TANGNEDUK YOUTH GROUP[Be aware of abandonment]

Project Type

Project Summary

Tangneduk are fully embedded into the big picture of the project that are inline of sustainable farming combined with school to improve conditions of life in the community. The tasks are part of the overall project having the farm as critical to survive and the school playing the main role of educating the children that represent the next generation. Volunteers holding knowledge or experience in Hospitality are highly required. The rest of students or professionals are more than welcome as well.

Project Description

BACKGROUND ~There might be nowadays many worldwide social projects going on regarding organic farming, permaculture or orphanage school; however the one here presented combines all together. Several factors are driving its particularity making it somehow unique and with high need of help: -Distance from water -Warm weather all year long (tropical rainforest climate) - Distance to the closer city centre - No hygiene at all -AIDS impact in the community -Lack of ways of transportation -5 years making efforts by the community with little result. ~ The once-clean waters of the lake are becoming more polluted and the menace of water hyacinth has choked large areas of the shoreline, rendering some boating lanes inaccessible. Fish stocks are now dwindling and poverty is working hand-in-hand with AIDs, a disease destroying families all over this region. ~The number of orphans and families in extreme poverty is increasing in the community with not enough available resources to support them. Hence, the actual situation is dramatic with no way out foreseen unless there are funds coming in from any of the African, European or International projects. GETTING THOSE IS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT. WHO? ~Tang’neduk means in Kiswahili: Be aware of helplessness! ~This is a project coming from a village in a community of people where farming is critical to survive and the school is playing the main role of educating the children that represent the next generation. The aim is to reach a virtuous circle: producing for survival while looking for surplus to feed the children at school and sell the remainder in the local market. ~Established in 2010 by Debora Achieng Nembi and Paul Odiwuor Ogola, this multi-dimensional yet resolutely practical project seeks to reduce the impacts of poverty on marginalized families in Kochia. The people representing this community are: honest, humble and transparent At this moment the school acts as a day care orphanage and learning institution, with 115 kids between 3 and 11 years old. Currently four small rented rooms are being used as class rooms from 8 a.m. until 13 p.m. on a weekly basis with 3 teachers and 1 cooker supporting it. The classes are split as follows:- Kindergarten- Primary (1,2,3) ~The children don't have rain boots or even shoes, some don't have shoes that fit and some only have one shoe. There is also no proper teaching material. The teachers are writing on a piece of cardboard as a chalkboard. There are no backpacks for the children to bring their work back and forth to school. WHERE? ~Location: Kawiya village is located in Kochia on the rural outskirts of Homa Bay town, Nyanza province (West of Kenya). ~20 kms south east of Lake Victoria which lies on the hinterlands of Rangwe Division-Central Kochia. So, travel 20 kms south from Homa Bay along the dusty red sand road and you will reach the community. ~ Weather: Typically hot and wet throughout the year, the average temperature in Kochia is 71.2°F (21.8°C). The warmest month is February, with an average temperature of 72.5°F (22.5°C). The coolest month is July, with an average temperature of 69.3°F (20.7°C). The month with the most precipitation on average is April with 8.1" (205.7 mm] WHAT? ~ The area is suffering from some of the worst health conditions in Kenya, that’s the reason why the main concern of the community is seeking to improve access to clean drinking water and nutritious food. ~ The nearest water supply is the river which lies 1O kms far away. 4 containers of 2O litres each must be brought from there with a bicycle four times a day (service that is paid). During the long (April to May) and short raining season (September to November) several tanks are used to stock water for the dry season (December to March), however this is not enough. ~Tang’neduk promotes best practice community development models and work with other communities, organizations and individuals towards common goals. WHY? ~Some of these children have no homes to go to and others have to walk two hours back and forth from school to home. They are given one meal a day (always porridge) which is made in their "kitchen“ that gets destroyed and needs to be rebuilt every time when it rains. The school does not have a place to store water, so the children have no water to drink . The children are outside in the sun all day, making it really hard to try to make them sit and learn in such conditions. There are no desks, no books and no form of technology (i.e. computers). Internet is the main tool nowadays and classes are not fully effective without it. ~The main focus is on building a proper orphanage school so that these children can have access to education, together with a place to sleep and live, where to feel safe and “at home”. ~After a constant and hard work through the recent years, the farm now is providing onions, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon and kale. There is an ongoing tentative of growing rice too. The hens in the village are producing eggs. The aim is to be self sufficient, get enough food to feed the families and children at school and get a small agricultural surplus to sell, getting some profit for the recurrent expenses in the school. ~Tang’neduk uses permaculture principles in their farming projects to try to produce food which will sustain their community in the long term. Drawing from other disciplines such as organic farming, agroforestry and applied ecology, they are trying to become more self-reliant through the design and development of productive and sustainable gardens and farms. Machinery equipment is inexistent and their hands are unfortunately the only tool they have. RESOURCES ~Two types of financial aid have been considered depending on the cost category allocation and the different sort of facility. So, we have made a split between: 1]Capital Investment to reach acceptable conditions and Basic Items to support the school continuing its path 2] School Constructions and Village House ~ Regular expenses by allowing the possibility of paying the teachers and the cooker regularly for their valuable jobs. Wages of $ 4O a month per teacher and $ 3O for cooker. ~ In the houses, solar panels are already being used to get natural electricity Ways of contact through: E-mail: - [email protected] Websites: - www.tangneduk.org Facebook ~ Tang’neduk Youthgroup Postal Address: Debora Achieng Nembi P.O. Box 77 Rangwe 4O3O3 Kenya

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