Our operating environment changed overnight on March 13th, when Kenya recorded its first known case on COVID-19. As so many other governments around the world, the Kenyan government has since balanced between containing the spread of the virus and maintaining people’s livelihoods. At the moment, the main measures that impact life here in Kenya are the closure of schools and universities, a nationwide 7 pm to 5 am curfew, a prohibition on movement of people in and out of Nairobi and some coastal counties, a requirement to wear masks in public spaces, and the closure of international borders.

Pawame also took early action, focusing on practical steps to ensure the welfare of our staff, agents, technicians and customers. For example, most Pawame HQ staff have been working from home since March 16, with only operationally essential personnel like Logistics & Inventory Management staff and a handful of others that cannot physically work from home permitted to come to the office. We miss our sunny office where we can all mix and mingle, but thankfully we have managed to move our happy hours and coffee mornings to a virtual environment and continue to connect with each other. …