| The Nyarut Village
Community Development Project has been initiated
and run by the current Coordinator, Leslee Greenaway,
since October, 2004. |
| |
The people of Nyarut and surrounding areas live in abject
poverty. The women in the village and area have organized
to form a Registered Women’s Group to identify problems
in the community, propose solutions, and work together
in improving their situation. The have an executive and
have chosen 6 individuals to lead as decision-makers.
Problems identified by the Nyarut
Village Women’s Group in 2002 include
a high number of orphans 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.
A needs assessment done in February 2006 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; rainwater and a filthy river as the only
source of drinking water; poor hygiene; no irrigation
system to bring water to the crops; inadequate and dilapidated
mud classrooms with no furnishings; no health center close
by; inadequate public 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 basic tools and guidelines
to get started. There is an active church body, which
bonds the community together.
The Nyarut Village Community Development Project
will provide the basic necessities for survival
and improved daily living. It will benefit the families,
children, orphans, 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 creating business opportunities, thus promoting long
term sustainability.
The self-motivated organization of the Nyarut
Women’s Group (2002) and the enthusiasm,
with which the village people seek assistance, will ensure
their active participation in the project and its ultimate
success. They have enthusiastically offered to help build
their new community. They have a nurse available, and
government-paid teachers, but inadequate facilities in
which to work.
This long-term project must be divided into several phases
to be manageable and realistic. The current projection
is to complete the proposed multi-phase work in Nyarut
over a 2-3 year period. Using Nyarut as a model village,
there could be extensions of the project radiating out
to nearby villages in the future. The goal is to complete
Nyarut Village Phase I by the spring of 2008. Regular
visits by the Coordinator and other foreign aid workers
during the multi-phase development will ensure the monitoring
of progress and the meeting of challenges as they arise.
A Micro-credit loan system for small business is planned.
Currently proposed business ventures include: increased
food production to market; a sewing/tailoring shop; gravel-making
(ballast) for concrete. Proposals for the future include
computer training, a cyber café, and crafts center.
A small tailoring business has just started. |
| |
| The ultimate goal
is for village self-sustainability. |
| |
