Project Updates

When I left Kenya last summer it seemed impossible to think that I would be back in country before the end of the year. Yet here I sit once again under the beautiful blue African sky feeling like I have come back home. The nice thing about this trip is that I am able to see the progression of some of the projects that were started this summer while I was here. I thought it would be nice to give you all an update on a couple of them.

Seed Project:

Those of you that read the blog back in June might remember an entry Master Gardner about a young boy named George and how he picked up seeds he saw on the ground when he walked to start his own seed bed and then would sell the seedlings. Shortly after meeting this young man I received an e-mail from Nancy who came to Kenya with me in 2005. The youth in her sister’s church had collected a small amount of dimes that they wanted to donate to a hunger project in Africa. Quickly a plan was developed to use the dimes to buy seeds so that orphan families who have a small amount of land could plant their own seed bed for food and income generation of surplus vegetables.

A week ago Friday, I went to Soy with one an Agriculture Extensionist and one of the Community Health Worker to distribute more seeds, demonstrate planting and care techniques, and answer questions to families who were new to gardening. The picture above shows a demonstration at one of the homes. As you can see the children were all eager to learn. The dime project has grown to the point that now, in addition to George, there are 60 families growing vegetables in their Bustani (garden) which provide vegetables for over 300 orphans. Isn’t it amazing how far a few dimes can go!

The Girls Fund:

Although I didn’t talk about it in the blog when I was here this summer, I was surprised to learn from the girls in my group that if they had extra money they could spend on anything they wished the number one or number two thing they all listed was ‘sanitary towels’. Until then I had not realized that Kenyan girls often miss school during their menstrual period because they do not have access to feminine hygiene products.

When I talked to my field supervisor about this concern, she shared that she had put it the OVC budget previously only to be told to remove it. She had tried to approach support for providing feminine protection products on several occasions reasoning that if we were paying for the girls school fees we should also be doing what ever we could to ensure they could attend school. But the expense was continually cut from the budget. One time she was even told that to provide sanitary towels for OVC girls would provide them with an unfair advantage over other girls in school.

Appalled I took it upon myself to start an ‘unofficial’ girls fund to provide products for the OVC girls. I sent an e-mail to those near and dear, many of which sent it on to others, asking for their support. The funds started coming in the next day. Thanks to my friend Gracie who deposited the checks into my account, I was able to withdrawn the funds from the ATM here before I left so that supplies could be purchased wholesale. By the time the checks stopped coming in we had enough to supply 300 girls for one year. We were able to work with a wholesaler in town to make the money stretch as far as possible. It was a beginning.

I am happy to report that now the OVC website lists that donations can be made for feminine hygiene products. Additionally, we have learned that a local club is willing to provide products for all the girls in 5 of the local schools. The awareness is growing. Last week I received an e-mail from my niece Karen telling me about P & G’s new campaign in the U.S where a portion of their proceeds from the sales of their brands Always and Tampax go to providing products for orphans and vulnerable girls in South Africa. There is so much that many of us Americans take for granted that girls and women in third world countries do not have access to - feminine protection products are just one small example.


More about the P & G program can be found at www.protectingfutures.com. Information for donations to the IU-Kenya program can be found http://medicine.iupui.edu/kenya/donate.html

While I am talking about donations, may people have asked what the typical expense of the common items that are needed for children and youth enrolled in the OVC program might be. Here is a few: School uniform $20, Clothing $20, School shoes $10, Vegetable seeds $10, Primary School Exam fee/desk fee $30, Secondary School Exam $70, Transport to clinic $10 round trip (includes guardian’s transport also), Secondary School fees $360, Medical Emergency $100/year, & Shelter renovations $300 per house.