Restoring hope and dignity in Western Kenya Communities
ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
OMWABINI COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROGRAM
MAIN CONTACT:
JAMES BUNYASI, HEAD OF FINANCE.
ADDRESS: PO BOX 225, KIMILILI, KENYA, WEST AFRICA.
E MAIL: jbunyasi@yahoo.ca
OMWABINI PROFILE UPDATE MARCH 2009
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
Omwabini is a registered-1000342- Kenyan Community Based organization working to approach issues relating to poverty and AIDS through simultaneous initiatives directed at individual families, community groups and communities as a whole. Over the last three years, through the support of our partners and the commitment of Omwabini to maximize all of its resources in order to sustainably serve as many orphans/communities as possible, Omwabini has grown in its ability, scope, vision and resources 10 fold. Omwabini has programs working in areas such as child nutrition, community agriculture training, water and sanitation, AIDS & sexual health education in local primary, secondary schools and local communities, vocational training and micro-enterprise. Yet Omwabini’s work with orphans, widows and poor families remains at the centre and foundation of our work. Our community support program is an eight-part program focusing on the rehabilitation and capacity building of orphans, widows and orphan/child-headed families, health education and education support in local schools and protection of water sources in eight project areas in Western Kenya. Our Community Outreach Program consists of eight components, Relief, Agricultural Training and Support, Counselling, Economic Empowerment, Nutrition, Education support and water. Omwabini receives funding from Positive steps (UK charity), The SED Fund (US charity), Canada international development agency (CIDA) and Mother Rev.Mary Austin a Methodist minister in the United Kingdom. The Partners provides technical and financial support while Omwabini is the implementation partner. Further technical support from the United Kingdom and United States of America in the field of health, water & sanitation and ICT has been made possible through new partnership with American Peace Corps, and Real Gap Experience. Together we have built a strong relationship with all our partners over the past years. Omwabini’s goal is to target approximately 1500 families in 8 project areas over the upcoming 3-year period with grant assistance from new willing partner organizations. The goal of the Omwabini community support Program in our beginning stage two years ago was to work with 6 families every 6 months. Our current ability allows us to work in 8 geographic project areas. Whatever future challenges and opportunities may come, we will protect the standards of our work so that we can maintain the highest degree of efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. Our process has been honed and our goals have remained clear so that we may provide orphans, widows and impoverished families with relief, skills, tools, resources, and the emotional and technical support needed so as each family may begin on the path to lives of sustainable, healthy living and self-sufficiency.
1.1 OUR MISSION
The mission of this program is to work with the widow/orphan families in Western Kenya where child-headed/widow headed homes are an increasingly common social and developmental issue. These children-widows most often slip through the cracks of larger and broader “whole community” development efforts because of they are socially isolated and ostracized as a result of the stigma of AIDS which is the primary reason for the deaths of so many parents, spouses and guardians.
2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
Orphaned children and widows in Western Kenya are usually left with very little to sustain them as most of the families resources
have been exhausted during their parents’/spouses illness. After their parents/spouses die, often time’s five to eight or more children
ranging in age from toddlers to 16 years of age are left to provide and care for themselves and each other as their living conditions deteriorate.
The resulting situation in Western Kenya is that orphans/widows find themselves having to scavenge for food and because they are cut off
from community support due to the AIDS stigma. Little bodies wracked by a
combination of disease and malnutrition pre-empts the appalling living conditions that these orphans and widows are subjected to. The point is that all over Kenya, the same situations exist. All over Kenya, AIDS orphans and widows are either dying or languishing in poverty needlessly in the absence of appropriate basic support. And as always, solely because they are children or voiceless women due to their HIV status they stand at the bottom of the list of priorities. The goal of Omwabini’s community support Program is to meet the immediate nutrition requirements and basic living condition needs of these families. After food, clothing and shelter needs are met; we provide these families with the skills, tools and resources necessary to begin on a path toward sustainable, healthy, and hopeful lives. They will receive continued emotional and technical support but will be supporting themselves economically. About 10 per cent of school-going children between ages 5 and 18 years are infected with the fatal virus. The scourge is worse of from without a factor that calls for HIV/AIDS and sexual health education program both in the communities and in local primary and secondary schools.
Our needs assessment findings have also revealed that local communities, schools and CBO’s have poor record-keeping and financial management systems, do not share experiences or exchange best practices with others, and lack the capacity to process, manage and gainfully utilize available information. There is no doubt that accessibility to ICTs by our local communities will significantly improve the management of CBOs, schools and the quality of service that they provide to their members in particular and to the development process in general
Finally, over 85% of illnesses reported at the local clinics are water–related. It is common to find the same surface water being used for washing, cooking, drinking, and bathing. Such sources are also shared with livestock and are continuously prone to heavy organic pollution.
2.1 CAPACITY STATEMENT
The objective of Omwabini is to create sustainable projects and progress, reintegration of marginalized groups including orphans, street children, widows, and those suffering from AIDS, into communities of support and care, organize and empower communities and community groups, establish programs encouraging community nutrition, health, and sanitation. The further objective is to train individuals and groups in improved sustainable agriculture practices, and to improve the living standards of individuals, families, and groups through micro-finance and micro-enterprise programs. Our vision for these orphans, families and communities is that each may have the ability to sustain healthy living conditions, provide for their own needs, increase their own opportunities, and to continue sustainable progress and change.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
The first task of the Omwabini community support program begins with initial Relief Efforts. We target orphan-widow families who are living on their own in poor and deteriorating living and health conditions. The Omwabini’s Project Implementation Committees (PIC)* and Project sustaining Committees (PSC) are organized and trained in each of our current 8 project areas. PICs’ and PSCs’ begin building trusting and caring relationships with orphan-widow family as they help build or repair a home so that they have adequate shelter. This gives the children a sound and healthy place to live and begin rehabilitation. The PICs’ and PSCs’use materials mobilized by the community and funds or supplies donated by Omwabini in the home preparation stage. The need for a safe and adequate home is deemed an essential first step in the health of the orphans/widows. Approximately half the cost of home construction (100 pounds total) has been and will continue to be mobilized by the community including labor costs. Through the facilitation and support of Omwabini, the PICs of each of our 8 project areas have identified 10 families in each of their areas and will construct on average one home per quarter depending on availability of financial resources. The initial relief stage of our program also provides orphans/widows with food, strengthening their health and continuing the creation of a trusting caring relationship between the orphans, their PIC, and Omwabini. Orphan-widow families are supplemented with basic foodstuff during the programs initial relief and evaluation stage, agriculture training stage, and/or income generating activities. The combination of improved living conditions and food security lays a foundation of trust and hope between the orphans-widows and Omwabini. With their basic needs secure in the short-run, the orphans/widows have the motivation and encouragement to learn new skills, start new projects, and begin the process toward sustainably improved living and reintegration into the community around them.
The second step or aspect of the community support Program is Agricultural Training and Support. Orphan-widowed families are trained in sustainable agriculture techniques including basic land preparation, planting, care, and harvesting knowledge for traditional crops. Additional techniques of crop rotation, water conservation, crop diversification/non-traditional crops, and organic fertilizers and pesticides are taught. Orphans/widows are then supported by our partnership in their agricultural efforts with seed and land preparation. Through the PICs it is the orphan’s local communities that participate in the land preparation support. As crops are harvested and orphans/widows are able to sustainably meet their basic needs, the families are encouraged give a portions of their seed to be used to reach the next group of orphans/widows. This small portion of repayment and support for the next family helps build a sense of self-respect, concern for others still in great need, and community support.
The third aspect of Omwabini community support Program is to provide orphans/widows with counselling and emotional support. Orphans and widowed families are provided with counselling by Omwabini staff as they face the sadness of the death of their parents/spouses as well as their feelings of lost security, and fears about their future. Omwabini’s counselling staffs help create new relationships of trust, support, and love. Omwabini staff work to bring orphans and widowed families back into a network of community based relationships and support. Part of Omwabini’s counseling process is to create mentoring relationships between newly reached orphan-widowed families and orphan-widowed families that are successfully progressing and sustaining their development through the programs support. Individual members of the local community are also asked to take on a support role in the orphans’ lives. Such community members can keep a parental eye on the children and families. As a result, orphans have an adult they can turn to in times sickness, fear, or struggle. The counseling aspect of our Program, through the use of community members and other strengthened orphan-widowed families, promotes and encourages the reintegration of orphans into their communities. The very fabric of the community and culture of Western Kenya is strengthened, and orphans are given an emotionally sustainable base from which to begin healing and growing in what can be a new life.
The fourth aspect of our program includes efforts towards Economic Empowerment. Economic empowerment activities for impoverished families include the oxen project, animal support project, and the micro-enterprise project for PLWA’s and women groups.
Omwabini’s efforts for economic empowerment among orphans include a bicycle and oxen program. These bicycles are used to start small income generating “bike taxi” business. Bike taxi’s have a padded seat over the back tire and are a common form of transportation for individuals and goods between towns and villages. With these bikes orphans are able to create cash income to be used to send a younger brother or sister to school, pay for medicines, or supplement food grown on their land. Through their daily profits the new owners of these bikes will be able to generate an income for their families and to additionally to put aside Ksh. 25 each day for a period of Six months. This will total to Ksh. 4,000 per bicycle at the end of six months, which will then go toward the support of other orphans. Omwabini is currently able to purchase a new bicycle with Ksh. 4,000. Still under community empowerment program Omwabini educates the communities to be self reliant so as they are able to support the orphans, vulnerable children and the poor in their midst. The activities involve supporting the committees with oxen’s for food security and also for Income generation. Some communities are also facilitated to establish health units run by trained community members with an aim of taking care of their own sick and also as a means of revenue for general community support. The incomes generated are used to support the orphans, vulnerable children and the poor. Further activities involve giving small grants to poor women groups and training them on various viable income generating activities.
Through the oxen project, orphans plough people’s land for income and their own land for food security. Omwabini’s work in the area of economic empowerment amongst orphans helps continue the sustainability of their development and progress. Economic empowerment helps create greater self-respect and self-sufficiency among the families.
The fifth aspect of our community support program is the maize and vegetable gardening project. Omwabini grows its own maize crop and vegetables on site. The crops are for the households being supported by the Home-based Care and Community Outreach Programme. The field workers give food packs to those in need, ensuring that those most vulnerable are able to build up their strength through proper nutrition, and are assisted with the responsibility of feeding their families. This is important, since a person who has not eaten cannot be given medication, whilst a child who has not eaten cannot learn. To set-up the project, Omwabini has worked in partnership with the ministry of agriculture to provide training in gardening skills. The field workers are trained themselves, and in turn coach and train the families. The start-up seed and tools are provided by Omwabini
The sixth aspect of the Omwabini community Program is the support and provision of orphans with formal education. In 2003 Omwabini began their own primary school. The Neema Shields School reaches out specifically to poor and orphaned children of the larger project area. This school is a not-for-profit institution and works to eliminate financial barriers. Profit based schools require fees and mandatory uniform purchases, which keep poor children out of Kenya’s privatised school system. Omwabini purchased the majority of the building site, while local communities held their own fundraisers and organized materials for the making of mud bricks. The community volunteers and Omwabini staff have all worked together in the construction of 4 classrooms made of non-permanent materials. Classes are currently being held in the non-permanent structures while funds are being raised for the final construction of the permanent school building. Secondary school orphans benefit through school fees support from the organization. Omwabini has also purchased land and established a permanent vocational training unit at its Care Center in Kimilili where courses such as tailoring, Knitting, carpentry, embroidery, Typing and computer are offered freely for complete orphans and at a subsidised fee for able community members. The vocational training programs equip orphans and communities with basic vocational skills so that they are able to begin own initiatives in their own communities upon completion of the courses.
Plans are underway to introduce carpentry upon acquisition of more funds.Omwabini also works with local prívate schools i
n various project areas to negotiate educational opportunities for local orphans. Omwabini has successfully helped orphans
receive lowered tuition fees and the ability to pay fees with harvested foodstuffs.
The seventh aspect of Omwabini community support program is the area of health. Omwabini runs a mobile clinic program that reaches out to the local communities with affordable medical services. Omwabini also runs a care and support program for the HIV positive people and is currently taking care of over 100 HIV positive widows. There is also a sexual health program in primary and secondary schools. This program teaches children consequential thinking and empowers them with decision making skills that will help them avoid contracting the HIV virus. In primary schools the S.H.E. program targets children during the “Window of Opportunity” (ages 9-14) before children become sexually active. The program includes a three-prolonged approach, which involves teachers, students, and parents/guardians. The SHE program has the potential of reaching millions of Kenyan because it is incredibly cost-effective due to a core of dedicated volunteers and the utilization of school teachers who are already being paid by the government. The SHE brings hope to a country that has been ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. SHE is a fresh new positive approach that includes culturally appropriate lessons, pictures, songs, and skits and is enthusiastically embraced by the Kenyan people wherever it is introduced. Through the program, children are empowered to make choices that will literally enable them to make informed decisions.
The eighth and final aspect of Omwabini community support program is in availing clean water to the local communities through protection of water sources especially springs. Over 85% of illnesses reported at the local clinics are water–related. It is common to find the same surface water being used for washing, cooking, drinking, and bathing. Such sources are also shared with livestock and are continuously prone to heavy organic pollution. The PICs’ and PSCs’ use materials mobilized by the community and funds or supplies donated by Omwabini in the spring protection activities.
4.0 STAFFING
The organization “staffing” including all community representatives and project communities are made-up primarily of volunteers. Our desire is to serve our own neighbours, community, and country. We do not want to simply create a means of employment and a source of income for community staff as “development workers” through foreign or domestic charity. Further technical support from the United Kingdom and United States of America in the field of health, water & sanitation and ICT has been made possible through new partnership with American Peace Corps and Real Gap Experience. Together we have built a strong relationship with all our partners over the past years. Omwabini staff and Board of Members comprises professionals from the Information technology, medical, academic and, business fields. They too are partners with Omwabini, bringing their expertise in their relevant fields to the organisation. This ensures viability, sustainability, and a code of excellence.Committed to serve orphans, families and communities living in poverty, we endeavor to restore hope and dignity and have forgone expenses that would ease our working conditions, such as new vehicles or nicer offices, in order to carryout the strongest community serving projects and programs possible.There is still need to employ more staff to ensure the successful running of the various programmes. Without the cleaners, gardeners, laundry staff, kitchen staff, teachers, care-givers, nurses, doctors and other operational staff, the needs of orphans, widows and impoverished families who have been so violated by HIV/Aids, will not be met.
5.0 FUNDRAISING/FINANCIALS
Omwabini, receiving financial and technical support through Positive steps, the SED Fund, Canada International development agency, St Johns Methodist Bloxwich church, America Peace Corps and Real Gap Experience. We work to minimize overhead, promote community participation and empowerment, and create sustainable projects and progress amongst those they serve. Omwabini community support program is currently run on a budget of about 27,000 pounds per year, if funding were granted for the Omwabini Program, the funds currently making the program possible would be moved to strengthen and expand programs begun in the first 2 years of the program. However, we will continue to share about 10% of the programs cost. As the major capital investments (school construction, tailoring machines, and computers) will be made in the first and second year, Omwabini will be able to plan for the transition in funding allocation as the grant comes to an end. Omwabini will both continue to seek out and diversify funding sources from individuals, private and government grants, churches, other partnering NGOs.
As a focused organization we are committed to developing through our technical support, strong systems of project/program reporting and financial accounting in order to create and maintain donor/organization relationships of transparency and accountability. We have helped establish strong community participation in the forms of labor provision, cost sharing, and resource mobilization.
Omwabini is committed to creating, all of the standards that our donors desire to see in a community development partner. We have worked extensively with our donors to create strong accounting and reporting practices in order to maintain a transparent relationship of accountability. Together with our funding partners, we have examined all programs, projects and expenses as Omwabini has grown so as to maintain the highest quality development work with the most efficient use of all funding. Further financial support would give Omwabini (as the implementation partner) the opportunity to expand our work, knowledge, and service through our community support Program which reaches one of the most needy, suffering, and vulnerable groups in the third-world.
Considering our community support Program is an ongoing program with a great capacity for growth and expansion, it has been our limited budget during our first two years that helped us develop skills and an keen awareness for the efficient and effective use of our resources and an understanding of the importance of community and family investment (be it the mobilization of resources, funds, labor, or repayment into revolving funds) that maximize the sustainability of our work and their progress. Hard/soft copies of the Omwabini’s financials are available on request. These include an Income Statement, a Cash Flow and planned activity cost Projection for a twelve month period.
6.0 PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS
Omwabini receives funding from Positive steps (UK charity), The SED Fund (US charity), Canada international development agency (CIDA) and St Johns Methodist church Bloxwich (UK). The Partners provides technical and financial support while Omwabini is the implementation partner. Further technical support from the United Kingdom and United States of America in the field of health, water & sanitation and ICT has been made possible through new partnership with American Peace Corps, and Real Gap Experience volunteers. Together we have built a strong relationship with all our partners over the past years. Omwabini Board of Members comprises professionals from the medical, academic and, business fields. They are partners with Omwabini, bringing their expertise in their relevant fields to the organisation. This ensures viability, sustainability, and a code of excellence.
Omwabini’s programme staffs works collaboratively with a number of representatives from government, the community, and the medical sector in an effort to bring broad-based social change in the 8 project areas. We pray and hope to achieve the following through new partnerships and collaborations:
7.0 GIFTS IN-KIND
Goodwill donations cover a fair part of OmwabIni’s day-to-day running expenses. Churches and well-wishers donate clothing food to the Home-based Care programme while health and agricultural professionals give of their time for free.
Not all who work at Omwabini are employed. There is no doubt the help of volunteers is a valued donation of time and skills. There are those who volunteer their services because they care about the impacts of the disease. There are those who want to be busy at what is proving to be a very vibrant and active rural node. At any given point, there are at least 10 foreign volunteers (from Real Gap Experience UK) helping out and sharing their skills and approaches to the work.
7.1.1 IMPACT OF THE APPROACH
Since Omwabini began its work, no thorough impact assessment has been done. However, there is evidence of change and upliftment in the communities with which it works. Staffs have determined impact indicators for the programmes, and records for analysis are routinely kept. This is with a view to establishing a database of statistics, as well as a thorough study of the organisation's impact.
SOME OF THE BROAD INDICATORS THAT ARE CURRENTLY USED TO ANALYSE IMPACT INCLUDE:
· Frequency of illness among beneficiaries, as well as the number of PLWAs who are able to manage their wellness because of access to medication and care.
· The number of child PLWAs who are well for longer periods of time, because of the medical care received. Included in this, is their levels of school attendance, and their school results.
· Nutrition levels of people (both adults and children), and the length of time for which they are able to resist illness.
· The number of households, which access lean drinking water, and the extent to which people are aware of their availability.
· Behavioural change and formation amongst both school going and non-school going youths.
· Number of meals per day and acreage under cultivation amongst our targets
· Monthly income level amongst our targets.
· Number of households benefiting from house construction program
· Number of orphans benefiting from our vocational training programme.
· Levels of empowerment amongst women in the 8 project areas.
8.0 OUR VISION
8.1 OUR VALUES
8.2 OUR WAY FORWARD
8.3 REFEREES
METHODIST CHURCH MINISTER
ST. JOHNS BLOXWICH/KIDDERMINSTER - UNITED KINGDOM
EMAIL: mary@austin4001.freeserve.co.uk
THE SED FUND USA
EMAIL : hamstraluke@hotmail.com
9.0 BANK DETAILS
v BARCLAYS BANK ELDORET BRANCH -CURRENT ACCOUNT
v ACCOUNT NUMBER 8835866
© R.Sharpe. 2009.