A Community With Vision!

We, and no doubt many of you, have read books such as ”When Helping Hurts” and “Toxic Charity” which outline how well-intentioned acts of charity often forget to start with people in the communities and as a result these “good works” lead to a reliance on handouts and a lack of self-determination in communities around the world.  Here too in Kenya, we see evidence of many projects done “for” a community to alleviate suffering rather than being done alongside them.  Schools have been built, boreholes for water have been drilled, storage tanks for water have been erected, orphanages sponsored, sanitation and hygiene training has been provided – all generously donated and provided by individuals and organizations that care.  Unfortunately, developing the long-term capacity of individual communities has often not been realized in these projects.

Our National Disaster Response Manager for Kenya, Chris Shiundu, emphasizes that “true change must come from within the community”.  Last week we witnessed exactly this in a small community named Chidzipwa (you won’t find it on Google!).  It is a small, isolated farm community that has one hundred beneficiaries.  As part of our ‘food for asset’ project, these beneficiaries are going to build a water pan to serve their community in exchange for food supplies.  Each beneficiary is committed to working twelve days per month for five months.  So enthused and committed were these beneficiaries that, in spite of some delays in finalizing and obtaining approval for the location of this new water pan, they started to dig anyway in the approximate area.  They also recognized that the location of the water pan is difficult to access, so they began working on a new road to get there.  When we visited the location a few weeks ago, we were amazed at how much of the new access road had already been cleared and how much of the water pan had been dug by these one hundred beneficiaries is just twelve days!

When we visited the area they had already excavated we were greeted by a wonderful sight!  The surface water from a recent rainfall had filled this strategically placed “pond”! The work site supervisor, Immanuel, and a Muslim committee member named Ibrahim, told us that the beneficiaries were thrilled to witness and receive such immediate results.  While working on the adjacent permanent site of the water pan they were able to drink this clean water and were also able to take some to their homes instead of having to make the previous long trek to the closest water supply.  A local farmer has donated the large parcel of land needed for this water pan.  His elderly father and a lengthy list of volunteers had already been lined up to protect the purity of the water from contamination by cattle herds and from those wanting to launder their clothes in it.

As we were led away from the water pan site, we noticed further evidence of this community’s efforts to become self-sustaining. We saw two other buildings of interest which we inquired about.  One appeared to be a skeleton of a building.  We found out that it was a local church that was still under construction – they are already holding church services in this building.  Talk about a comfortable pew!  It will be completed as resources and time allow.

The other building was a local school. The nearest public school is very far away and children must leave early in the morning and only return home around dinner time.  As a result, the community identified the need to build a school locally.  Ibrahim is the Chairman of the local school board.  In 2004 community volunteers built this small two-room school for the younger children, most challenged by this long walk.  We were fascinated by the construction, the desks and the visual aids (no note books or pencils) and know you will be too as you check out the slides below.

Next Monday we once again leave Nairobi to travel to the coast for the third food distribution and to visit water pans that are under construction.  In our next blogs we will zero in on some interesting facts about water pans and the amazing efforts put into building them!