Provide Kenyan families with the means to survive

Thank you so much for donating to this project providing families in Kenya with the means to survive through these challenging times.  This is a big project with an ambitious target and with your support we are getting there.  We say that change does not come overnight but slowly with each person, household, volunteer and donor it grows.  Our focus on supporting girls and women while involving boys and men is addressing inequalities, creating lasting change and in the long run helping to lift communities out of poverty. 

March 8^th is International Womens’ Day and we are celebrating and marking this day throughout this month with community workshops.  Men and women are taking part at six different locations across the county.  They are discussing the challenges women in the community are facing and looking at how these challenges can be turned into change for the better.  They are imagining a more gender equal world free of stereotypes and discrimination and talking about the myths and taboos in their own communities that they have the power to break.   Each year International Womens’ Day carries a different theme and this year it is #EmbraceEquity with the aim of getting the world talking about why equal opportunities aren’t enough.  

Icebreakers, discussion groups, games and role plays are used with the participants at the workshops.  They are challenged to see that if we want to create a more inclusive and gender equal world we need to recognise that everybody comes from different circumstances and with different needs.  Equity is about acknowledging that and taking action to address it because providing equal opportunities alone are not enough to ensure all members of the community are included.

In the families where we work, traditionally girls and women carry the load of daily household tasks like collecting water, gathering wood for cooking fires/stoves and looking after the kitchen garden growing vegetables for the family.  For girls who have dropped out of school during COVID-19 they are left with limited education and more likely to follow traditional roles.  Their confidence and self-esteem is low, they are not aware of their rights and so they are more vulnerable to early marriage, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy.  The cycle of poverty continues. 

The workshops taking place this month raise awareness of these circumstances and the challenges including sexual and reproductive health and rights, female genital mutilation, menstrual health and access to education that prevent girls and women reaching their full potential.  Armed with this awareness the participants are better equipped to take action that will create change.  Keeping their girls in school, taking part in more of our community based workshops, breaking down the barriers that keep us from seeing that gender equality is within our power.

We are participating in the GlobalGiving Little by Little campaign from April 3^rd to 7^th where all your donations up to €50 will be matched at 50%.    Please consider supporting this project again – your donation leads to real and lasting change for the families we are working with.

Thank you so much for your donation to this project which continues to provide vital support to the families we work with.  Every donation helps us to strengthen communities by giving them the tools they need to build themselves up and make change happen.  This is a huge challenge right now as these families face the triple impact of Conflict, COVID-19 and Climate Change.

During this past month, there have been several events and trainings involving volunteers from the community who support the delivery of this project.  This report captures some of these activities highlighting how our model of community development works through partnerships and bringing people together.

At the end of October, a community in Kipkelion West were introduced to our programme to provide training and resources to generate income. The people at this meeting included chiefs, clergy, Boda Boda drivers, youth (male & female), department of social services, elders, womens groups, persons with disability and representatives from Savings and Credit Co-operative (SACCO).  The meeting shared feedback with each other about the challenges facing the different groups in their community.  They discussed which groups should be prioritised when planning business trainings with Brighter Communities Worldwide.  This is the first step to putting trainings and resources such as bee-keeping equipment, goats, seeds etc.  in place with this community.

November/December is traditionally the time when Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) takes place in certain communities.  So right now the community are mobilising against this and instead proposing an Alternative Rite of Passage that will save girls from cutting.  Volunteers from Kapsoit trained to be facilitators in their community.   This is repeated in many villages as families are encouraged to choose a safer path for their daughters and say No to FGM.

Each month we hold outreach clinics at dispensary’s located in hard to reach parts of the county.  On World Immunisation Day, November 10^th Jagoror dispensary had 57 mothers come with their babies for routine immunisation and 60 children were covered.  53 students received their HPS vaccine 1^st dose and 12 had their second dose.  A total of 101 students received their COVID-19 vaccination.

Several trainings took place for Community Health Volunteers in the last month on how to operate an ANC tracker.  This is the system which follows women through their pregnancy with at least 4 Ante Natal Care visits and encourages delivery at a health facility.  

Community Health Volunteers at Chepkoiyo held a dialogue day on November 11^th.  This is a day to discuss what challenges they have seen as volunteers in their community. Their list included – malnutrition among the children; many teenage pregnancies; poor access to clean water and low toilet coverage meaning not every household has a pit latrine.  After discussion, they decided that malnutrition is the number one challenge to be addressed right now and they are planning an action day in their community to highlight the issue and work together to try to improve the situation.

The next big day for donating is Giving Tuesday on November 29^th.  This is our biggest opportunity of the year to raise vital funds to support this project and avail of GlobalGiving’s campaign to #MoveAMillion in bonus funds of $1.2 million.  If you can donate again, mark your calendars please!