East Africa

Kenya

Fruit Trees Project in Kenya

MWIA is assisting Loreto Sisters Eastern Africa to plant 1000 fruit trees to sustain the Holistic Growth and Research Centre for the Stop Female Genital Mutilation (SFGM) campaign in Kenya.

The SFGM Centre is the national headquarters for this life-saving work. Here, the SFGM team conduct training, education sessions, carry out alternative rite of passage workshops, accommodate and provide meals to participants, prepare materials and document their work. It is a hive of activity.

With the fruit trees in place, the Centre will have a nutritious addition to the meals they provide and they will be able to sell the produce in local markets. The orchid can also be used to teach the local Maasai mothers about growing fruit and healthy eating. In times of harvest, the Centre will provide employment to local fruit pickers.

Sr. Ephigenia Gachiri and her team have a target group of up to 4 million people and have so far prevented up to 450 young women from FGM per year.

 

Family houses – Nyumbani Village, Kitui

The Nyumbani Village, is a project sponsored by the Children of God Relief Institute (CGRI), with assistance from donors. The aim of the village is to provide a home for 100 families: to house 1,000 children and 100 elderly grandparents. This proposed model for addressing the ever-growing problem of orphans in Africa is expected to become self-sustaining in a few years. The village is located in an area of unfavourable climate with less than 700mm of rainfall annually, little or no industrial activity, high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and very poor economic prospects. The people who live in this area are very poor and often affected by drought – they receive government relief food which is hardly enough to cater for their needs.

As the HIV/AIDS pandemic that is affecting Africa continues to cause many deaths among the middle aged, children are forced to become heads of households or depend on their elderly grandparents - also destitute - following the death of their wage-earning children. This situation is desperate. Children lack medical and psychological care, parental love and educational opportunities. They risk becoming street children and criminals for lack for parental love and guidance. Currently all the houses in the village are fully occupied. One family house accommodates 10 orphans and one or two grandparents. Funding is being sought to build five groups of four family homes, that is, twenty houses. MWIA is funding the construction of one of these houses.

Sr Mary Owens ibvm, Executive Director and Founding Member of CGRI, says the Nyumbani Village is unique as it the first such project in the country that caters for orphans and the elderly in a localised village setting. It provides children with vocational guidance and psychological support and the elderly with leadership opportunities.

Training for a HIV affected orphan from Nyumbani Village, Kitui.

This program is part of the Nyumbani Village project. Funding is being sought to assist young people who have completed secondary education to enter into further study. This will mean better job prospects and increased self-reliance. A primary school and a secondary school are located in the village as well as a polytechnic, clinic, community centre, administration police post. It is hoped to make at least one child in each family group self-reliant so that s/he can then help others. It is envisioned that the village will be sustainable through a hard wood agroforestry project. Education is the gateway to self-empowerment. The present beneficiary, Mercy, is first-born in her family of four. If Mercy becomes self-reliant, she can help her siblings towards the same. MWIA has made it possible for Mercy to train as a laboratory technician. 

“I am grateful for the efforts you have made in order to come up with a scholarship for me. I thank you so much and feel much appreciated!”
Mercy

School Fees

MWIA is funding school fees for needy girls in Kenyan Loreto schools. The students targeted in the project are in extremely challenging situations. They come from economically deprived areas and families. Providing a bursary for a child provides access to education - a huge expense in a country where about 46% of the population live on or below $1 per day. Education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty. With an education, the girls can get jobs and hopefully help their families and the country at large.

“On behalf of these girls I am very grateful. You should have seen the joy in their faces… Loreto has added a lot of value and I assure you these funds will be used well”. 
Sr Pauline Macharia, Principal Loreto Matunda
 

Find out more about these projects