Empower, Engage, Educate in Rural Kenya!

Twenty-seven parents of students at the Mbuini Primary School gathered for a two-day workshop to learn about beekeeping. It's our latest initiative to support parents in our community with income generating projects. 

Unfortunately, our community has missed THREE CYCLES of rain due to climate change. This means that crops and livestock are dying. Some boreholes are drying up and families are without food. This, coupled with inflation and the lack of wheat from Ukraine, is causing many children to go hungry. The Mbuini School is one of our partner schools hardest hit. In addition to trying to connect them to school feeding programs, we launched the beekeeping program as an income generator.

Providing this opportunity for parents to earn income is a huge boost. Honey is a high demand product that is in short supply so we believe it is a win-win for the beekeepers. Along with teaching women about managing the hives and harvesting the honey, our staff will be working with them on selling the product and managing the income. Kenya Connect will receive a small portion of the profits so we can invest it into more hives so we can work with other groups of parents.

This initiative, coupled with our LitMoms Sewing Project and the growing of Moringa Trees is providing opportunities for parents to learn new ways to earn income while also engaging in activities like Read Alouds to promote literacy. In addition to working with the parents on these income generating projects, our staff talk with them about how to support their children's learning, especially reading.

We are also doing some special programming with students. We now have a Moringa club at Ngangani and Manzoni Primary Schools where we are growing trees. Students are also learning about the importance and use of Moringa as a nutritional product and source of food. They are learning about the various parts of the plant and how they are used. In addition, they are learning about the environmental and climate impact of planting more trees. Muuo, a Moringa Club member shared, "I will apply water and compost to the Moringa plant so that it can be strong."

We couldn't do this work without donors like you! Your gift empowers all of our programs. Including ones for our parents! Our deepest thanks and gratitude!