We had in July 2008 given poor girls two schools in Kabondo, Rachuonyo district, Nyanza province Kenya Re-usable sanitary towels donated by an American organization, Goods4Girls. These had never been used before in this area and this donation was a trial on the efficacy of these towels on controlling menstrual flow. The disposable sanitary towels are very expensive to poor village girls some of whom are poor orphans and vulnerable children.
We carried out a survey, a year later to gauge their effectiveness and we can confidently report an overwhelming positive response from the girls. We are appealing to those who may wish to help more of these girls attend school regularly by donating sanitary towels or funds to purchase them to contact me on email:eochanji@yahoo.com.
A survey report was prepared and can be shared withy any interested party.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Updates on Project Activities
Kabondo Poverty Alleviation Organization (KPAO) in Rachuonyo district of Nyanza province is working on a number of activities aimed at poverty alleviation and building the capacity of the community to rise up to a number of challenges.
1. We are working with the Africa Book Project together with other well wishers from Canada in putting up a community LIbrary aimed at increasing knowledge in the community particularly among disadvantaged children and letting them celebrate the beauty of books. We welcome others willing to help with this noble task as education is linked to many improvements in the quality of life which will be a milestone to this region in the long term.
2. We are building a partnership with the University of Western Ontario/Western Heads East to underatke a home based care and nutrition project for children, women and people living with HIV and AIDS. The University is currently carrying out a research on the use of pro-biotic yoghurt to improve the quality of life of immune compromised people. We hope to benefit from this unique research work and hope well wishers will come forward to help us reach out to these vulnerable category of our popuation.
3. We are currently negotiating with the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help support our orphans and Vulnerable children attain education, psychosocial support, educational materials, health care, nutritional support and support for small income generating projects of their guardians.
4. We are aslo seeking partnerships from donors and well wishers to run a HIV/AIDS youth behaviour change project targeting the youth in school and the youth out of school through a wide range of participatory activities.
5. We are also seeking partnerships to help run a Vocational skills training project for older orphans heading households but who have been left behind by the hope and promise of formal education. The training will be in the area of carpentry, welding, hair dressing, catering, dress making, motor mechanics among others.
6. We are working with the community members to find out better ways of engaging in sustainable agriculture which is the mainstay of the economy of this region and also involving the poor community members in small income generating activities through the establishment of a small micro-finance scheme .
7. Currently we asking supporters to help us organize a Christmas party for 500 orphaned and vulnerable children and their guardains so as to enable them share in the joy of Christmas. Donations can be sent via Money Gram or Western Union to:
Eric Ochanji
P. O. Box 3527-40100
Kisumu, Kenya
Any donors, friends or well wishers willing to help can contact:
Eric Ochanji
Project Director
Email: eochanji@yahoo.com
OR
Barb Briggs
Projects Facilitator
Email: dbbriggs@telus.net
1. We are working with the Africa Book Project together with other well wishers from Canada in putting up a community LIbrary aimed at increasing knowledge in the community particularly among disadvantaged children and letting them celebrate the beauty of books. We welcome others willing to help with this noble task as education is linked to many improvements in the quality of life which will be a milestone to this region in the long term.
2. We are building a partnership with the University of Western Ontario/Western Heads East to underatke a home based care and nutrition project for children, women and people living with HIV and AIDS. The University is currently carrying out a research on the use of pro-biotic yoghurt to improve the quality of life of immune compromised people. We hope to benefit from this unique research work and hope well wishers will come forward to help us reach out to these vulnerable category of our popuation.
3. We are currently negotiating with the Stephen Lewis Foundation to help support our orphans and Vulnerable children attain education, psychosocial support, educational materials, health care, nutritional support and support for small income generating projects of their guardians.
4. We are aslo seeking partnerships from donors and well wishers to run a HIV/AIDS youth behaviour change project targeting the youth in school and the youth out of school through a wide range of participatory activities.
5. We are also seeking partnerships to help run a Vocational skills training project for older orphans heading households but who have been left behind by the hope and promise of formal education. The training will be in the area of carpentry, welding, hair dressing, catering, dress making, motor mechanics among others.
6. We are working with the community members to find out better ways of engaging in sustainable agriculture which is the mainstay of the economy of this region and also involving the poor community members in small income generating activities through the establishment of a small micro-finance scheme .
7. Currently we asking supporters to help us organize a Christmas party for 500 orphaned and vulnerable children and their guardains so as to enable them share in the joy of Christmas. Donations can be sent via Money Gram or Western Union to:
Eric Ochanji
P. O. Box 3527-40100
Kisumu, Kenya
Any donors, friends or well wishers willing to help can contact:
Eric Ochanji
Project Director
Email: eochanji@yahoo.com
OR
Barb Briggs
Projects Facilitator
Email: dbbriggs@telus.net
Saturday, October 18, 2008
BACK FROM THE VERGE
People living with HIV have borne the brunt of all manner of injustices, accusations, denial of services, finger pointing and seclusion in Africa and more so in Kenya. There are many who have lost their jobs, have been denied access to their own property for the simple reason that their days are numbered among many other. HIV/AIDS has rendered any other explanation for loss weight obsolete. The moment you become thin in Africa for any other reason, you are immediately lumped into the community of 'the going'.
The disease has been awarded a wide array of monikers depending on the fear of the person or the people saying it. It has been variously called 'chairman' (i.e the chairman of all diseases), 'ticket', 'slow puncture', 'the big one', 'the destroyer' among others. I salute the many brave men, women and children who have carried the disease stoically to the very ultimate end knowing they owe it to the rest of humanity to keep the faith and the hope that no else will in future be left behind by the promise and hope of HIV treatment. Such people with positive attitude have come back from the verge of desperation, death and despair and led normal lives. I have seen HIV postive people move from total weakness to engage in disciplined medication, nutrition and behaviour, joined HIV/AIDS support groups and outgrow those support groups to lead normal lives.
I want to address a very funny category of people living with AIDS who have made it a habit to 'die with others' as it were. They prey on young girls in the false hope of sharing their viral load. Another category of employed people on knowing their HIV status take huge loans from banks and engage in reckless casual sex using the colossal sums of money as a bait to the less fortunate and poor people as a final suicide mission with the rest of humanity whose only sin is either being negative or just being human.
We must condemn these irresponsible people who are visiting untold suffering to very innocent women, men and children. When the story of HIV and AIDS is told after we invent its cure, this category of people who came back from the verge to 'bomb' the rest of humanity must be told with lessons that people should never again be allowed to knowingly infect others.
In a world where the gory pictures of HIV/AIDS victims we saw in the initial stages of HIV threat are nolonger an every day occurence, it prudent to take drugs, eat well, exercise, engage in other productive activities and live. The lifespan of a HIV infected person is now at par with that of persons considered normal nut who are also suffering from many other long term and life threatening illnesses like asthma, diabetes, hypertension among others.
If HIV positive people can live as those who are uninfected, even longer, why the desire to engage in acts of sexual subversion and espionage which only end up even reducing their life span?
We are slowly conquering the battle against HIV and AIDs and people must take courage and heart to live and take part in positively contributing towards the day we shall get HIV/AIDS treatment.
That is the challenge for all of us.
The disease has been awarded a wide array of monikers depending on the fear of the person or the people saying it. It has been variously called 'chairman' (i.e the chairman of all diseases), 'ticket', 'slow puncture', 'the big one', 'the destroyer' among others. I salute the many brave men, women and children who have carried the disease stoically to the very ultimate end knowing they owe it to the rest of humanity to keep the faith and the hope that no else will in future be left behind by the promise and hope of HIV treatment. Such people with positive attitude have come back from the verge of desperation, death and despair and led normal lives. I have seen HIV postive people move from total weakness to engage in disciplined medication, nutrition and behaviour, joined HIV/AIDS support groups and outgrow those support groups to lead normal lives.
I want to address a very funny category of people living with AIDS who have made it a habit to 'die with others' as it were. They prey on young girls in the false hope of sharing their viral load. Another category of employed people on knowing their HIV status take huge loans from banks and engage in reckless casual sex using the colossal sums of money as a bait to the less fortunate and poor people as a final suicide mission with the rest of humanity whose only sin is either being negative or just being human.
We must condemn these irresponsible people who are visiting untold suffering to very innocent women, men and children. When the story of HIV and AIDS is told after we invent its cure, this category of people who came back from the verge to 'bomb' the rest of humanity must be told with lessons that people should never again be allowed to knowingly infect others.
In a world where the gory pictures of HIV/AIDS victims we saw in the initial stages of HIV threat are nolonger an every day occurence, it prudent to take drugs, eat well, exercise, engage in other productive activities and live. The lifespan of a HIV infected person is now at par with that of persons considered normal nut who are also suffering from many other long term and life threatening illnesses like asthma, diabetes, hypertension among others.
If HIV positive people can live as those who are uninfected, even longer, why the desire to engage in acts of sexual subversion and espionage which only end up even reducing their life span?
We are slowly conquering the battle against HIV and AIDs and people must take courage and heart to live and take part in positively contributing towards the day we shall get HIV/AIDS treatment.
That is the challenge for all of us.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
DECENT HOUSING AND THE COLLISION WITH CULTURE
Nyanza province in Western Kenya is majorly inhabited by members of the Luo community, a Nilotic group that came into Kenya from Sudan. This community community's chief economic activity is fishing along the Lake Victoria and small farming activities.
Most of the Luo speaking people's activities are regulated by cultural and traditional practices that chiefly centre on sexual intercourse. In era of HIV/AIDS this is a sure way of helping spread the disease. It is no wonder that Nyanza province leads Kenya with the rate of HIV/AIDS infections and death. The onset of a planting season is commenced with sex, harvesting and even building a decent house after a spouse's death. When a man dies leaving behind a dilapidated house, the widow's only chance of repairing her house or building a new one is to accept the community's choice of a man to "inherit" her. Such kind of inheritance is usually against the will of the widow and does not take into account the incidental health risk to the widow who must now succumb to the whims of the villagers on pain of being sent away from her marital home. Forever.
A widow's only chance to decent housing is to risk their lives or have sex with HIV positive men thereby increasing their viral loads and decreasing their years on earth at great detriment to the orphans left behind.
A number of couragious women are joining hands with as to say NO to this inhuman and flagrant violation of the rights of these women and would like to have better houses for them and their children. Leaking houses bring cold and discomfort to young souls who shift all around the house looking for drier palces as it rains. This has put many children and widows to frequent threats of Pneumonia, Malaria, Coughs and many other diseases. Help us build homes for these women of courage and send a strong message politely and firmly that : Yes We Can".
Most of the Luo speaking people's activities are regulated by cultural and traditional practices that chiefly centre on sexual intercourse. In era of HIV/AIDS this is a sure way of helping spread the disease. It is no wonder that Nyanza province leads Kenya with the rate of HIV/AIDS infections and death. The onset of a planting season is commenced with sex, harvesting and even building a decent house after a spouse's death. When a man dies leaving behind a dilapidated house, the widow's only chance of repairing her house or building a new one is to accept the community's choice of a man to "inherit" her. Such kind of inheritance is usually against the will of the widow and does not take into account the incidental health risk to the widow who must now succumb to the whims of the villagers on pain of being sent away from her marital home. Forever.
A widow's only chance to decent housing is to risk their lives or have sex with HIV positive men thereby increasing their viral loads and decreasing their years on earth at great detriment to the orphans left behind.
A number of couragious women are joining hands with as to say NO to this inhuman and flagrant violation of the rights of these women and would like to have better houses for them and their children. Leaking houses bring cold and discomfort to young souls who shift all around the house looking for drier palces as it rains. This has put many children and widows to frequent threats of Pneumonia, Malaria, Coughs and many other diseases. Help us build homes for these women of courage and send a strong message politely and firmly that : Yes We Can".
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Plight of HIV/AIDS orphans in Kabondo, Kenya
Orphans in Nyanza province (which leads kenya with the rate of HIV/AIDS) face a number of challenges. One of these isthe psychological trauma resulting from the prolonged illnesses of their parents.
Young children as young as 9 - 12 years old are forced to change roles to act as care givers to their parents as they live out the last days of HIV/AIDS. These include their parents facing the humiliation of having to be cleaned of excrement by their young children and the children themselves bearing the burden that is beyond their call of their innocence and youth. These people die after exhausting all the meagre family income leaving the children with nothing to fall back to.
These children need educational support (school levies, school uniforms, school textbooks and exercise books, shoes, clothes, health care and food), psycho social support and support with shelter for those who are left in grass thatched houses exposed to the vagaries of the weather.
Their guardians, foster parents and well wishers who stay with them also need training and support to be able to carry out small businesses that can help them to take care of the children in a sustainable way.
Currently 1,810 orphans are registered with us. Out of these 37 have been confirmed to be HIV positive. We presume they contracted the disease in their innocence as they cared for their parents without any knowledge about hygiene or anything else. These are the people we seek your help to support.
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