CONTEXT
Kenya is an economically poor country in comparison with most countries of Western Europe. 2006 UNESCO statistics quote the 2002 per capita GNP for Kenya as US$360, whereas the same statistics give the figure $25,510 for UK in the same year. Although there have been improvements in the national economy recently [per capita GNP for 2006 was $480] and there are many signs of affluence in Nairobi, chronic poverty remains widespread in the many rural areas.
This is particularly true of the rural areas in the peripheral regions of Kenya. In Busia District, which is located on the Kenya-Uganda border, it is estimated that 67% of the population live in ‘absolute poverty’. Why has such poverty and hunger been so difficult to eradicate? Why has progress been so slow?
Some would refer to the unreliable rains and the need for better water control. However, the annual rainfall around Busia is over 1000mm, which is more than sufficient for an adequate harvest, so this alone does not explain chronic poverty. Others would mention the extremely rapid population growth. Between 1979 and 2006 the population of Western Province, Kenya more than doubled growing from 1.83 million to 4.15 million. Such rapid growth in a predominantly rural area has resulted in much smaller land holdings and the need to develop more intensive farming methods. Yet population growth has slowed considerably in the last decade: whereas the ‘average fertility’ of a Kenyan woman was 8 in 1975-1980, it fell to 4 in 2000-2005. This dramatic fall was partly a consequence of increasing school fees and also the result of the present HIV epidemic. The impact of the HIV/AIDS has undoubtedly been enormous in terms of both personal & family fortunes and in terms of general economic development. With an HIV prevalence rate of 33%, Busia District has one of the highest incidence rates in the world. It is not surprising that nearly all discussions during the SGG field visit highlighted this blight as a major obstacle to immediate progress. 2007 is an election year in Kenya and the more politically aware of that District have mentioned the poor transport and communications links with the outside world. This has meant that the commercialisation of farming has proved far more difficult than in the more accessible farmlands of Central Province. Such inaccessibility has forced local farmers to rely heavily on sales at local markets where there are many competing sellers with similar produce. Thus, there is a need to diversify farm production where possible. Yet diversification remains difficult when the majority of the harvest is subsistence food crops. The tragic irony is that, although the great majority of the population are farmers, 55% of the population suffer from ‘food poverty’ and are unable to feed themselves satisfactorily.
Not many farmers mentioned the question of soil fertility, but this has a major influence on crop production. Although there are large patches of good soil in Busia, there are also large areas of poor, lateritic soils. As chemical fertilizer is too costly for the typical semi-subsistence farmer, SGG has encouraged OWDF to start a project in which much greater use of compost was promoted.
Within this geographical and social context , and following lengthy discussions with several of OWDF’s member organizations, OWDF and SGG agreed in February 2007 to work on 3 projects for the next few years. These projects are: increased use of Moneymaker microirrigation pumps; support for 10 HIV Self-Help groups; and the promotion of vermicomposting.
Photo taken September 2008. Orphans at New Hope Emaseno wait, hoping to join a feeding project sponsored by OWDF and Sustainable Global Gardens.
SGG LOCAL PARTNER
One World Development Foundation [OWDF] started in 1985 as a youth group which promoted the growing of vegetables, such as sukumawiki, in the farming villages around Busia in Western Province Kenya. In 1995 it was registered as a Kenyan NGO. Since then its main activity, the promotion of more productive farming, has been maintained as OWDF grew, but its activities have diversified into womens groups, small business initiatives for youth, and HIV self-help groups. At present there are 51 smaller community-based groups who are members of OWDF. These include: 30 farmers groups, 10 HIV self-help groups, and 5 small business groups. The typical size of these groups is approximately 20 members, who each represent a family with an average of 8 members. Thus, OWDF is representing and influencing the development of several thousand people within Busia District.
All of these groups work on a voluntary self-help basis. They all have the same general aim, which is “to facilitate processes, which can enable people to learn, design, plan, and implement activities that can improve food security, as well as develop good social and economic status for all.”
The main contact of SGG is John Kwoba, who is the Director of OWDF. He can be contacted most easily through email at worlddevfoundation@yahoo.com. John and OWDF’s small staff work from an office in Mundika market, which is several kilometres south of Busia. Most member groups of OWDF are located within cycling distance of Mundika.
PROJECT PLAN FOR OWDF [January 2007]
The initial plan, developed over numerous email discussions between October 2005 and January 2007 was as follows:
- Investigate the suitability and cost of various handpumps available on the market. This was done in April 2006 when it was agreed with OWDF to purchase ‘moneymaker’ pumps available in Kisumu, Kenya for $100 per pump and an additional sum of about $100 for hosepipes & sprays.
- Raise the funds needed for the purchase of these pumps June-October 2006. Fund-raising began at The British School of Warsaw in June, and has continued since then. Between October 2006 and May 2007 a total of ₤2,100 has been donated for 21 footpumps & hosepipes.
- Undertake a field visit for installation of pumps & training of local pump & irrigation manager as part of 10 day field visit. These pumps will be used to facilitate dry season gardening. This will relief poverty by providing food at a time of food shortage & generate an income from the sale of some crops. OWDF held training sessions in December 2006 and January 2007, so farmers were able to make use of these microirrigation pumps during the January-February dry period before SGG arrived in Busia District. Thus, the field visit was used to monitor progress with these pumps.
- During this field visit undertake discussions with the large and varied membership of OWDF with a view to developing future project plans and funding applications. Most of the community-based organisations visited were severely affected by the high incidence of HIV and the large number of ‘orphans and vulnerable children’[OVCs] who required care. Thus, it was decided to make an application to UK funding agencies for a 5 year support programme for 959 OVCs and their caregivers.
- Subsequent to the visit produce a project report for SGG members interested in the good work done by OWDF. This report should not only help attract funds to OWDF but also be part of SGG’s Charity Object No.2, which is to educate the public concerning issues related to poverty and hunger eradication.
- After April 2007 SGG’s main concern will be fund-raising for OWDF, and a broadening of the network of those supporting SGG projects in West Kenya.
CONTEXT OF 2008 FIELD VISIT:
Since the 2007 visit to OWDF it has been our intention to visit West Kenya once a year in order to check on project progress and also to initiate new projects as the situation around Mundika and elsewhere in Busia District changes. In December 2007 it was agreed to make the annual field visit in January 2008, but the general election in Kenya on 27th December drastically changed those plans. Busia and indeed much of West Kenya were badly affected by the post-election violence, and I was warned by John Kwoba not to risk a visit.
Some of our sponsors may feel that SGG should not invest in locations where there is political instability, especially as some people both within and outside Kenya blamed Raila Odinga, the Luo political leader, for fomenting such violence. My response to this viewpoint would be as follows:
- Read ‘The Rough Guide to Kenya’ p613-624. This account provides good background reading to Kenya’s contemporary politics, which has been marred by corruption at a high level, the increasing pattern of political allegiance based on ethnicity & tribal loyalties; periodic outbursts of communal violence, and above all else the continuing grinding poverty of large sections of the Kenyan population.
- Check www.bbc.co.uk website and their country profile for Kenya. Some articles [e.g. 'Kenya's dubious election' on 8th January 2008, 'State 'sanctioned' Kenyan clashes' on 5th March] deal directly with the election and its bloody aftermath, but other comments consider the context of the violence. For example, concerning the issue of corruption, this website states, “some donors estimated that up to $1 billion had been lost to graft between 2002 and 2005″ and then elsewhere that most Kenyans live on less than $1/day. No wonder there are riots!
- Check the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website www.fco.gov.uk for a profile of Kenya, including the politics section. This will give a more official viewpoint, but one which concurs with the BBC version of the contemporary political situation.
- Check DFID’s website www.dfid.gov.uk which gives the development aid priorities, within which SGG works. For more details, go to the Kenya country profile and read the ‘Kenya Country Assistance Plan’.
- The above sources give the views of others on the contemporary situation in Kenya. In addition, I can provide two personal experiences, which relate to the violence in early 2008. One is that, while travelling in Africa but outside Kenya before the December election, I heard stories about ‘mass purchases’ of pangas [similar to a machete] in Central Province. Thus, I regard the BBC reports mentioned above as more than credible.
- Of much greater importance though is the fact that I have visited West Kenya several times over a period of 35 years. During that period I have witnessed again and again the growing frustration and disillusionment of those living in chronic poverty as they see development initiatives sink under the weight of graft and prospects of progress choked by a greedy elite. I know one simple illustration of how West Kenya has been blocked from development progress. In 1974 it was possible to travel by public transport from Kisumu on Lake Victoria to Nairobi in four hours: in 2008 the same journey takes eight hours, if you are lucky. The main highway upcountry from Nairobi, a road which provides the main trade link to Uganda, Rwanda & N.E. Congo, has been allowed to deteriorate so badly that business enterprise in West Kenya has been largely stifled over the last three decades.
Thus, although the media seemed surprised at the ferocity of intertribal post election violence in January 2008, those with local contacts among the poor of Kenya found those tragic events hardly unexpected. SGG does not wish to punish the poor of West Kenya for a situation they did not create.
By April 2008 SGG had received news from OWDF that general conditions in West Kenya were getting back to normal. Thus, after a three month delay SGG began to transfer funds to OWDF.
Nevertheless, a four week field visit to Busia District in September was not undertaken without some concerns related to the aftermath of the January disturbances. I can now report in November that OWDF seemed to have survived well during this troubled period. In fact my general impression was that the various communities around Mundika are facing the future with more hope and confidence than during my last visit in February 2007.
Are there any obvious reasons for this new found hope? During my month’s stay in Mundika I thought much about this observation and can offer three possible explanations.
- The April peace settlement made Raila Odinga, the political leader of West Kenya, Prime Minister of Kenya. It has yet to be seen whether this will bring lasting improvement for the poor of this region, but at least it gives significant hope in 2008.
- The bloodletting earlier this year may have left ethnic vendettas satiated for the moment, especially as many refugees who fled West Kenya have still not returned
- OWDF was awarded their first large grant through UNDP. This funding was given for a project to improve environmental conditions around Busia. Many members of OWDF have gained from this project.
Members of Bukhayo West Widows are celebrating the success of their ‘goat merry-go-round’ project. The widows gathered on 2nd October in order to exchange goats and also to give thanks to SGG and St Paul’s Church, Whitley Bay for their help.
There may be renewed hope in Busia District in late 2008, but there is still the ever-present grinding poverty with which the majority of OWDF members grapple. A few statistics for Busia District illustrate this point:
- 66% of the population live in absolute poverty with an income less than $1/day,
- The average household monthly income is Ksh 1239/-, which is about £10 or $15. As the average household size is 4.5, this means an average per capita monthly income of slightly more than £2 or $3. These figures ignore the value of food produced on the home plot [and often consumed at home], but they represent a degree of poverty unknown among UK citizens.
- The life expectancy for males is 40 years and 46years for females. The high prevalence of HIV in this district means that these LE figures are well below the Kenyan average life expectancy.
- Within a population of 330,000 there are 17,137 children “needing special protection”. These are HIV orphans who live on the bottom rungs of an already impoverished society. Such high numbers mean that the ‘orphanage’ solution to the presence of such children is simply impracticable in this context. Home-based care is the only option.
- HIV is not the only health problem in this locality. The biggest killer is malaria, which is particularly dangerous to children under 5 years age. Yet most children do not have the protection of mosquito nets, and the ratio of doctors to population is 1:21,875. The average distance to a health facility is 5 kms - rather too much if you happen to be ill and too poor to afford transport.
- For European visitors used to the basic necessity of a flush toilet, it is good to remember that less than 2% of households have such flush toilets.
- As for electricity, another basic necessity of European homes, less than 3% of households have such a facility.
- Thus, although the majority of the population earn their livelihoods from farming, this district cannot feed itself satisfactorily and is a recipient of food aid.
It is such conditions which provide the context for SGG’s development projects and partnership with OWDF.
PROJECT PLAN FOR 2009
From the discussions with OWDF staff and participatory meetings with member groups, the following plans for 2009 have emerged:
- The original Project 1 was to supply 20 moneymaker pumps to various farmer groups within OWDF. These farmer groups would share use of the footpump within the group, which typically consisted of about 20 members. The main use of these pumps has been increased vegetable production during the dry months, both for sale and home consumption. By April 2008 26 such footpumps have been supplied, so SGG is well above our original commitment.
- Some groups have made good use of such irrigation pumps. We found evidence of profits from one year of use being sufficient to pay for the pump. Thus, there is still a strong demand among local farmers for such equipment with some groups wishing to acquire a second pump. In these circumstances, SGG has agreed to continue funding their purchase. However, in order to encourage the rapid spread of moneymaker pumps, SGG will from January 2009 onwards apply match-funding. This means that if a community-based group can provide 50% of the initial capital [which at £50 is typically 3-4 months of members subscriptions], then SGG will provide the rest of the funds to purchase a pump.
- Some community-based groups [eg. Bukhayo West Widows] commented that the pump required more physical exercise than some members could manage, so they hope for funds to be available for other forms of investment. Thus, it is planned that SGG establishes a microcredit scheme for the benefit of member groups of OWDF. This credit will be available only to those groups who have their own bank accounts and who have already produced a 5 year strategic plan. To obtain such microcredit, each member group will need to have the prior approval of both OWDF staff and SGG. It is hoped to start this credit scheme early in 2009 during SGG’s next field visit to Busia when it is planned to have at least £2000 available for OWDF member groups. It is expected that many of the investments in 2009 will be for moneymaker footpumps, or breeding goats, or pigs, or to establish tree nurseries, or to build compost toilets.
A strategic planning meeting of OWDF staff and community leaders.
- Project 2 was established to support some 959 HIV orphans and their carers, who provide home-based care. On the grounds that orphans will not see an improvement in their lot unless their carers can get out of absolute poverty, much of SGG’s spending in 2007 was to improve the economic conditions of the carers. It is intended that a much higher proportion of funds will be spent directly on food for the orphans in 2009. It is also hoped that the principle of support of ‘£1/month’ for each orphan can also be achieved in 2009. At SGG we sincerely hope this target will be achieved in the near future, but in 2007 funding support for this project was little more than £4000 when the total estimated cost was £12,000.
- Furthermore, £1/month is the equivalent of Ksh 30/- a week, which is sufficient to give only 2 good meals per week. With only one third of the money needed being raised in 2007, it was agreed that funds were insufficient to make any significant difference to these children. Consequently, although there were requests within OWDF community groups to increase the number of orphans to be helped to 2,000 it has been decided to limit the number of orphans within this present programme to 500. SGG simply does not have sufficient funds at present to meaningfully support the original number of 959 orphans. We shall return to supporting 1,000 orphans only when a large and regular funding grant has been secured. Such a policy may sound like failure, but potential donors should appreciate that most HIV orphanages cater for 50-100 children. SGG is attempting a much more challenging task.
- While SGG and OWDF search for funds for food aid for orphans, we shall also investigate other forms of help. The most promising development at present is a scheme to reduce child malaria by the provision of mosquito nets. We are hoping to work in partnership with Dutch ‘Rotary’ doctors who manage a mobile clinic in the villages around Mundika. An initial target is likely to be the provision of 1,000 nets for distribution in this locality. In future years other preventative medicine schemes may be developed.
- Project 3, the promotion of vermicomposting received little attention during the September 2008 visit. There is a need to obtain some ‘tiger worms’ [eusenia foetida] as these are more effective than local worms. SGG will undertake to find a source and supply such worms to OWDF if Kenyan authorities allow.
- Composting attention was in fact focussed on another development, the construction of compost toilets as a replacement for the pit latrine. Such a development is one aspect of the environmental waste management project for Busia town. By 8th October a compost toilet was almost completed at John Kwoba compound. This is a pilot project, and in 2009 SGG will seek funding to construct a further 10 such compost toilets. During some of the participatory meetings with community groups, there was considerable interest in such toilets, and we expect the demand for them to be high in the next few years.
The construction of a compost toilet, built in October 2008 to serve as a model for the surrounding community.