Report from BHW Kenya Partnership Facilitator Following Visit

Key Person: Grace Abanga

We visited Grace at her home in the Nyamasore area. We were able to see her chicken project and walk to see her tomato plot which was doing really well. We were unable to see her other plots as the heavy rains had made the pathways too difficult to get to. We then returned to her house where we meet some of the elderly ladies who are a part of the project.

Recent Events

Activities

In recent months Grace had purchased 100 chickens. They have sold 50 of them and have about 35 left over. The chickens are producing about 20 eggs a day which they gather and sell as trays of 24 to people in the markets who then on sell them. They also have people from their village purchase single ones, but they make more profit when they sell the trays to the markets. They do make profit on the chickens but at this stage not a lot due to the price of the feed which is also not good quality.

Grace has had challenges with the chickens saying that it is like caring for a baby. Now that has had trialled the chickens and learned what works with the challenges she feels like she can purchase another 100 and make more profit. The profit goes to support the elderly ladies in their group. There are currently 8 women in the group as 2 have now passed. They have also added a man to the group called Fred who needs to walk with a crutch.

Her women’s group had recently harvested their maize which was a good yield. Grace said they can sell each sack of maize for about 5000 shillings (US$39), and they had about 15 sacks from this harvest. With the earnings they put what they need aside to plant the next seasons crops and they give some out to the women for living.

The tomato crop was looking good and local villagers were coming to purchase them. They have a pick your own process there and they pay for what they pick. They had had some heavy rain 2 days ago which destroyed their capsicums and caused some damage to the tomato’s. 

New Profiles

While we were here, we met John (photo below right) who they called Chairman because he is the chairman of the group. He oversees the plots and the sales of the vegetables.

We also met Fred who has come into the group of women to help, and he does most of overseeing and coordination.

Partnership's Influence within the Community

Grace has said that the village is changing now due to the farming. The evidence is the families are more settled, working hard on the plots to pay for their kids to go to school. This is a challenge as secondary school gets so expensive.

The young men have become much more responsible, getting into employment and planning their futures. They are not wandering around anymore doing substances.

Ideas for the Future

Grace is going to lease another plot of land next to their tomatoes to expand their crop yields. They are waiting for the ground to dry so they can clear the land and plough it. The rains have made the soil too hard to work with.

She would also like to get more chickens as she has said that it is more affordable with better profit if you have more chickens.

Current Issues and Challenges

The elderly women’s health is not great, and they struggle to meet their day-to-day needs.

The chickens are getting vaccinations, but Grace is concerned about the quality of the vaccines as the chickens are still getting infections.

The cost of the chicken feed is very high, and the quality is not good.

The hippos are coming up from the lake in the evenings and destroying the crops. They are trying different things to scare them away like bright spotlights and banging loud noises. But it is still hard to stop them.

The chicken house also needs electricity to it for warming lamps for the chicks.

Prayer and Praise Points

Prayer:

- For the elderly women’s health
- For good crop growth
- For the health of the chickens
- For the youth of the village

Praise:
- The chickens are laying a good number of eggs
- The crops are growing well
- The women are able to make an income
- The village is changing positively as a result of the farming projects.

Comments

Grace is doing a really good job in her village. She would like money for a few things, especially a grinder.