Community Based Program

When the project started way back in 1965, there were high infant mortality rates in Homabay. This was due to the fact that there was little awareness on pre- and post-natal care due to the fact that there were no health facilities and personnel. Due to poverty and the area being remote, most pregnant women did not get prenatal care. And during delivery, they would deliver at home and when complication arose, most of the women died leaving behind the infants.

Through the project, awareness on maternal health were promoted and this opened the area to various interventions by the government and other actors hence promoting child and maternal health ensuring that today, the infant mortality rates have been reduced.

Homabay, despite its potential, is a very poor area as compared to the rest of the country. This state of poverty has ensured that not all children could go to school. Through the project, education of children has been promoted in the area.  The project has also contributed in raising awareness on the importance of education hence promoting children to access basic education. This has been achieved through child sponsorship which ensured that children school needs (learning materials such as pens, books, tuition fees and school uniforms) were provided to the selected children.

Through the project, over 3,000 children were facilitated to acquire basic education over the years. In addition, the academy which is being run by the local partner has benefited over 6,000 pupils who have passed through the school.

The project over the years has equally facilitated many families and youths to gain relevant skills for them to be self-reliant. Many youths have been taken through vocational trainings such as carpentry, mechanic building and constructions. Today, those who have benefited are making a living from the skills they acquired through the project.

Though poverty in Homabay is still high compared to other areas in Kenya, those families who have been lucky to be into contact with the project, have improved their livelihood. Many families have been trained on various entrepreneurial skills. This has ensured that the livelihoods of these families have further improved.  Self-help groups have been formed among the guardians as a means of sustainability. The groups save together and from these savings, they get loans at affordable rates. Through this, many of them are improving their standards of living through increased incomes.

Even as the project cycle ended, there is still increase of orphans in Homabay County due to opportunistic diseases and poverty that need to be addressed. The  orphans cut short by the ended project need to continue with their education hence this call for support from well-wishers and donors both individual and organization sponsors to come in  aid of Homabay children’s project to be able to continue with this noble vision of  supporting the needy vulnerable children in this region.