HISTORY & COMMUNITY NEEDS- In Kenya Africa

2004

Leslee Greenaway travelled to Kenya, Africa on vacation, saw a need, and was moved to ‘act’.

The people in Nyarut, Kenya, Africa, and surrounding areas live in abject poverty. In 2002, the women in Nyarut village and area organized to form a Registered Women’s Group to identify problems in the Kenya community, propose solutions, and work together to improve their situation. Problems they identified included a high number of orphan children and widows; over-burdened elderly guardians; inadequate access to any medical facilities; poorly educated children due to inadequate school facilities; children frustrated by the living conditions running away to join gangs thus increasing the crime rate.

2006

Leslee Returned to Kenya to visit Nyarut Village to conduct a Needs Assessment on site. 

• Findings revealed a high orphan and widow population; high death rate due to malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB; elderly women attempting to care for several orphans; no clean drinking water; poor sanitation; no irrigation system to bring water to the crops; inadequate and dilapidated mud classrooms with no furnishings; no health center close by; inadequate transportation; pit latrines collapsing in rainy season; almost non-existent tools/equipment for farming; farmland unfenced enabling animals to trample and eat the crops. The people of Nyarut are eager to develop a sustainable life style, but need volunteer assistance to get started.
• 2 sewing machines and 40 mosquito nets were purchased from initial charity funds raised.
• A water specialist from University of Calgary visited Nyarut, Kenya to assess the water situation further.
• Containers of humanitarian aid supplies were applied for, received, loaded and headed for the Nyarut Village.

Kenya Community Needs included:

• Clean water
• Increased agriculture production
• More varied food supply and diet
• Improved educational resources and training
• Medical facilities
• Community Hall as a meeting and work place
• Business opportunities and guidance
• Volunteers
• Financial Assistance

The Nyarut Village Community Development Project will benefit the families, children, orphans, grandmothers, and widows alike in the immediate and extended community, by significantly improving community health, lowering the mortality rate; increasing availability and quality of education, increasing community food production, and seeding business opportunities, thus promoting long term sustainability.

In early 2010, the Project will expand to Nyangina Village, a 2 hour drive from Nyarut.  Nyangina area has needs that parallel those of Nyarut.  A team of volunteer Canadian engineers and assistants from Engineering Ministries International will visit Nyarut & Nyangina to assess for irrigation and sanitation, and a community plan will be developed.  Save-a-Village volunteers and donors will meet the need to implement eMi’s recommendations as expediently as possible.

Are you are interested in an unforgettable volunteer opportunity in Kenya, Africa? Contact Leslee at lesleegreenaway@yahoo.ca

Click to enlarge photos

Nyangina shower booth	Nyarut women preparing to plant	Oluch River serves many purposes	Parched soil and termites
Pit latrine	Preparing 'Ugali' the staple food in Kenya	Rural family	Rural grandmother
Source of drinking water	The bathhouse in Nyangina	Typical home & family	Typical mud house
Widow with children	Woman prepares lunch	Women carry water from river	Children help prepare maize
Children socializing	Cooking a meal	Fetching water during dry season	Inside bathhouse
	Latrines need replacing	Malnutrition