We went further into Western Kenya today, and wow, it was so green and beautiful! We passed fields of tea plants, and even rice paddies. It reminded me of Hawaii without the ocean. So lovely.
We had to get out and take a picture of the views.
Our next community to visit was Oyugis.
Our Shukas come in handy for privacy at the latrine pits lol.
Our first stop was at a spring which was restored through funding from one of our team members. It had just been finished the day before, Nov 11. The community was gathered to celebrate and have a ribbon cutting for the new spring. The people there were so happy and friendly. The spring will service people from all over the community.
This wonderful lady explained how the spring and the garden towers mean so much for their future generations
The kids were so cute and loved the bubbles!
Ribbon cutting for the spring
I was starting catch the vision of how far the 100 humanitarians projects could go in a community, and this community took that vision even farther. We visited Jacob, our community leader there, and the women who work at the sewing center there, creating the garden towers and the feminine hygiene kits. The ladies there were wonderful, so receptive and enthusiastic about the new projects and programs being developed. They also kept the tidiest little shop you’ve ever seen- so well organized!
Jacob works as a midwife, and he sees many of the worst effects of abuse and difficult circumstances in his work. He is dedicated to helping prevent those things, and helping those who need medical care to get it. It was inspiring to hear his vision and see how the new reproductive health, emotional wellness, and abuse prevention programs that 100 humanitarians is developing fits together with the vision he shared. By educating parents and families, showing them a better way, and helping them to have hope and a path out of poverty, many of the ills of abuse can be prevented.
Next we visited the community garden Jacob runs, where seedlings are grown to start garden towers, and the plants also help fund the needs of the families in the community. When we arrived there were about 40 people there waiting for us, many of whom had also been at the dedication of the new spring. They all work there in the community garden each week and share in the benefits.
When 100 humanitarians came in June, the garden was just beginning. It reached to somewhere near where the man in the background is standing. Jacob promised that next time we came, it would reach all the way to the road. He kept his promise, and look at it now! See the building way back in the background? It’s the same one in the first picture!
This garden not only provides seedlings for the families to start their home garden towers, but also food to sell at the market, to provide funding for chicken projects for the families, and in the future, medical care, houses for widows, and school fees for the children.
He plans to expand and build a training center and larger sewing center on the grounds as well. Building has already begun. His family members all work in the garden too, including his 80 year old dad, who is there training others in the garden work.
When we finished touring the garden, we hiked up the hill to Jacob’s home. Again, at the top of the hill, a crowd of people were there waiting for us. When we got to the top, this beautiful lady started everyone in a hallelujah song and dancing. We had a lovely meal with them which we had to eat more hastily than we wanted, because the rain was starting and we would not make it down the hill unless we ran. I loved those people and hated to leave them!
We did get safely down the hill without getting stuck in mud, and arrived safely at our hotel for the night. We went up to the top floor to catch this lovely view of lake Victoria.
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