and businesses. In July 2014, developers of a new 120,000 square feet (11,000 m²) shopping mall broke ground. This will be the first mall in the town. Tuskys, the number two supermarket chain in Kenya, by sales, will be the anchor tenant, taking up about 50% of the lettable space. The development is expected to cost KSh650 million (approx. US$7.5 million) to construct, and is expected to be ready during the second half of 2015. The number three supermarket chain in the country, Uchumi, plans a new store in Limuru during February 2015. The new supermarkets will join Cleanshelf, the only supermarket in town, as at January 2015.