Empower 175 students for food security in Kenya

Students in youth polytechnics opened school in January 2017 for the first term session.  It has been dry in most parts of the country just as in last year since the short rains expected in December never came.  All youth polytechnics are in the process of preparing their school gardens in readiness of planting in March when the long rains are expected.  Irrigating school gardens was not sustainable since the youth polytechnics did not have reliable sources of water to sustain them during the long dry spell.  Although some had successfully installed water harvesting structures in their schools, it did not sustain them for long as the rain was not enough and they did not harvest enough water to keep them going.  The other challenge was inadequate water storage facilities in some schools.  Some schools are still fundraising for sustainable sources of water for their schools as well as approaching different government institutions to help them solve the issues.  Students are still optimistic and they are busy preparing their school gardens as well as sourcing suitable seeds for planting during the long rains expected in March and April.  We will support some of them with drought resistance seeds and planting materials to plant during the long rains.  Some youth polytechnics were able to do little seed saving during the last harvesting season therefore they have some seeds although they will require more.  We are happy that they have not given up despite the challenge of prolonged drought.  We continue encouraging them and supporting them in various possible way.  We also call upon other well-wishers to support them.

The progress with youth polytechnics has been good in the year but different youth polytechnics faced by different challenges but they tried their best to overcome some of them.  It has been very dry in most parts of the country and the school gardens were really affected and they did not have much in their school gardens but some of them tried to irrigate their gardens with the scarce water.  They tried to maintain their vegetable gardens a task that was not easy at all but they were determined.  The Youth Polytechnics have closed for December holiday but hope to work on their gardens when the rains come.  They agreed to continue with their garden activities once it rains before they resume school in January 2017.  The school administrations are fundraising for a sustainable solution on sourcing water not only for irrigation but also for other daily water uses.  They intend to improve on water harvesting techniques and drilling boreholes for those in very dry places.  This will improve the situation a lot as they are all affected and since they have experienced the challenge for a long period, they now feel that they need a long term solution.  They have all learnt that the school gardens are really important to them and the students since the students are learning agribusiness skills which are really helping them even after finishing their courses.  On the other hand they are now improving their nutrition in their lunch program as well as the club earning some income when they sell the surplus vegetables.  They are requesting all the well-wishers to support them in fundraising towards sustainable water sourcing and they thank all who have supported them to this far and they hope they will continue getting the support to make life better for the young youths. 

In Kachiuru primary the progress is impressive as the school continue growing each and every day.  The headteacher of Kachiuru is happy to head a school with improved pupils’ population unlike before.  Feeding program in the school has created a big impact in the community and at least the school now has various structures to create conducive learning environment.  They still have shortage of classroom desks and at the moment pupils are sharing the available desks.   They also require more classrooms as the school population is growing and they are optimistic that they will continue enrolling more pupils.  The school management is pushing the government to support them in provision of desks and more classrooms also.  We are happy that the school is progressing on well and we pray and hope for more development in the school.  Thank you to all for your generous contributions.

In Kachiuru primary the progress is impressive as the school continue growing each and every day.  The headteacher of Kachiuru is happy to head a school with improved pupils’ population unlike before.  Feeding program in the school has created a big impact in the community and at least the school now has various structures to create conducive learning environment.  They still have shortage of classroom desks and at the moment pupils are sharing the available desks.   They also require more classrooms as the school population is growing and they are optimistic that they will continue enrolling more pupils.  The school management is pushing the government to support them in provision of desks and more classrooms also.  We are happy that the school is progressing on well and we pray and hope for more development in the school.  Thank you to all for your generous contributions.

Our beneficiaries and their families are proceeding on well despite the harsh weather conditions in various parts.  It has been dry for a while and most farmers lost their crops due to shortage of rains and especially the short period crops which were heavily affected.  The farmers are now happy as it is now raining heavily and their crops will improve as they plant new ones.  We were able to conduct training on value addition to encourage our beneficiaries to add value to their products when they are in plenty.  We also encouraged them to continue visiting youth polytechnics that we are working with as they are around them and there are much more to learn from them.   We will continue building their capacity to ensure good progress as well as training them to become trainers to benefit others.  This project has been very successful and our beneficiaries really appreciate the support given to them and especially on health and nutrition considering their status.  They also appreciate the income generating activities that we have helped them achieve either from their kitchen gardens, small livestock, table banking and small businesses and they thank all those who have walked with them all through.  We will continue supporting them for more achievements as we fundraise for more projects that will benefit them and the community directly.  Thank you all for your support to this far and the far that we intend to get with our beneficiaries.