In January 2011, Neil Kirby undertook a fact-finding visit to Western Province in Kenya to understand the needs in that area. Here’s what he found:
“We drove up to Western province, a seven hour journey from Nairobi. I was initially surprised by how green the area was. I’d anticipated a dry, barren landscape so was taken aback by the vast flower farms of the Rift Valley and the tea plantations in the White Highlands. I realised the potential of the rich, fertile, dark red soil. It was clear though that the key element is water.
The poly tunnels of flowers 
have huge artificial irrigation systems, while the tea thrives on the cooler, damp, misty conditions in the hills. Elsewhere, things are less straightforward. All along the road and surrounding villages, people are carrying water from springs or pumps to their homes. Women balance large containers steadily on their heads; elsewhere there are men with drums strapped to a bike or donkey; and further on children fetch water in anything they can carry.
Mundeku is a village near 
to Yala in Western province. It’s about an hour from the city of Kisumu, which itself is by the side of Lake Victoria, just north of the Equator.
Village life in Mundeku is sparse. The village square is arranged round a central tree, with market stalls underneath. Here villagers meet to sell their produce – vegetables, some fruit, cloth. There’s a carpenter, an iron monger making window frames, there’s a Pocho mill grinding maize. Elsewhere you can buy meat, but get there early as the best bits go quickly. The staple diet is Ugali, maize flour made into a dough consistency, with no discernable taste. It’s eaten with meat or vegetables, by squashing a small handful into a ball then dipping into a sauce. The meat, whether beef or goat, was incredibly tough.
There are remarkable things being achieved by people with very little. Beatrice
and her husband look after children who are either orphaned or from very poor families. Some stay with her during the day, others come after school. They are safe and cared for. As you’ll see from the photos, their clothes are often in tatters. School uniforms where they exist have been handed down and repaired many, many times. They really do make the most of what they have.
We’d like to ensure they have at least one good meal each day.
And nearby we see what can be achieved with access to the water supply. Water does exist; in fact we’re told the spring has never been known to run dry. It’s access that’s the problem. With access, the land can be cultivated and will produce a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, sweet potatoes, yams, cabbages, groundnuts, bananas. These can offer subsistence and cash crops to meet school fees and other basic living costs – maybe even allow villagers to install electricity or running water.
At nearby Shiatsala, The Red Rubber Ball Foundation has been given access to
4-5 acres of land by Mr. Gibson Shiraku. Our aim is to help the villagers make this land productive. At present it’s a wasteland, covered in weeds and rubbish. We know there’s water there – we just don’t know how deep so we’ll need to drill a borehole. The next step is a visit from a government geologist.
Then all being well (sorry no pun intended) we’ll have a borehole drilled before the end of February.
A key purpose of this trip was to oversee the recruitment of a project manager and we were delighted that Wycliffe took up our offer. I’d met Wycliffe a few years ago, when he visited the UK on a secondment. He had been responsible for building up another charity in Kenya and proved himself to be extremely capable, entrepreneurial and good at project management. It was our good fortune that he was available and our project takes him closer to his family home. Starting on 15th February, Wycliffe will plan and supervise the transformation of this wasteland into a productive farm.
We’ve set several objectives for the project:
- To provide food for local orphan children – so they have a meal each day before they return to their extended family.
- For the farm to be self-sustaining within 3 years i.e. be able to provide this food + generate an income to support the staff working on the farm.
- To be a model for other local people – to inspire them to make more use of the land they have.
- To benefit the community in other ways e.g. giving access to water for drinking and irrigation; income to local labourers and suppliers”.
Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll share with you our experiences and progress through this blog. We’ll also share more of Neil’s trip – his experiences in Nairobi’s Kibera slums, more details of school bursaries which we’ve established to allow children to attend secondary school and hope to extend during 2011, and some of our hopes and aspirations for the future.
How you can help:
- Use The Giving Machine when you shop online – the project receives a donation every time you shop and it doesn’t cost you a thing – register at www.TheGivingMachine.co.uk and make The Red Rubber Ball Foundation you nominated charity.
- Better still encourage your colleagues or friends to do the same, including for your business purchases.
- Organise an event to raise funds – we’ll help all we can, by coming along to speak, or maybe helping you run a quiz night.
- Donate yourself if you wish at www.justgiving.com/redrubberball.
- Come out to Kenya to help out on a local community project.
If you’d like more information, contact Neil Kirby on 01707 395850 or neil@redrubberball.co.uk.
About The Red Rubber Ball Foundation
The Red Rubber Foundation is a registered charity (number 1140443) set up to help young and disadvantaged people in the UK and overseas develop their capabilities. We do this by donating our own time, money and energy raise funds to support individuals and community groups.
All the money raised goes directly to the projects undertaken.
The charity is overseen by independent Trustees who review activities and ensure that all funds are used for the purpose intended.
