Covalent Community Work, Uncategorized

Self-Help Group Helps Farmers Navigate in Turbulent Markets
A group of dairy farmers pull together to for a self-help group in Mukurwe-ini, Central Province that helps diversify the market for milk and support the cost of education for its member’s children.

New Study Suggests HIV Unchanged In Nyanza Province
A just released survey suggests Nyanza Province had a HIV prevalence of 15 percent in 2007, which is virtually unchanged from the 15.1 percent in 2003. Nyanza district is noted for having the highest HIV prevalence in Kenya.

Community Group Improves Farming and Education in Village Beset by Poverty
Katutuni village in Yatta district (Eastern Province) was stricken with poverty so severe that many kids could not go to school. Hunger and starvation had set in and school was no longer possible. In this article, we see that the village rallied around Makutano Community Development Association (MCDA) to help improve both farming and education in the area. Their work has been a notable success and was supported first by the Safaricom Foundation and then by the Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF). KCDF is a nationally focused grantmaker that focuses on community based organizations, whose endowment has received  major support from the Ford Foundation in the U.S.

Training for 300 jua kali across Kenya, meetings note post-election violence tensions remain
A car company held free repair and maintenance clinics in Kakamega, Kisumu, Kitale, Bungoma, Mumias, Kisii Nairobi and Nakuru to maintain motorcycles. Motorcycles, locally called Boda Boda, are a main form of taxi service in the areas. The meeting also noted high tensions in the Rift Valley as internally refugees (IDPs) from the 2007-2008 post-election violence have not resettled, even after the government’s latest effort called Operation Rudi Nyambani (Operation Return Home).

The Nomadic northern Kenya has Extremely Low Levels of Childhood Education
A shockingly high 70 percent of children do not attend school in northeastern province. Of the 770,000 children that do not attend school, 400,000 are from dessert-like arid northern Kenya. The remainder of those missing school are from slum areas throughout the country. New affirmative-action strategies for the education of nomadic communities was discussed in Nakuru (Rift Valley).

Kenya

10Village Screen Shot

Communities are incredible. If you are part of a community you’re acutely aware of your needs and those around you. This has been the basis for improvements of all sorts - business, charitable, and personal - in every country. In America, we must first admit that we are almost entirely detached from what is happening in communities throughout Africa. 10Villages is an attempt to change that. (more)

10Villages, Covalent Community Work, Kenya

Greg with a family in Thika, Kenya

In the last post I said that toys for children was definitely something you should bring to Africa because they are in such scarce supply. The point of gifts is not merely a matter of maximizing the utility of the receiver - rather it is, as we have all experienced during the holiday season, to expose the receiver to something they might not otherwise be able to enjoy. Gifts are a personal reflection of those that give. (more)

Opinion

Handmade fleece pillowcases given to kids in Kenya (photo: Boyznberry)

I happened to notice a blog post by an aid worker in Ethiopia that recommended that you NOT bring gifts for kids when you visit him. Rather, he suggests, you should make a donation to Save the Children or another charity working there. I think I understand where he’s coming from. He likely realizes that resources are extremely scarce, for instance the space in your luggage is quite limited, yet the social challenges we face in Africa are tremendous. This makes people want to economize, optimize, and maximize! People want to squeeze out every last drop of value and see that every last bit of space is purposeful. However, I cannot agree that someone traveling to Africa, or Ethiopia, shouldn’t bring gifts for children. In fact, I would think that would be one of the most important things. (more)

Opinion

Kibera Soweto, East

The Kibera slum is slowly upgrading its housing from mud, dirt, sticks, and rusted tin to ominous concrete. Above is a view of Kibera Soweto we took while visiting last fall. In the skyline you see the houses being constructed by the Government and UN Habitat; below lay the rooftops of the slum residents that are to move into the new houses.

The idea is that as they move out and into the new houses it frees up more space for the Government and UN Habitat to build more housing under a program called KENSUP, Kenya Slum Upgrading Program. Ideally, the process continues until Kibera and other slums throughout Kenya are no longer a slums. The Government has long claimed that all residents in Kibera – what’s thought to be around a million people – are squatter on Government land. For nearly 50 years the Government has largely abandoned this land and now is beginning to reclaim the land and provide affordable housing for the residents. (more)

Kenya

In a previous post I expressed my shock at that lack of media coverage over deaths in Mt. Elgon in favor of covering the latest scandal within the Kenyan Government. Since 2006, hundreds have been killed at Mt. Elgon and Human Rights Watch raised concerns of war crimes. Now it appears the rein of the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF) rebel group is over due to a heavy military presence in the area.  And with this restored peace, the Kenyan media have begun covering the healing process of this war-torn community in their four part series Caves and Skeletons. (more)

Kenya

Covalent Global is still pushing ahead and facing the problems associated with giving to Africa. Our approach, has not been to combat these problems but rather to acknowledge them and work to adequately address them. For us it is about understanding what we can do, while holding true to what we should do. We are in a better position because of this.

One of Covalent’s big efforts is cutting through the black box of the aid system. We want to go beyond online profiles and snap decisions on charitable giving to engage donors with communities and charities that provide vital support. We are trying to do so in a careful and meaningful way. We also face a number of very real constraints as mentioned in my last message. (more)

Covalent Global Capital

While in Kenya meeting with groups I made an ambitious goal of starting what I called a Social Capital Network, and would later become Covalent Global Capital, in the second quarter of 2009. The date was chosen because it would mark 1 year since I went to Africa to investigate the possibility of individual giving to African-led charities. This goal was set to motivate my full efforts to bring broad financial support to community-based, self-help efforts throughout Kenya. The goal, as I mentioned, was “ambitious” in sense that this was a new venture and the possibility of failure has to be recognized.

I am sad to report that this goal was not achieved. I motivated my full efforts, my mind, my time, and my heart to this effort. I cut out all other options to assure that I held true that all my effort would see this through. This effort is not been barren but rather has born a new direction for Covalent Global Capital. (more)

Covalent Global Capital

In January 2009, we interviewed community members in 10 villages to learning more about the needs and circumstances facing each community, straight from the source. (more)

Covalent Community Work