Tree-planting events were held at Nzovuni Primary School and Dzombo Primary School in Kinango District, on the 19^th and 21^st of April 2012 respectively with the objectives of:

1)    Promoting reforestation in the programme area and ultimately contributing to increasing the tree cover in Kenya which is well below the accepted minimum.

2)    Contributing to school feeding programmes by providing a ready source of fuelwood

3)    Promoting fruit trees which provide a ready source of nutrients-vitamins.

4)    Cultivating the culture of tree planting in young children.

At Nzovuni Primary School, with a population of approximately 500 pupils, a total of 1,500 seedlings were planted while another 1,000 planted at Dzombo Primary School, which has approximately 100 pupils. Dzombo has only one tree on its more than 3 acres of land, which doubles up as a classroom for the pupils and a meeting point for parents during parents’ meetings.

The pictures from Nzovuni and Dzombo school tree planting activities 2012

The speakers on the days focused on tree planting, the effects of climate change and the need for the community to plant more trees to combat effects like rainfall shortages and persistent drought. More Emphasis was placed on ensuring the community takes responsibility for the trees planted and moves from destructive to protective environmental practices.

Demonstrations were given on the use of energy-efficient cook stoves such as the kuni mbili including the use of locally available material, production of briquettes using waste charcoal and improved technologies of making stabilized soil bricks as alternative to poles in construction. These technologies reduce the pressure on forests.

This rainy season, 17,100 trees are scheduled to be planted in 22 schools in the CRSP-K programme area this rain season as per the joint initiative of the Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Fund for the Environment (PSAKFE) and Lions Club International (LCI).

The events were very successful thanks to the contributions and active participation of all actors working for a common cause. The following organizations participated in tree planting on the two days:

• Aga Khan Academy Mombasa
• Aga Khan High School
• Aga Khan Primary  School
• Area Leaders-Councillors
• Choice Humanitarian
• Coastal Rural Support Programme-Kenya
• Dzombo pupils, school committee and wider community
• Kenya Forest Research Institute, Gede
• Kenya Forest Service, Kinango, Kaloleni and Samburu
• Lions Club, Mombasa
• Mabati Rolling Mills
• Ministry of Agriculture, Kinango
• Mwanda primary school pupils and staff
• National Environment Management Authority, Mombasa
• Nzovuni pupils, school committee and wider community
• Plan Kenya
• Provincial Administration, DC representative, DO, Area Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs
• Serena Beach Hotel, Mombasa

Youth at Sombeza CKC

World Aids Day 2011 theme is preaching Zero New HIV Infections, Zero Discrimination, and Zero Aids-Related Deaths. Every year World AIDS Day events take place across the county of Kilifi at the Coast to raise awareness and show support for people living with HIV.

There has been a substantial gain in terms of reducing the infection rates at the coastal region but to achieve Zero infections- which is possible—we have to change our attitudes and behaviours.

According to The latest Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2008-2009 , the youth are the most vulnerable in terms of HIV infection in Kenya. The HIV prevalence for girls is 2.8 per cent while that of boys is 0.5 per cent in the 15-19 years age bracket. For those in 20-24 years bracket, women have 6.4 per cent HIV prevalence while it is 1.5 per cent for men.

The Sombeza Community Knowldege Center (CKC) being mostly visited by youth to access knowledge via ICTs and in marking this date, we will be broadcasting Shuga Episode 1  to all the visitors at the center free throughout the day for the rest of the week.

MTV’s Shuga is a hard-hitting drama that follows the lives, loves and ambitions of a group of young people whose bright lives and fabulous futures are balanced on a knife-edge due to their love of risk and danger.

Shuga’s plot seems to challenge the youth while igniting a movement to change their sexual behaviour. It’s educating, and provocative.

“Hii ni stori ya ma boyz, in gear five, Madem wa fly getting down with the music, feeling fly,
Furahi day nights, music vibes, sweat and sex in the air.This is a story of true love, lust, broken trust,…….Hii ni story ya morning after, ma byebye baadayes…… 

NB. Shuga Episode 1 was availed to us courtesy of HIV Free Generation Staff after they visited our Center.

Some of the Participants at the Pasha Managers Training

The Kenya ICT Board under the Digital Villages Program last week partnered with Cisco and its partners: Appleseeds Academy and One Global Economy in the aim of delivering advanced training for Pasha Centre Managers in the framework of Community Knowledge Centers.

The Sombeza CKC was privileged to be part of this great partnership in delivering some of the sessions during the one week training at AFRALTI, Nairobi between the 24^th and 28^th of November 2011

The main aim of the training was to leverage Pasha Manager’s ability to run Pasha centers as sustainable social businesses and to stimulate the creation of economic opportunities and economic growth amongst the respective communities and surroundings.

During the training Sombeza CKC shared various tools and methods of managing a Community Knowledge Center, community mapping and community outreach. This will allow Pasha Managers to have a better understanding of their community and to be able to offer them the services that best fit their needs.

Margaret Dundo, a dressmaking graduate at her business place in Samburu

An analysis done in February 2011 on occupations of the trained youth indicate that 38 youth (22%) have started own businesses related to the vocational kills acquired, 20 youth (11%) have been retained by their trainers and are working for them on monthly pay or commission terms, 60 youth (34%) have secured employment in other places (2 youth are working in fields not related to acquired skills),38 youth (22%) have not been able to secure employment nor been able to start enterprises and 18 youths (11%) have not yet completed their trainings. In the four years only 4 youth were not able to complete their training for various reasons among them sickness, lack of subsistence, family problems etc.

This represents 2% of the total number of youth trained. The number of those not engaged in wage and self employment include 10 youth the enterprise team was not able to track and their where about are not known. One youth passed away in 2009 following a road accident.

Break down of training fields and number of youth in each.

Kirumbi is a village in Tsangatsini location in the remote dry lands off Kaloleni district in the coast region of Kenya. The village is inhabited by the Giriama, one of the nine sub-tribes of the Mijikenda community in the coast province of Kenya.

Kirumbi is home to over 2000 people rose to public limelight after initiating a community managed financial institution.

Prior to the village based financial institution popularly known within development circles as the village bank, the people of Kirumbi were organized around a Village Development Committee (VDC) to address issues affecting their daily livelihoods.

The idea of a savings and credit scheme started with a visit to savings and credit schemes by community groups supported by Coastal Rural Support Programme Kenya (CRSP-K) in the larger Kwale district. Excited with the idea, Kirumbi Village Development Committee invited CRSP to train them on how to initiate and manage savings and credit scheme. After the training the Village Development Committee approached the Kilifi District Development Programme (KDDP) to help fund the building of a structure that would later house the activities of the Village Development Committee.

When KDDP wound up in 2000 the Kirumbi village development committee approached Coast Rural Support Programme for increased interface and facilitation of the community strategic plan. Through the strategic plan development one major result was a shared vision to graduate the savings and credit scheme to a village bank which has grown to serve communities even outside the location.

Benefits of the Kirumbi village bank project

Mwayele Charo an official of the Kirumbi VDC receives a certificate during the Community Open Day organised by CRSP-K in 2010

According to the participatory rural appraisals reports done by KDDP for Tsangatsini location over 60% of the population of Kirumbi village lived in absolute poverty. As a result of that poverty percentage many households were dependent on relief provisions for food needs.

The income levels of the villagers were general poor with women and persons with disabilities being the most vulnerable.

Many children dropped out school and some did not even get the opportunity to attend school as their parents could not afford to raise money to buy clothes for uniform and school levies. Even after the introduction of free primary education with the coming into power of National Rainbow Coalition popularly known as (NARC) government in 2002 not all children managed to join school.

During this time awareness of the community on local and national issues very low and many had accepted the vulnerability as a natural thing that could not be overcome.

Through the PRA  process the villagers was able to identify key challenges/challenges to improved livelihoods and they developed action plans for solutions to same.

Apart from the savings and credit scheme, the community was able to come up with other solutions to low income and unemployment rlated to livestock production such as bee keeping poultry keeping and goat improvement. Recommendations from the  PRA process also resulted into further capacity building  community members and their institutions so that they could be informed and participate in decision-making processes both locally and nationally

Since the elevation of the savings and credit schemes to a village bank Kirumbi villagers have witnessed great socio-economic growth. The following are the specific growth areas that have been noted since the bank started its operations

Employment creation

Some community members have found work at the bank. At present the bank has 5 staff full time employees who come from the local area.

Education

The community members have benefited from a lot of trainings and exposed to other forms of learning e.g. exchange visits, exhibitions etc.

Strengthened community institutions

Community organizations through the education and trainings have attained levels of better management of their initiatives. The community organizations are mobilizing their members to

Participate fully in producing income through the various income generation activities and save the surplus.

The bank has now turned to be source of development support for the whole location. Communities no longer have to go to the urban areas to bank their earnings or open accounts with commercial banks but can now do it at the village at Kirumbi village bank.

Through the bank other communities outside the location have benefited from capacity building trainings from the leaders of Kirumbi village bank to enable them access the banking services offered.

Improved enrollment in schools

Kirumbi village is served by one primary school which is public. Since the graduation of the savings project into a bank the rate of students dropping out of school because of financial problems have reduced significantly. The bank has initiated a program of paying for the school children levies which cater for the expenses of non teaching school staff not supported through the Free Primary Education funding arrangement  and teaching staff employed by the community through profit generated from the bank transactions.

Conclusion

The process of community empowerment should at all times consider the peoples wish and build on them in order to cultivate a strong sense of ownership.

Communities for many years have remained cut off from the banking sector hence limiting their access to credit for investment opportunities but the introduction of village based saving schemes and Front Office Services agents which played a major role in improving rural economy in India if well managed can be a very effective empowerment tool especially to the rural communities of Kenya.

The 2011 day of the African Child celebrations for the Coastal region will be held in Mombasa town today. This year’s theme for the Day of the African Child is ‘all together for urgent action in favour of street children.’

The 2011 observance of this Day seeks to contribute to widespread awareness of the dangers street children face, promote the taking of urgent steps to protect them and determine strategies for providing effective child protection and care.

In 1976, thousands of black school children took to the streets of Soweto, South Africa. They protested the inferior quality of their education and demanded their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young boys and girls were shot down by security forces.

To honour the memory of those killed and the courage of all those who marched, the Day of the African Child has been celebrated on 16 June every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union). The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today.

While the exact number is unknown, Kenya is estimated to have 300,000 girls and boys living in street conditions. They are the most vulnerable to violence, abuse and neglect.

The definition of a “street child” is much debated, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has suggested that the term applies to children who a) live in urban areas; b) have family ties that are weak or non-existent; c) are forced to develop survival strategies; d) rely on the street as their main place of stay and for whom the street has replaced the family as a place for socialisation; and e) face specific major risks.

The 2011 observance of this Day seeks to contribute to widespread awareness of the dangers street children face, promote the taking of urgent steps to protect them and determine strategies for providing effective child protection and care.

Nationally, the 2011 IWD theme is: “Equal access to education, training, and science and technology: pathway to decent work for women”. This is therefore, a special Day that provides an opportunity for all women of the world to review the progress made in the struggle of equality, peace and development. It is an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize women’s efforts for meaningful change. For the women at Mariakani , it is a special moment to reflect on the progress made in terms of training, science and  technology.

Since its establishment in 2010 the Sombeza Community Knowledge Center (CKC) has demonstrated concern for the welfare and special needs of women due to the contribution that they make to the economic, social and political lives of the communities and the nation at large. Of all the participants trained till December 2010, 47 percent were women.

Percentage of Male and Female participants

Accordingly, the CKC has been training the Reach Up program partnering with Digital Opportunity Trust Kenya. The program provides participants with tools and capabilities to help them advance their economic status through building successful, sustainable livelihoods. The training mentors and coaches, providing business and ICT knowledge as well as and business development opportunities. The participants are taught how to use technology effectively and combined to produce scalable and sustainable entrepreneurship and educational development.

Women learnt the skills and need to practice them in their livelihoods and also at the CKC which is open for use to the community for practicing and also accessing knowledge. The graduates are advised to make use of the skills learnt from the training to improve on their livelihoods. They are also supposed to encourage other members from the community to enroll for the classes which are being conducted at the CKC.

As the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon says, With such technologies as ” Cellphones and the Internet, for example, can enable women to improve the health and well-being of their families, take advantage of income-earning opportunities, and protect themselves from exploitation and vulnerability.  Access to such tools, backed up by education and training, can help women to break the cycle of poverty, combat injustice and exercise their rights.”  At the CKC, women can solve their problems easily even by sharing them and reading more on how other women have solved them globally.

The IWD was commemorated for the first time on 19 March 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, following its establishment during the Socialist International meeting the prior year. More than one million women and men attended rallies on that first commemoration.

In his speech the US Ambassador said that he had come to talk to youth of Kilifi County on very special issues of youth. “My Mission was very important and was to launch ‘Yes Youth Can’ initiative which has to empower youth” Said the Ambassador. The Yes Youth Can initiative has a purpose to address on the 2008  post election crisis where youth were manipulated. The initiative will address on issues of impunity, negative ethnicity and progressive poverty.

Kilifi youth engaged in Boda boda transport business as a source of income.

Ranneberger said that US was a friend of Kenya, and that’s why helped Kenya in the formation of coalition government and now are extending support to youth through the “Yes Youth Can” initiative. The $45-million USAID program aims to encourage youth voice, youth entrepreneurship, and youth leadership. It will:

• Support quick-impact projects to promote youth voices on national issues, particularly the reform process, through independent grassroots organizations and activities
• Build new skills in youth leadership and entrepreneurship
• Establish a youth-led and managed Innovate for Change Fund that promotes economic opportunities in their own communities
• Support and expand youth networks to encourage collaboration and leverage resources
• Improve the enabling environment for youth enterprises and organizations.

The guiding principles of Yes Youth Can!

• Youth in the driver’s seat
• Transparency through agreed upon rules of engagement
• Active youth engagement in program decisions, including the Innovate for Change Fund
• Learning by doing
• Leverage knowledge and resources through partnership.

Kilifi County is an area that saw a rise in gangs and gang related violence during post-election violence of 2007-2008. In this case, the National Cooperative Business Association’s (NCBA) CLUSA International has been granted $2.5 million to administer the project in Coast Province under the USAID/Kenya Yes Youth Can program. In two year project, CLUSA International will partner with two national NGOs, Youth Foundation of Kenya (YFK) and Participatory Approaches for Integrated Development (PAFID)

The program is also supported by UKaid.  Wings to Fly was launched by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.  The President was joined by Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation and Dr. James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank and Chairman of Equity Group Foundation.

Pupils at Bofu Primary School at the Coast Of Kenya

As a result of Kenya’s Free Primary Education Policy, primary school enrolment in Kenya dramatically increased from 5.8 million in 2003 to 8.6 million in 2008. However, only 64 percent of primary students enter secondary school and even fewer graduate. The low secondary enrolment and completion rates are largely attributed to the costs of secondary education and the need for children from low-income households to work and help support their families. According to the World Bank, every year of secondary school completion translates into increased future wages. For girls, an extra year of schooling beyond the average boosts eventual wages by 10-20 percent.

Recognizing the critical importance of secondary education, the launch of the program comes at a time when the first class of students who began primary school in 2003 is now entering secondary school. In addition to comprehensive secondary education support, the young scholars will also receive leadership training, career guidance and mentoring.

This national program builds upon Equity Bank’s extensive presence in Kenya and works with local communities to select eligible students.

Recognizing the power of Wings to Fly to open worlds of opportunity to young Kenyans, Ms. Roy and Dr. Mwangi called on other potential public and private partners to join with them to grow the program to reach even more young scholars.

The Water and Development Alliance, a public – private partnership between The Coca-Cola System and USAID, provided Sh26 million ($330,000) to this project implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation.

Since January 2009, the Alliance has supported the Aga Khan Foundation and other implementing agencies – the Costal Rural Support Program (CRSP) and the Community Health department (CHD) of the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) – to strengthen water and sanitation infrastructure, promote health and hygiene in schools and communities, and increase community capacity to protect water catchments. At the end of the project, 37,000 Kenyans in Kinango, Ganze, and Kilifi districts directly benefited from this project.

The project has improved access to water supply through constructing water storage tanks, roof water harvesting facilities, and filtration galleries. Through active behavior change and mobilization campaigns, the project mobilized communities to construct pit latrines, handwashing facilities, and other hygiene facilities using their own resources. By the end of the project, latrine coverage nearly doubled in the project area. The project also trained communities on water management – over 22 Community-Owned Resource Persons (CORPS) were trained and are now equipped to maintain the 36,000 tree seedlings planted under this project.

Elizabeth Obanda of Aga Khan Foundation with Kelvin Balogun, General Manager Coca-Cola East Africa & Mozambique commissioning the project

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Kelvin Balogun, General Manager Coca-Cola East Africa & Mozambique said access to clean water and sanitation facilities is a global commitment of the Coca-Cola Company, stating: “Our objective is to deliver sustainable water resources within communities in which we do business as a major industrial water consumer. We expect that these water and sanitation projects will significantly reduce incidences of water-borne diseases in the communities and improve environmental conditions. We now call upon the communities to own and sustain these efforts.”

WADA is a joint initiative between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Coca-Cola Company that has initiated 32 projects in 22 countries worldwide, to help protect and improve the sustainability of watersheds, increase access to water supply and sanitation services for the world’s poor, and enhance productive uses of water. The Alliance is a positive example of how public-private partnerships can give localized support to those with the greatest needs for water and sanitation services, ensuring that water resources are managed to serve future generations.

The handover ceremony was witnessed by representatives of The Coca-Cola System, Coastal Bottlers Mombasa, Aga Khan Foundation (East Africa), implementing partners (CHD and CRSP,K), collaborating Government departments (Coast Water Services Board, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation), Provincial administration and civic leaders, school management committees, village development committees and the beneficiaries of the project.