Spirit in Action is honored to partner with amazing community-based organizations, run by people who are passionate and knowledgeable about sparking change in their own communities. Below is a report written by Margaret Ikiara, Founder and Program Coordinator of CIFORD Kenya, about the impact of a SIA grant on women in her community.

Grandmother Rebecca Ncekei (left) is proud to receive a water tank from Jolly Kathambi, the CIFORD Kenya Gender Issues Program officer.

Rebecca Ncekei is one of the grandmothers who attends the weekly meetings for the Muthara Guardian group*, which meets next to our office.

The group meets every Monday afternoon and has a total of 41 members who are all guardians. Rebecca comes from the furthest village, walking for almost ten kilometers [6.25 miles] to attend the group, and still she has been among the very committed members of the group.

Rebecca has received ridicule from the neighbors who laugh at her and tell her that she does useless work walking for 1oKm to and from for just a group meeting.

Margaret (in purple) acts as mentor to all the guardian groups.

But Rebecca knows the value of the group. On April 26^th she was among the people to receive the water tanks from CIFORD Kenya. When she went home with the tank, she became the hero of the village. Everybody wants to know where she got the tank from!

Talking about the value of the tank, Rebecca was quick to say, “I have been having problems with my legs when I  go looking for water, and I had to wait for my grandchildren to come from school to fetch water. Now the problem is solved.”

“All the people in my village can now see  that I have a group which can support the elder women in the society,” were Rebecca’s words.

I have decided to share this story from Rebecca because every time she comes for the meeting she has to tell CIFORD staff of a new group wanting partnership and the way the water tank has helped her be recognized in the society.

Rebecca has been an ambassador for CIFORD in the villages nearby. She has also been a catalyst for CIFORD, as those are groups that CIFORD had wanted to work; they were slow in making decisions and are now very eager to be active to work with CIFORD.

We thank all of you for making Rebecca a proud grandma and making it happen at CIFORD. We appreciate your continued support and encouragement.

Tanya’s note: The water tanks collect water in the rainy season, storing it to be used further into the dry season. This water storage reduces the need to walk far distances to gather water. Since many of the families in the area rely on small gardens to produce food to eat, these tanks can nourish a family and help them produce extra food to sell. The tanks are purchased locally.

*The Guardians groups are support and self-help groups for men and women who are caring for children (often their own grandchildren) whose parents have died from HIV/AIDS.

The guardians usually spend part of their time together dancing and singing.

One of the best parts of my job is getting to hear from people who are putting change into action through their ideas, leadership skills, and open attitude.

And often the skills and ideas they have can also be useful for someone else who is working to improve things in another community. Making connections and matchings people’s questions and answers – fostering dynamic networks – is a vibrant part of the SIA model for change.

Recently I wrote a blog post for Amazon Partnerships, a blog collecting stories and new perspectives on community development, about two such Spirit in Action connections. I invite you to read the full post here.

Bringing together SIA Small Business Fund Coordinators from Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, & Uganda in 2011 resulted in a lot of new connections, and some constructive dialog about how to make our programs better.

I love the new 50 second video from Oxfam America. It’s message is clear and to-the-point, “Aid is not the solution to poverty, people are.”

It’s not the big structures that help people out of poverty. Or the governments talking to governments….

Rather, we know that it’s the dedicated people, passionate for change, that make a difference. It’s the people, working with their families and organizing with others in their communities, that move step by step towards something better. It’s people supporting each other that bring hope.

If you need any convincing, consider these people who are solutions in their communities:

Women’s Self-Help Group with CIFORD Kenya:
Women in groups of 10-25 encouraging others;
sharing their challenges and solutions; combining
savings to help pay for school uniforms for their children and grandchildren.

Leaders of one of the self-help groups in rural Meru, Kenya

Nalu Prossy, SIA Small Business Fund Coordinator, Uganda:
Nalu works all day at a tailor’s shop; after work and on weekends
she trains and mentors new business groups to help them succeed.
She’s a good employee, so her boss sometimes lets her leave early to do this work for SIA.

Nalu and Tanya

Canaan Gondwe, Manyamula Village Savings and Loans, Malawi:
Canaan is the tireless leader of the successful savings and loans
group MAVISALO, which helps community members access low-interest loans;
he has been elected to the national board of cooperative groups in Malawi;
in June he’ll travel to Zambia to train another community to start their own local savings and loans cooperative.

Canaan (in blue) with members of the MAVISALO executive committee

Oxfam calls for us to “Support citizens’ efforts to determine and lead their own development.” And that’s just what Spirit in Action is going to continue doing!

Earth Day celebrations may last over a weekend but what about the long-term? Here are three examples of Spirit in Action partners promoting techniques that benefit the earth and their communities:

Ester shows the bounty from her family’s farm.

1. Intercropping in Malawi

Have you heard about the Three Sisters? Beans, squash, and corn grown together get the blue ribbon in the intercropping category. Corn stalks grow tall, beans use the stalks as bean poles, and squash leaves provide shade that  stunts weeds and locks in the soil moisture. Also, the nutrients in bean plants keep the soil healthy year after year.

More and more people in Manyamula Village are adopting this beautiful combination that is good for the heavily-used farmland and reduces the amount of fertilizer needed. We visited Saul and Ester’s farm in 2011 where we saw their flourishing intercropping of beans and corn.

Saul and Ester are members of the MAVISALO Savings and Loans cooperative and they share and learn with the other 150 group members about intercropping and other sustainable farming techniques.

Beans planted at the base of the corn use the stalks as support.

SIA partners from 5 countries are enthusiastic to try new bio-intensive agriculture methods.

2. Ukweli Training Centre in Kenya

Anyone who has met Samuel Teimuge knows his passion for simple methods and technologies that can help people produce more food and protect the environment. At his Ukweli Training Centre in Eldoret, Kenya, local experts show groups of people from all over eastern Africa a sampling of these beneficial technologies. For example:

• The kitchen garden plots use double-digging (a method of turning the soil before planting) and composting;
• A chicken pen extends over a fish pond and chicken droppings fall into the water to provide nutrients to the fish, increasing the size of the fish (more about chicken-fish farming);
• An agroforestry display shows about starting seedlings, and replanting and caring for trees; trees provide shade, fruit, and fencing, and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The poultry house over the fish pond provides plenty of nutrients!

Joshua shows off the great crops grown with compost and no other inputs! More food and less expensive to produce.

3. Side-by-side Comparisons

With such good results from simple agricultural techniques, why doesn’t everyone take on the methods? Joshua Machinga and his team at Common Ground know that old habits die hard, so they have planted two sets of crops to convince people to change.

The 5-year experiment places crops that use conventional fertilizers next to crops that use rich, organic compost to display tangible benefits of using compost for long-term soil health. The evidence right in front of people is pretty convincing!

*Spirit in Action has a number of resources about composting, double-digging, organizing model farm days, and intercropping available for free. If you would like me to send you any of these materials, please email the SIA office.

Related Articles:

• A Better Way to Grow Food (About methods that benefit small farmers)
• How does your garden grow? (About the farms we saw in Malawi)
• Planting trees for a “greener Kenya” (About the reforestation work of SIA SBF Coordinator, Dennis Kiprop)

Our partners are cooking up big change in their communities and there are so many inspiring stories, photos, and quotes to share! I couldn’t fit them all in the Spring & Summer 2013 Newsletter, so today’s blog is a bit of newsletter leftover stew…

(The newsletter went off to the presses yesterday but you can download a PDF COLOR copy here today.)

1. Women Starting Businesses in Kenya

SIA Small Business Fund local coordinator in Kenya, Dennis Kiprop, is excited about the new cohort of 5 women-led business groups:

“I thank God for such an opportunity to serve and train these small business groups. The greatest joy is to see them grow in God and be able to support their families in the long run with the businesses they are doing. Most of them are the key providers in their own families. Thank you for the great support, prayers, and love.”

Rose and Salina fill out their business plan after attending a training session led by local SIA Coordinator Dennis Kiprop.

Goats are kept in elevated pens in Malawi.

2. Forestry Project in Malawi

The front page of the newsletter has a story about 5 Small Business Fund groups in Malawi that are collaborating to start a forestry project.

The tree-planting business will not only help reforest the area and help the soil retain more water, the trees are also important for infrastructure in the rural Manyamula village. Tree poles are used for building houses and also for penning goats.

This photo shows the elevated goat pen which keeps the animals safe and allows the owners to collect manure for their gardens!

3. Short (and important) Supporter Survey

We want to hear your preferences! We have a short 9-question survey for our supporters. Will you tell us how you want to hear from us and what you like about SIA? Take the survey here. Thank you!

4. Memories of Del’s Encouragement

I asked Camily Wedende, a solar cooker entrepreneur in Kenya, about what words of inspiration from Del still stuck with him. (See the newsletter of how Camily is helping others promote solar cooking in Kenya.)

“Del used to write about letting go. To let go is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires but to take each day as it comes and to cherish the moment.

To let go is not to deny, but to accept.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.”

5. Giant Cucumber!

I LOVE this photo of SIA local coordinator Canaan Gondwe (Malawi) with the giant cucumber that grew in his community with seeds sent by our dedicated volunteer, Aileen Gillem.

Seeds were given to needy families in the community for them to use in their kitchen gardens (small garden plots with many types of vegetables growing). Cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions all thrived, supplementing the staple food, maize (corn).