NAIROBI, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — Her chubby face glowing with pride, 16-year-old Miriabel Aparat carefully brushed fresh paint onto a giant mural of a sleek passenger train gliding along Kenya’s Chinese-built Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
A grade nine student at a private school in Mathare, one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, Aparat has nurtured her passion for art since childhood.
“I like painting and drawing. It has been my hobby since I was about six years old,” she said on Wednesday at the mural completion ceremony hosted at the headquarters of Africa Star Railway Operation Company, operator of the SGR.
Launched on May 31, 2017, the 472-km Mombasa-Nairobi SGR is the first new railway built in Kenya since independence, emerging as a flagship project of China-Kenya cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Under the guidance of professional visual artists, Aparat and her young peers from Mathare put finishing touches on massive, glossy murals celebrating the SGR’s role in connecting people and cultures.
Painted under the theme “Railway Connects the Silk Road, Hearts Connect China and Kenya,” the works capture sweeping landscapes along the SGR route and terminals marked by modern architecture.
Stretching across 300 square meters of the company’s perimeter wall, the murals depict not only trains and stations but also people-to-people exchanges, technology transfer, and transformations in livelihoods tied to the SGR, showcasing how the flagship project has embodied Kenya’s economy, tourism, and cultural ties with China.
“The SGR is an iconic project for Kenya,” said Aparat, adding that it has eased the mobility of people and goods, besides enabling foreign tourists to discover the magic of the countryside.
The mural initiative is part of a broader corporate social responsibility program launched in January by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and Africa Star in partnership with Dream Building Service Association (DBSA), a local charity.
The collaboration supports Mathare’s community with free school meals for more than 200 pupils at a school, as well as creative outlets such as painting, dancing, and fashion design for children.
Du Shan, deputy chief executive officer of CRBC Kenya Office, said the company has supported a range of livelihood-enhancement projects in the country, including education and disaster relief. Supporting community development is part of the company’s long-term commitment, he noted.
DBSA Co-Founder Liu Yimenghan said the idea of creating murals at the SGR operator’s premises was conceived only a few weeks ago and came to fruition thanks to the goodwill of all partners.
“We developed a program to create graffiti within the Africa Star compound with themes related not only to the railway but also to the company’s broader corporate social responsibility projects,” Liu said.
For many children, the project offered both a learning chance and a source of inspiration.
Among them was 12-year-old Euticus Bruce, a grade seven pupil from Mathare, who braved the scorching afternoon sun to paint murals of SGR terminals, carefully following his trainer’s guidance.
“I feel happy to participate. I’ve seen a modern train, tall buildings, and met artists I had only watched on social media,” said Bruce. “This railway helps transport people and goods; it is like a tourist attraction.”
Twelve-year-old Vincent Juma, also from Mathare, discovered his love for drawing at age five. Holding his brush high as he added color to the mural, he said the project deepened his admiration for the SGR.
“This mural project has inspired me greatly. I’m proud of the SGR because it has created jobs and brought many tourists to Kenya to see our wildlife,” Juma said.
For local artists like 26-year-old Nzilani Mutua, an upcycling artist and muralist, the collaboration between Africa Star and DBSA offered an opportunity to mentor children while showcasing her own craft.
She said they had spent more than 20 days, braving the cold August weather, working together to create murals that reflect the beauty, prestige, and transformation brought by the SGR.
As the sun set on the freshly painted walls, the vibrant murals stood as symbols of hope — for the young artists who found their voices through brushstroke, and for the communities whose lives the SGR continues to reshape.
