Kenya Community News Roundup
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).