Train 120 Health & Human Rights promoters in Kenya

Dear Friends, Colleagues and supporters,

Towards the end of 2016, many participants in our finance literacy workshop with women majority were wearing a yellow HFAW t-shirt with words written on the back “Poverty in Our Minds, Wealth in Our Hands.” We were able to endorse kiva zip loans worth over $35,000 to our village women (including a few men), thanks to our friend and donor among you who introduced us to kiva zip Kenya. After a while we noticed that the businesses were not growing that much. We were so convinced that access to credits alone is not enough to ending poverty. 

Workshop facilitator, Carol, a middle aged woman who works in a local financial institution and speaks local language was invited to handle this topic in Kisii language using hands on methodology. As she emphasized the value of practicing saving, Gladys challenged her. “But Madam how is it possible to save? Our incomes are very low; we hardly are able to cater for our basic needs?  We are poor.” She stated.  Carol went on to state that “I see wealth all over you. I am from this region and I know each one of us is rich. Let me ask you something,” Carol continued. “What do you have in your garden”? She said bananas, “and what do you have in and around your home?”  She said the number of goats, cows, trees, chickens, and children and “I dig in my family garden,” Said Gladys.  Carol asked if there are participants in the room with similar or more things. Everybody raised their hands up. Gladys went on to argue that “those things do not make us rich. We have no school fees, medicine, and  money. Every day we wake up and struggle. The rich people are not like us.”

Carol went on to explain in simple terms issues concerning budgeting, savings, debt management and capital building including access to credits. Let us talk about budgeting. She asked Alice who rears chickens to explain how much money she invested and how much profit she has made so far. Alice explained that she just keeps buying chickens when she gets the money and sells them when she gets a customer. She might find a customer interested in eggs and she will sell. She will use the money in buying milk for the children. She confirmed that she has never kept a single record of anything. Carol explained how it is impossible to build wealth with random activities, no budgets and no planning.  It turns out that most activities ranging from agribusiness are considered way of life and is treated as “they come and go” without any seriousness.

Carol asked where the bananas go since everybody seems to have them, Agnes explained that just two weeks prior, “a relative visited from Nairobi and carried in her vehicle because in Nairobi there are no gardens and people seem to be buying everything.”, Then Carol walked them through some costing and it turns out the bananas, if sold could have earned  her Kenya shillings 10,000. That is equivalent of $100, money that is impossible to raise from women who earn a dollar a day.  The women seemed shocked. They asked who will buy their bananas since all villagers own their own bananas. Carol then explained that she could have connected with people in Nairobi and those bananas could have earned her perhaps 20,000 shillings ($200). The room went quiet with shock.

When Carol explained how women could save milk, maize, chickens etc. and save, Erick  complained. “Madam, do you want our wives to begin denying children milk so that they can sell and save? “Everybody laughed and applauded. Carol commended the man for his great question and explained how saving is possible without starving the children and the family. How many litres of milk do you harvest? Carol asked Joyce. Joyce said she only gets three a day. Is the cow well fed? Joyce said there is drought and there is no fodder. Did the cow get enough water? Was the cow inseminated by a vet nary doctor? And so many other questions that were important that no one was paying attention to. It turns out that Lawrence keeps only one cow but is able to harvest slightly more than 15 litres a day. “Lawrence can  you explain what you are doing to get more milk?. And he went into details of how he even keeps fodder during the rainy season and use during the dry spell. He explains that he has to sell all morning milk and everybody has more than enough to use from evening milking. There were rounds of applause in the room.

“Raise up your hand if you are here and know someone who harvests 15 litres of milk”, Carol requested.   Everybody raised their hands up. Story after story of how people took things for granted, misused or underused resources, never planned, never budgeted, had poor loan repayment record and did not even inform themselves where to sell products when they had plenty left everyone in the room thinking that they are poor.  Carol used discussion groups, and question and answer method as well as Manila paper work to make her points clear. She also used her own personal stories. “A few years ago, my husband passed on and left me with four children. I was desperate and felt poor. But that was a wakeup call for me. I have saved, I have budgeted and I have taken loans and repaid them. I am educating my children in good schools and I am never stopping. “She went on.  “I was inn worse situation than you are. You can do more than what I am doing.” She emphasized to a pin drop silence.

At the end of second day, people were emotional.” Madam, when we were invited to this training, we thought it was a waste of our time because such math education should be for the children, but now I am grateful” said Eucabeth. “You have spoken to our hearts and in a way we feel very sad how ignorant we have been.” She continued.

HFAW provides holistic program combining economic empowerment with self-driven community interventions by the community women themselves such as tackling GBV beginning with FGM. But HFAW understands that for transformative communities we need strategies that help people change their mindset. For economic empowerment to occur we must provide avenues for credits but women and communities have to learn how to budget, save, make effective loan repayments and build capital. They have to access mentors, learn to network and be able to develop strategies for real markets beyond their village. We have only taken the first step in unlocking one barrier to success and after just this one training we saw people thinking hard and wondering about things they often don’t think about. Karen emotionally expressed “For the first time, I know the meaning of these words on my T-shirt. Very true that poverty is in our mind, we have so much and we think we are poor.” She continued.

You have been with us from a distance when we began this journey. You helped us in training women to be community activist; then you linked us to kivazip loans through which they launched individual economic activities. You have been there when we have been doing various advocacies against FGM, child abuse and early pregnancies. Women have launched their own credit society to access credits and pay back. How can we forget you who have unwavering support and have even donated to the credit society? We wish you were physically present to witness the joy these women experience when they discover something so profound about themselves and when we share with them that you are their angels who support these projects. They know that none of these could be possible without your support.

We have now embarked on a schedule of finance and entrepreneurship literacy and agribusiness trainings, mentoring and technical support to be conducted through the 2017. All in addition to the continuing advocacy work against GBV especially FGM. We proudly welcome you to continue supporting us. Log on and give us your advice as well and how else we can do to address changing the poverty mindset. And thank you for believing in our cause.

With much gratitude

Grace Mose-Okongo

Links:

• HFAW Facebook-describes HFAW work

Dear Friends, Colleagues and supporters,

Thanks to you, the month of August 2016 was not just an eventful month but a time of discovery. As the mothers traversed through 4 schools, they discovered that they have so much to offer to their community and to themselves. They had completed talks with students at Itumbe, Nyaronde, Mwongoli and Nyansiongo DEB primary schools. There events were scheduled on different days and spread through the month. The women spent a day in each school sharing with both teachers and students on various topics. Their presentations were based on popular education model which is very participatory and involved the teachers and students in question answer, role plays, skits/drama and educational songs on key gender topics. The key topics included discussions about FGM and encouraging the boys and girls to denounce it ones and for all. There were skits about early pregnancies and how girls become sexual prey to young men and especially when they get rides from the now very common motor-bike riders which ply in their neighborhoods as taxis. The health promoters dramatized the now too commonly known story much to the amusement of kids and teachers how ones the girl become pregnant and confronts the owner of the pregnancy, who more often than not will be a  rider rejects the girl saying “Iam not your ATM machine”. This then becomes a reminder to the girl that the money and the rides she has been getting were not for free. In other words, she allowed herself to become pregnant by allowing sex for small money or rides.

The faciliatator explained the message to the girl that in a system where men are not held accountable to their actions, girls end up being double victims and so they should take care and report promptly to teachers and parents if they are targeted by young men.

Some songs and drama raised awareness on child labor and child rights. The topic of child abuse was extremely sensitive to teachers in one school. The teacher on duty knew that the health promoters were visiting. She met the women and literary asked them not to speak to the topic of battering students. She said’ students have to undergo behavior correction using a cane. “If you tell them (meaning students) that they can’t be caned then how shall we discipline them? She appealed.  The health promoters responded humbly that they were discussing the things allowed by the constitution and guided by the child protective policy. They role played on issues of child abuse through so much labor that often stops girls from attending school or excessive beatings which discourage them from coming to school.

The children were so pleased to participate and they were asked to share experiences, and answer questions. They were also given note pads to write what they learnt, what they discovered or what suggestions or questions they had and stick them on the wall. This was very effective way of getting students feedback as they were excited in pinning their answers on the wall. Sampled repsonses include: "I discovered that child labor is abuse of children’s rights"; "I discovered that boy and girl child are equal"; "I discovered that FGM can lead to death and loss of blood";" I learnt that I could abstain from sex in order form  to complete school". Due to the positive outcome and response from the students, teachers in this school requested a separate discussion with teachers to discuss ways of dealing with students which does not necessarily involve corporal punishment. These teachers are also invited to our November training of client centered response by service providers.

Discovering that the schools have come to respect the women’s role in community intervention on GBV issues, FGM, early pregnancies and child abuse and rights transformed the way these women feel about themselves. Karen, one of the health promoters was thrilled when she reported back about the experience when she said; we really have become teachers now,” This comment resulted from more school requests from the health promoters to visit them. We had originally planned to visit two schools but ended up with four schools at the request from the neighboring schools. We still have another 4 school requests pending. We will prioritize them when we find resources.

We realize that the challenges in our community facing the girl child are many and it will take time to fully address them. We however strongly believe that the small incremental steps we are taking to empower the community tackle this issues will go a long way to change minds. We could not have done this without you, our supporters. A community where girls and women are treated as second class citizens is doomed. We invite you to continue to support us, to share information to your family and friends. Your support means a world to the girl in a very rural village and HFAW which works to bring hope to communities. Thank you!

 Sincerely,

Dr Grace Mose- Okong'o

Links:

• HFAW Facebook-describes HFAW work