By Dr. Pooja Rachewad | Operations Manager
Building Stronger, Sustainable Communities - SOTENI Kenya
Project Update | April - June 2026
Dear SOTENI Supporters and Friends,
From April through June, SOTENI continued working alongside communities across our three Villages of Hope: Mbakalo, Ugunja, and Mituntu to strengthen health, livelihoods, and long-term resilience.
Our AIDS Barefoot Doctors (ABDs) continued meeting with support groups, visiting families, providing health education and psychosocial support, and connecting community members with needed services. Alongside this work, SOTENI continues to focus on economic empowerment and sustainability helping communities build the skills, resources, and opportunities to become increasingly self-sustaining.
Learning, Adapting, and Growing
Support groups that received entrepreneurship training and seed funding through the International Foundation Grant in 2023 continue to demonstrate resilience. Some groups initially invested in poultry businesses but faced disease outbreaks, rising costs, and other challenges. Rather than giving up, they adapted by moving into table banking, agriculture, livestock, and other activities that better fit their circumstances.
Benter, Geno Support Group | Ugunja
After challenges with its poultry business, Geno Support Group transitioned to table banking. Members now use loans to strengthen small businesses, pay school fees, and meet household needs. Benter, Secretary of the group, uses the loans to support her businesses selling samosas, omena, onions, and tomatoes.
“Table banking has helped us pay school fees, strengthen our businesses, and support our families.”
Christine Mwari, Kairakai Mwitethia Support Group | Mituntu
Christine used a loan from her group's table-banking fund to start a small kiosk, creating a source of income that helps her support her children.
“I started a kiosk which has helped me pay school fees for my children, and the income also helps me provide food for my family.”
Martha Thirindi, Kairakai Mwitethia Support Group | Mituntu
Martha used table banking to purchase a goat. The goat has since had a kid and now provides milk for her family.
“I was able to buy a goat, and now it provides milk for me and my children and has improved our nutrition.”
These stories remind us that sustainability does not always mean the first idea succeeds. Sometimes it means having the resources, knowledge, and confidence to adapt, try again, and create new opportunities.
Growing the Next Step: NEST
This same focus on sustainability is guiding SOTENI's next initiative in Ugunja: NEST (Nutritional Education and Support Teamwork).
Through NEST, SOTENI will combine nutrition education with household kitchen gardening, helping 1350 support group members and their households grow nutritious foods for their families while developing practical skills they can continue using beyond the project.
Whether through a small business, table banking, livestock, or a household garden, SOTENI is working to help communities build solutions that strengthen health and livelihoods for the long term.
Thank you for walking alongside SOTENI. Your support helps families not only address today's needs, but also build stronger, healthier, and more sustainable futures.
Asante sana.
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