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Proposal
Background
Located on the Eastern edge of Africa, Kenya is a fusion of traditional and modern cultures. This juxtaposition has unfortunately led to an increasingly large economic gap between the rich and the poor. In rural areas, insect-borne diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever and Rift Valley fever have claimed the lives of millions. HIV/AIDS is also an enormous problem in Kenya where six percent of the adult population is infected (although many cases go unreported). Other health hazards such as food-borne illness and parasites such as jiggers continue to cause great harm to the community.
Poverty is the greatest crisis facing Kenya today. The country is in the lowest 25 percent of the world's economies, and much of the developing nation depends on tourism and agriculture to survive. Kenya has a national debt of seven billion dollars which equals around $240 dollars for each citizen in the country. Poverty reaches every corner of the country and forces Kenyans to forgo medical treatment or education in order to temporarily survive.
Kenyans are a deeply religious people. The country consists of mostly Christians, though there are also pockets of Hindu and Muslim populations which are mostly found in larger cities, in the North or on the coast of Kenya.
Although poverty reaches almost every home in Kenya, it is important to recognize that the citizens of this country are tenacious and hard working people. Women often begin work before the sun rises and end late at night, caring both for the children and contributing to bringing income to the family through agricultural endeavors. Many Kenyans seek be educated and make a better life for both themselves and their family, but sadly an opportunity to do so is very rare.
History
In June 2007, Kathryn Nelson, a student at the University of Minnesota, traveled to Bungoma, Kenya to volunteer with the local branch of the Red Cross. There, she stayed with Pastor Daniel Muyelele Makecho and his family who ran a church in the neighboring rural village of Chebukwa.
The community Pastor Daniel worked in was deeply impoverished and lacked even the simplest facilities such as pump to access clean drinking water. Through community outreach initiatives spanning many years, Pastor Daniel was able to construct a church for the village that soon became the central meeting ground for members of the community. Still, Chebukwa citizens were in dire need of necessities such as clothing, medical supplies, educational materials and safe housing.
In addition, an estimated 270 orphaned children live in this area, many whose parents died of malaria and HIV/AIDS. Pastor Daniel had been working on designs to create a healthier, safer and more educated community within Chebukwa for several years.
The plan would include bringing mobile medical clinics to the area, implementing disease prevention initiatives and testing, housing orphaned children, equipping all families with mosquito nets, bringing clean water to the area and providing micro financing programs. Other monetary producing elements would include community dairy cows and three rentable bicycles.
At the same time, Kathryn began to realize the immense need for such facilities in the Bungoma district and was interested in creating an opportunity for international volunteers to help impoverished Kenyans.
On a rainy night in late June 2007, Pastor Daniel and Kathryn discussed the possibility of creating a foundation, which would serve the greater good of the local Kenyan people. They realized that although many people wish to emancipate themselves from poverty, they had no opportunity to do so. Also concerning was the growing population of orphaned children in the area who essentially had no chance at bettering themselves and are forced to live a life of poverty.
Kathryn knew, through her past work in the U.S., that many people wished to help the African people but all too often they became disheartened by the lack of personal connection between the aid organizations and the well wisher. College students are particularly motivated to help but are often unable to provide much financial support. They instead are looking for genuine contact with those they are helping through working directly with them.
The Nafula Foundation wishes to provide a better life for rural Kenyans and to involve international volunteers in changing Africa. We strive to bring volunteers from around the world to Chebukwa to help build a new community for the hundreds of orphaned and impoverished children living there. Not only will this enrich the lives of the aid receivers, but allow volunteers to have life-changing experiences.
That night, Kathryn and Daniel decided to name the organization The Nafula Foundation, meaning she came in the rain.
Vision
The Nafula Foundation first and foremost, envisions a generation of children who are loved and cared for despite the hardships they have faced by loosing one of both parents. We wish to not only care for their material existence but for their mental and spiritual heath as well. Most importantly, we strive to cultivate an educated and empowered group of young adults who will lead Kenya out of poverty and despair.
Secondly, we wish to create a self-sustaining community in which opportunities to grow financially and intellectually, will flourish. In a country that has a high unemployment rate, it is crucial to help educate communities on how to succeed in their business, which is oftentimes solely crop harvesting.
The prevalence of common infections and diseases is another issue of concern; therefore the Nafula Foundation strives to eliminate these problems from its community through education and prevention initiatives. By making testing for common infections or diseases more available, common, yet life-threatening issues such as malaria and HIV/AIDS will drop drastically.
Lastly, we wish to provide opportunity for international volunteer involvement within Chebukwa and will encourage youth and adults to visit Kenya and help with our construction, day-care, healthcare and employment initiatives. We will keep volunteering costs at a minimum in order to enable all people interested, an opportunity to come to Kenya.
Analysis of Needs
Housing:
The Nafula Foundation intends to plan, construct and implement a housing initiative in the village of Chebukwa. The vision of our organization is to build a small orphanage in the area to house the 300 orphaned children in Chebukwa. The Nafula Foundation would construct homes in the Chebukwa area that will shelter 10 children each, with a team of single mothers to provide care for the children and act as their live-in family. The housing initiative would be planned, constructed and implemented by international volunteers as well as a logistical consultation from co-founder Daniel Makecho in Kenya. A team of international volunteers will fundraise for the program beginning in 2009, and visit the area in the summer of 2011 to build the orphanage.
School and Education:
The Nafula Foundation intends to educationally and financially support local schools in the Chebukwa village in Kenya, as well as establish an after school tutoring program for youth, and adult education class in the area. Manners in which local schools will be supported include: the donation of books, science materials, desk and other necessary supplies, as well as the dedication of international volunteers to the area to support teachers working in overcrowded classrooms. International volunteers will also coordinate an after school tutoring program, and adult education class in the village beginning in the summer 2010.
Women's corporative:
The Nafula Foundation intends to educationally and financially support local schools in the Chebukwa village in Kenya, as well as establish an after school tutoring program for youth, and adult education class in the area. Manners in which local schools will be supported include: the donation of books, science materials, desk and other necessary supplies, as well as the dedication of international volunteers to the area to support teachers working in overcrowded classrooms. International volunteers will also coordinate an after school tutoring program, and adult education class in the village beginning in the summer 2010.
Access to water:
The Nafula Foundation intends to build a rainwater harvesting system in the village of Chebukwa, Kenya in the summer of 2010. Based on the model created by the University of Minnesota chapter of Engineers Without Borders in Masaka, Uganda, our organization will raise money, beginning in 2009 to help fund the project.
Clinic:
The Nafula Foundation intends to build a medical clinic – open several days a week and one weekend day in the village of Chebukwa, Kenya. Specializing in malaria treatment and HIV/AIDS testing will be the main focuses of the clinic, along with providing general education about sanitation and disease prevention tactics. Our organization plans on hiring one part-time doctor from the neighboring city of Bungoma, Kenya, to run the clinic. We will also be sending international volunteers to the area – with a background in medicine – to help bring new medical techniques and offer training to the doctor. Fundraising for the clinic is currently underway, and The Nafula Foundation is planning to build the clinic during the summer of 2010.