Saving Kenya's Environment Through Family Planning

* Not real names

“It has been a tough year. More than half my livestock has died and with how its looking like now, by the end of this drought I might have nothing left” Bwana *Mongoi from Lpus Natodo started. “See, last year it rained a lot we had enough pasture and water for our animals. All seemed well. We did not think to prepare ourselves for the drought. We did not save grass nor did we get any water storage. Its not only the animals, also in our houses. We do not have much food. And the little that we buy from the market is so expensive we cannot afford to buy a lot of it. We go for long without water to drink let alone for basic hygiene around the house. The water that we get is not that clean so you can only imagine how many trips we have been making to the hospital for stomach aches. Sometimes I really do not want to come home since I wonder what will happen to my family. I have six boys and five girls. Two wives and my mother living with us. 13 mouths to feed is not an easy task. I wish it was a smaller number, then maybe we would be better off.” *Mongoi lamented.

“If only I had accepted what Julius - CHAT’s  partner in family planning (FP) mobilization  and sensitization and a Community Own Resource Person (CORP)–  was telling me some time back, maybe I would be less stressed. He told me of how I could have less livestock and to manage my family size to a number that I would be able to rake care of. I thought he did not want me to be wealthy and maintain a respectable position in the community but now I regret. I really want to improve the situation my family are in,  so at least I can plan better for the future.” He went on. “I want all my children to go to school so that they may one day take care of me in my old age. I want them to be educated like the children of my peers. That is why I have made the decision to ensure my wives have accessed FP services. Also, I want us to start a small garden for our food once the rains start. This will alleviate at least a little of our hunger.  As for water, we have started discussing on how we could save some water for ourselves once the rains start since that is our biggest source of water. We do not have a river here so harvesting water is our only option.”

“I hope our people get to learn of the importance of managing a small population for both the animals and the family. That is the only way we will not feel the weight of such hard times.” Julius (CHAT’s CORP partner) commented.

“It's long been accepted as fact that the availability of family planning services saves lives. Where women have access to these services, children and families are healthier, and society at large benefits.” Martha Plimpton

In the past three months, CHAT was able to reach a total of 2,671 individuals with BCC information with 1,007 women receiving different FP methods.

‘You are all welcome to our village. But please follow our strict rule that no littering around. For all the rubbish that you will use please burn or bury it. We like to have our environment clean.’ said Mzee Nzioki as our team set up their camp for the nigh t before providing services in the remote village of Katse in Mwingi. It was dry season but this particular place was still green and fresh produce was being sold availably at the market. What interested us most was how mzee Nzioki was keen on keeping the environment clean. I was very interested in his strictness so I decided to know why he was keen on the environment.

Mzee Nzioki is a village elder thus he is always consulted and involved in what is going on. He has the largest honey business in the village. He always has people coming from town to collect honey for sale. But this was not always the case for him. He has not always been rich but he says that his luck came from trees! No wonder he is keen on ensuring they are well taken care of. ‘If this was a couple of years ago, you would be pitiful of my condition. I had just gotten my fifth child and did not have any means of feeding or taking care of my rapid growing family. I wanted to keep just these five as more would end up being a burden.  A friend kept telling me that if I plant trees in my small farm one day will become a rich man” Mzee Nzioki narrated. ‘I really thought he was not making any sense. How can plain old trees make you richer? Apart from timber which would mean cutting down a tree what else can I do with them? Were my thoughts. Little did I know that trees were more than just building materials! Anyway, I had nothing else to do on so I started planting trees. It slowly became my hobby.’

‘I grew the interest and later decided to keep bees thus making good use of the trees. Harvesting honey for sale became a business that grew gradually.  I needed an outlet so I decided to put up a small shop for my wife whom was at home, jobless taking care of our children. From this, we were able to make enough profits to cater for our five children who more often than not were always chased out of school for lack of fees. My friend did not exactly tell me how it could happen but I am glad I did because now my life is great. Making the environment better has enabled me to become well respected by our people. I wish that my children have learnt from me and they will teach the future generations the same. After all if you respect Mother Nature she rewards you.’

To support young girls, mothers and the community in general, CHAT, this last quarter reached a total of 34,208 individuals with holistic Family Planning using a PHE approach, in which a total of 12,328 women chose different usually longer term contraceptive methods.

‘The world that you and I live in is increasingly challenged. Population growth, pollution, over consumption, unsustainable patterns, social conflicts, climate change, loss of nature… these are not good stories’ Jack Dangermond.