Women empowerment

WEEP seeks to empower and create employment for the women of Asembo through a tailoring unit, catering unit, handicraft unit and a revolving fund initiative.  However, there is need to further build the capacity of the women so as to equip them with business management skills, team building, group dynamics, and gender issues and table Banking  skills to empower them. Most women in the community we realized did not complete their schooling program and for this reason we are trying to get back those who are young and willing to get an education or just basic reading and writing skills in collaboration with the relevant Ministry.

Revolving Funds

From July 2004 KSHI started organizing trainings and formations for this group of women on:

Team building

Group dynamics

Gender issues

Wealth ranking

All these is to prepare them for Micro Credit Program that will offer:

Trainings on loan management

Trainings on loan repayment

Business skills

Small loans, to small groups of women\men or individuals, who are not eligible for a bank loan because of their poor economic condition, and: - Want to start up a business - Or have emergency need for hospital services or school fees.

Achievements of revolving funds

During the year 2005 the women saved 10,200 in a group of 17 people. They decided to divide the amount to start their own business. Each member got 500 shillings. Members agreed upon the return of the money got to be within a period of six months, which is 30th June 2006. The 30 shillings contributed in the merry go round is always given to each member in turns. Women use this amount for domestic development whereby they mostly buy household utensils. Most of the members started some small-scale business eg.selling maize, beans, cooking samosa and simsim, selling vegetables and sweet potatoes. The profit got from the business differs depending with the season and product sold. This year the women have increased their savings from 10 shillings to 20 per week. At the end of the year 2006 they want to invest their savings into their own income generating initiative.The women can now offer themselves loans of up to 300 Kenya shillings, which they return with an interest of 10 percent.

Some women were not consistent in savings. The number also dropped from 23 to 17 women. This was due different economic capabilities. Some of them their earnings are meager thus has no possibility to save.

Sports have continued to play a crucial role in bringing the women together in the village. This has seen them start initiating interactions also with the neighboring villages and regions by organizing friendly tournaments. This has also helped in creating awareness of the existence of WEEP.

WEEP has continued to nurture Luo folk songs and dances. The group has since been well known in the region in dancing ‘DODO” a luo folk dance accompanied with singing.

In august 2005 23 women were trained in weaving baskets. This was with main aim of creating earning opportunities through production and selling of baskets. The two months training kick-started intensive production of baskets in the village. Women have been able to earn already from the weaving and selling that they do at their free time. Women have been able to earn up to 90 Kenya shillings per basket as net profit.

KSHI acquired two sewing machines that are being used in doll making. The doll making is being undertaken in the tailoring unit, a unit that was built for tailoring trainings, and due to lack of enough sewing machines the trainings have not taken root. Doll making also offers earning opportunity to the people who are interested.

Education

This is an initiative under KSHI, which was formed to look into the cases of education in the community. KSHI/EEP task is to do a survey and identify children who are genuinely in need, and then supported to pursue education in the community. This is done in collaboration with the child, the parents, caretakers or guardians and the school.

From their first survey they have found the following factors as major contributors to poor education in the area:

Death of parents

Lack of school fees

Child labor

Early pregnancy

Early marriage

Different Traditions

Poverty

Since EEP was established they have been able to do the following:

Did a survey on the education status in the community. Distributed education materials (donated by Danish friends) to pupils who come from poor families in the community. Due to the introduction of the Free Primary Education Program by the Kenyan government in 2003, most of the children from the families of Kanyakoo Self Help Group attend primary school. They have easy access to three primary schools that are around Kanyakoo village 28 of these children go to Raliew Primary School. This school has 660 pupils and 6 teachers that are employed by the government. However the performance in this school is better because there are some trained teachers who help in teaching and are paid by the parents. The ratio of Kanyakoo children who complete school has been generally 1 girl to 3 boys. This is attributed to the very traditional belief among some African society that girl-child education is a waste of resources, as they would get married off.

As much as the people can now boast of Free Primary Education, and that the parents are relieved of paying school fees in the primary schools, buying of text and exercise books, the learning situation is still not any better:

In Aduoyo Primary School, pupils are still learning under the trees.

One textbook is shared among 3-5 children.

The schools are understaffed with teachers. One teacher teaches up to 80 pupils in a class.

The parents have to build and maintain the school by themselves.

The parents have to buy the school uniforms.

No food program in the primary schools.

Until now more than 80 children and youths have gone through the basic Primary, secondary and College education through the support from Kanyakoo Self Help Initiative.

Health care

This was a journey that took us nearly five years. A journey that started from make shift medical camps under the tree to provide basic health care to the community of kanyakoo and the neighboring villages of Asembo, to a temporary structure that has been used by volunteer clinical officers to offer medical services.  Through the support of different friends and partners we built Asembo Bay Health Clinic. The opening ceremony of KSHI’s Asembo Bay Health Clinic was attended by the Danish Ambassador to Kenya and his wife in 2009.  The clinic provides Primary health care services, Post-natal and Anti-natal services, Voluntary Counselling and Testing and a Support Centre for people living with HIV and Aids. The clinic is a Centre for preventive health advocacy.

Asembo bay health clinic

The clinic provides Primary health care services, Post-natal and Anti-natal services, Voluntary Counselling and Testing and a Support Centre for people living with HIV and Aids.

Health care services

The opening ceremony attended by the Danish Ambassador and his wife, has been established with support from West Kenya Friends(WKF) and Kanyakoo Self Help Initiative’s own funds (mainly collected from the 'Run-for-Asembo' sponsored races) . The clinic provides Primary health care services , Post-natal and Anti-natal services, Voluntary Counselling and Testing and a Support centre for people living with HIV and Aids. WKF and KSHG manages the operations of the clinic while the services are to be financed by minor patient contributions.

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Our programs

Giving our children a future

Education

This is an initiative under KSHI, which was formed to look into the cases of education in the community. KSHI/EEP task is to do a survey and identify children who are genuinely in need, and then supported to pursue education in the community. This is done in collaboration with the child, the parents, caretakers or guardians and the school.

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There are lots of deseases

Health care

This was a journey that took us nearly five years. A journey that started from make shift medical camps under the tree to provide basic health care to the community of kanyakoo and the neighboring villages of Asembo, to a temporary structure that has been used by volunteer clinical officers to offer medical services. 

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Their business is our business

Women empowerment

WEEP seeks to empower and create employment for the women of Asembo through a tailoring unit, catering unit, handicraft unit and a revolving fund initiative .....

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Your business is our business

Youth development YEEP

YEEP seeks to empower the youths through creative initiatives such as organizing theatre performances, football trainings and tournaments and awareness campaigns against HIV/AIDS.  This is an initiative under KSHI that brings youths together to develop themselves educationally, socially and economically .....

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You are what you eat

Food security program

This program seeks to work with local community to ensure food security through sustainable farming! The development of human resources is essential for food security in asembo.....

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