This Project is headed by Dr. Charlotte Almkivst, who have been heading several projects in different villages in western Kenya over the past 25 years. When she worked as a jeep doctor for Rotary she met many children below five years with high morbidity and mortality due to underlying malnutrition. 45% of deaths of children below five years is caused by malnutrition. To attack the root of the problem she then started a multisectoral project to improve agriculture, nutrition and health, that are all linked to each other. The result has been increased harvests, food security, children out of malnutrition with improved health. Many other villages request similar interventions.
Project overview
The overall goal is reduction of malnutrition, morbidity and mortality for children and empowerment of women.
The focus of the work is to identify malnourished children below five years and support their families. 75% of these children live in families where grandmother, single mother or older sibling is caretaker. Parents are dead, often HIV. The farms are small, ¼- 1 acre, the soil fertility is low and there is lack of nutritious crops. Through the project families will get higher yields, nutritious food, improved health. The school attendance will increase both for the malnourished children and their older siblings that need to stay home to care for the sick ones. The surplus of agricultural products, eggs, chicken, goat milk and kids will give income to the family.
We will also support schools with demonstration plots for agriculture for training and school lunch as well as training in nutrition/ hygiene, healthcare and children´s rights.
The project will have a direct impact on 200 children and the improvements will also benefit all family members in the homestead, around 12 people, totally 2 400 persons.
Also other villagers will benefit from trainings and seedbanks for nutritious crops, upgrading of goats and poultry. In the pilot project 2021 we noticed that the target families shared their inputs with other non targeted malnourished children.
Objectives
Increased soil fertility/ increased harvests.
Environmentally friendly and sustainable work- small scale farmers use manual, shallow land preparation that decrease carbon dioxide emission. Introduction of nitrogen fixing shrubs, like calliandra, that increase soil fertility, decrease nitrogen- and carbon dioxide emission, the leaves are used for fodder and biomass transfer, the stems are used for firewood (to prevent cutting of trees). Micro dosage of chemical fertilizers, aiming to be phased out with introduction of nitrogen fixing shrubs, biomass transfer, compost and manure (from goats and poultry). Introduction of drought resistent crops like cassava, millet and sorghum. Introduction of trees to avoid soil erosion and give fruits for sale (pawpaw, avocado, moringa).
Dairy goats
The families are prepared during several months before they receive a goat. They are trained in goat care, planting of fodder (calliandra and napier grass) and building of goat pens. Mr Omwela from MoA will scout for high quality goats of the race Alpine, Saanen or Toggenburg. The goats are big, weighing up to 60 kg, giving 1-4 l milk/ day, kidding twice a year. The goats are vaccinated and registered in Daity Goat Association of Kenya for future market and breeding. The first kid will be given to next target family in line, the following kids will be income for the family.
Poultry
The families get training in poultry care. Each family get two hens and one cockerel of the hybride race Kenbro, that give more and bigger eggs and chicken. The poultry is free ranging and the cockerel may also upgrade the neigbours´ chicken.
Increased food security
Introduction of nutritious crops (beans and groundnuts for protein, sweet potatoes and pumpkin for vitamin A, indigenous vegetables for iron, zink and magnesium) as well as hybrid poultry and dairy goats for eggs, chicken and milk.
Improved health
Training in nutrition, breast feeding, ORS (oral rehydration solution) feeding of sick child, family planning, hygiene, malaria prevention, danger signs when sick children taken to hospital. All target children and their parents are HIV tested/ treated. They are fully vaccinated and dewormed. All get a clinic card and a mosquito net. They are regularly weighed and monitored.
Microcredits
Villagers are mostly not accepted for loans at ordinary banks and interests are too high.
Through the project they may start “table banking/ village banks” that enable microcredits with low interest. They may start small business like chicken farms, goat farms, sale of surplus of agricultural products and get an income.
Indicators to measure impact
Number of children with low W/A (weight for age)- acute malnutrition/ wasting (slim)+ chronic malnutrition/ stunting (short).
Number of children with MUAC (mid upper arm circumference) below 12 cm- acute malnutrition/ wasting. Number of deaths of children
Number of children back to school
The work is sustainable through seed banks and animal breeding. The trainings give increased knowledge and skills that are spread to neighboring villages- strategy of multiplication.
Risks
Last decade irregular rainfalls have made agricultural planning difficult. Heavy rains cause soil erosion, destroy crops and increase caterpillars that invade the farms.
Drought make crops die and increase grasshoppers that eat the crops.
Floods sweeps away crops and houses
Lack of fuel, that is needed for transports to the remote villages. Increased prices, especially of fuel and agricultural products.
Lack of medicines/ vaccines for children. Lack of food if low harvests.
Epidemics, e.g. measles.
Disease of goats/ poultry.
Countermeasures
Full vaccinations of children at start. Good collaboration with hospitals/ MoH for outreach examinations/ treatments together with our teams. Reduce malnutrition. Back up budget for enriched flour in case of low harvests. Buy high quality animals, training of goat coordinator in each village to coordinate health examinations and vaccinations, prevention of diseases, nutritios fodder, buck rotation. Back up budget for purchase of hay for goats in case of lack of fodder.
This will be the focus for the coming years as it is a multiplication strategy to other villages.
The continuous training and planting of various indigenous vegetable in the communities went on well. With the current Elnino Rains, we have encouraged our members to continue using the rain water to plant more indigenous vegetables since this is the time they can reap good yields
A continuous training on Kitchen Gardens in the Communities and Table banking for the groups
The members of the communities were continually trained on how to mulch their vegetable so that they can keep more moisturize when the rains go away as seen in the two pictures above. Table banking was not left behind since the groups continued to do their Merry Go Round and Table Banking.
The introduction of these highly nutrious local crops in the School Menu have helped achieve three important goals. 1. Diversify and improve the quality of student diets, 2. Revive interest in local food culture and 3. Contribute on supporting a farmer group from a nearby village by collaborating in buying and selling of indigenous vegetable for better nutrition.
Follow up in schools for the first two months October, 2023 and November, 2023 went on well and students enjoyed nutritious meals. The only challenge was realized during the month of December, 2023 when the schools were on holiday. The vegetables were not taken care of well since no one was at school and the neighbors left their poultries to destroy the vegetables.
Community Health Volunteers are doing a commendable job on the ground whereby we are collaborating to reach out on the targeted families. Above a community Health Volunteer among other services they offer:-
Free Health Education on essential healthcare for mothers and children. They attend to the Maternal-Child Health clinics to learn how to conduct growth monitoring and conduct basic health education.
Facilitating healthcare and social services system navigation
Managing care and care transitions for vulnerable populations
Reducing social isolation among patient populations
Determining eligibility and enrolling individuals into health insurance plans
Ensuring culturally appropriate health education on topics related to chronic disease prevention, physical activating and nutrition
Providing informal counseling health screenings, and referrals
Building capacity to address health issues
A target family with her children outside their hut.
4 , Dairy Goats Synchronization in the communities
This time round we were blessed with twin goats in the community producing three – 3 liters per day per goat. The system the target families have been trained on of synchronization of dairy goats is really working on well since they goats are able to be served at the same time,
5 . Sweet Potatoes as a Golden Fruit and Fodder
Children enjoyed eating sweet potatoes yellow flavored as they are in school holidays and its vines are used as fodder for the dairy goats.
6. Eggs Production and hatching of chicks
A young boy enjoys collecting eggs from their poultries on the right and on the left a poultry chicks are vaccinated since they are being taken care of at one central place then later they will redistribute.
7 Moringa’s Benefits and Table Banking
Moringa products continued to do marvelous as the members used it to put in their vegetables and porridge at the same time Table Banking went on well
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Fodder Establishment
The above are fodders for the dairy goats in the communities where by members are transplantiing sweet potatoe vines which acts fodder for the dairy goats and its tuber is food for the children and contains Vitamins :
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“A” They have also planted Bracharia and Napier and also Caliandra. Unfortunately by the end of the month of September 30th, 2023 The hail stones also destroyed the Siaya county all the planted crops in the farms were destroyed. We are lookinf for ways to mitigate the situation by empowerig the famiies with more seeds to plant since hey already have the goatsand they need enough fodder.
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Challenges:-
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Summary:-