In the sweltering heat of Mombasa, a quiet revolution is taking place amongst the mounds of refuse. Midella Waste Management Company, a private enterprise, has become an unlikely sanctuary for the city’s discarded youth. By turning trash into cash, the company is proving that social enterprise can solve problems that have baffled the government for decades.

For 12 years, Nickson Oteba was a ghost in the city—a street dweller surviving on scraps, theft, and violence. Today, the 33-year-old is a salaried employee, earning KSh 500 a day sorting waste. "At least I now have a place I can call home... I used to sleep in corridors," Oteba told Tuko. His story is the flagship success of a program that has already taken over 100 former "street urchins" off the pavements and into gainful employment. It is a model of rehabilitation that relies not on charity, but on the dignity of labor.

The Business of Hope

The visionary behind this initiative is CEO Mitchell Midella Masai. Her strategy is simple but radical: employ the unemployable. The company does not ask for CVs or certificates; it offers a three-day training program and a pair of gloves. "We do not require any qualifications... we offer a three-day free training program on how to sort and collect useful waste," Masai explained. This low barrier to entry is the key to the program's success, allowing the most vulnerable members of society to step onto the first rung of the economic ladder immediately.

The impact ripples beyond just the men. Saumu Richard Binzi, a single mother of two, found a lifeline at Midella when she was on the brink of sending her children away due to poverty. Now earning KSh 15,000 a month, she can pay school fees and rent. Her testimony highlights the program's role in stabilizing families that were on the verge of collapse.

• The Scale: With branches in Nairobi, Kilifi, Kwale, and Kajiado, and a target of employing 1,000 street youth, Midella is scaling a solution that could reshape urban poverty management.
• The Collaboration: The company works with the Mombasa County government, utilizing county trucks to move waste to the Mwakirunge dumpsite, creating a public-private synergy.
• The Reality Check: It is not all rosy; workers like Saumu face health risks from the garbage and lack full protective gear, a gap the company must address as it expands.

A Model for the Future?

Midella Waste Management is doing what millions of shillings in NGO funding often fails to do: giving people a purpose. By monetizing the city’s waste crisis, they are solving the human crisis alongside it. For Nickson Oteba, who is now saving to join the matatu industry, the smell of garbage is no longer the scent of decay—it is the smell of a future he never thought he would have.