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Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
We are in the midst of the second phase of our Global Development Program in Kayafungo, Kenya. As we speak, the students are working hard to complete monitoring work on our past development projects. They are meeting with community members and leaders, teachers, students and partners to understand the impact that the Secondary School we built is having on students lives, to learn how youth are benefiting from the latrines we constructed at 14 schools, to see how behavior has changed in a community that received our Community Health Training workshop programs and finally, to see how families are benefiting from the new water dam built at Katsangani.
The group remains motivated and hard working, and we are excited to
see how their efforts lead to new projects and initiatives that will
continue to create opportunities for others in such a poor, rural
area. Life in the homestays has proven very rewarding and informative, and students have actually been requesting to spend more time in the local homesteads than at our small motel that is 15 km away. The cultural immersion is intense and exciting, and the group has really enjoyed it. Yesterday we spent the school day with the Youth Polytechnic, a wonderful community run school where children learn practical skills (construction, carpentry, metal work, auto repair) so that they may get jobs in the future. This was so inspiring, and we joined them for sports in the afternoon.
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
Lily Muldoon, project director for Kenya, has just returned to the United States. Her work is a testament to the power of individuals to improve lives. SMRC has worked with her in Kenya for 3 years, and we have achieved life changing improvements working in partnership with the Kayafungo community.
Among the achievements over the last year: Construction of 14 latrines, 20 handwashing stations, one primary school, class at a secondary school, a water dam for 900 people, training for 160 Community Health Trainers, HIV/AIDS testing and education for 132 people, rainwater catchment systems at a primary school and health dispensary, and a micro-loan for a health clinic. Young people can do anything!
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- Latrine under construction
Posted by Elizabeth Mechael, Intern
There is a real risk that development will start to go backwards in many countries as the money dries up and that the recession will lead to worsening poverty and terrible consequences for the men, women and children caught in its grip.”
- Dr. Claire Melamed, ActionAid’s head of policy
Anyone who has kids knows that every mother and father in Africa must love their children as much as they do, and to watch your kids die, to watch them die and then to die yourself in trying to protect them, that’s not right. And they’ll look back on us lot and say – “people were actually dying in their millions unnecessarily, in front of you, on your TV screens. What were you thinking? You knew what to do to stop it happening and you didn’t do those things. Shame on you.” Be great instead of being ashamed. It can’t be impossible. It must be possible.
- The Girl in the Café
Everywhere I look, Americans are in a blind panic about the economy: TV commentators, my father, my professors, my friends. I need to figure out where the money for my last semester of college is going to come from. The first luxuries we all cut from our personal budgets – before restaurants, video games, or manicures – is always ‘charity.’ It’s the easiest thing in the world to take out of a budget because it won’t affect our lives in the least. It’s hard to even picture how it might affect someone else’s life. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
This morning, I woke up to an email from my father, it read: “Subject: water; Did you see the report of the World Water Forum meetin in Instanbul, this week? By 2030 when Holden (my nephew) will be 23, there will be 3.9 billion people living under ‘severe water stress. CHECK OUT THE ARTICLE.” Not exactly the uplifting news about World Water Week that I had hoped to read about (See info about the Forum here and the article here). Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
Watch the latest film from Kayafungo, Kenya, where a dam is under construction thanks to your generosity! The dam will serve 900 families in the area.
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
In a new article written by Lily Muldoon, Kenya Project Director, the challenges facing Kayafungo are elucidated. Click here for the full article.
Here is an excerpt:
As of February this year, three people have been reported dead due to starvation. Food relief was trucked in by USAID, but the 2.2 pounds of corn flour per family is far from sufficient to assuage their hunger. The dropout rate in primary school is higher than ever because pupils stay home in search of food and water instead of attending class.
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
Last week, SMRC asked its supporters to help us build a Dam and a Secondary School. We were running short of funds, and your help would get us past the finish line. Well, you did it, and here are the pictures to show your impact. Thank you so much!!!
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
Lily Muldoon, project director of SMRC, was featured in the National newspaper in Kenya for her outstanding work in Kayafungo and her commitment to the people in that location. The article can be seen here.
Posted by Saul Garlick, Executive Director
Today we got a report from Kalifi and Kaloleni Districts where Kayafungo is located in Kenya. The report, issued by the Arid Lands Resource Management Project, details the scope of the drought that is effecting the community where we work. The seriousness of the challenge is striking. A few key points can be found by flipping through this information, which comes with graphs, tables and other easily read – but difficult to digest – information. Read the full report here. We learned that livelihoods are at risk with food crops in worsening condition and increasing scarcity, marginal agriculture worsening and ranching worsening this year. Maize and beans are at extremely high prices, and people are drinking 62% of the milk that they usually take, and now are forced to buy milk with the little money they have. Read the rest of this entry »
