By:Jacky Makokha, Youth & Community Manager, Kenya YMCA
In an effort to empower some of the poorest women in Kenya and to combat poverty in a sustainable way, Kenya YMCA has initiated 115 self-help groups (SHGs) in Kilifi and Ndeiya, two of the most impoverished areas in the country.
Commencing in 2006, the approach focuses on empowering these marginalised women socially, economically and politically. It centres on the formation of groups of 15 to 20 members. The groups then come up with bylaws to govern businesses, which focus on membership, leadership, and common fund management as well as punitive measures. The YMCA assists these groups through capacity building training to address their economic, social and political needs.
Introduced by the Kindernothilfe Organization, the Kenya YMCA first toured Uganda to visit groups already established. In implementing the project, research was done to establish the greatest need in Kenya. From available government statistics and research with local churches, Ndeiya in Central Province and Kilifi in the Coast Province were the project areas identified.
Kilifi has one of the poorest constituencies in Kenya. The Ganze district, in which it is situated, is prone to long periods of drought and hunger, with poverty affecting most of the population. The average family comprises at least eight offspring and the majority of children in the area do not go to school, thereby contributing to the high illiteracy levels in the community.
Most affected are the women and children, who single-handedly have to make ends meet without the help of the men, who mostly gather to drink the local brew (mnazi). The SHG initiative is very beneficial for the women in the sharing of varied problems and finding collective solutions. For the members, it also gives them a sense of hope and belonging.
Ndeiya, located in Central Province, is a semi-arid area bordering Kikuyu Division on the East and the Rift Valley to the West. At the time of implementation, there were 40 000 inhabitants in the entire Ndeiya Division, the majority of whom are poor. Most rely on self-employment, especially farming, while others do casual jobs on the farms. They are very hard working, a fact that has enabled them to survive in the area. Some of the social problems prevalent include theft and the rape of young girls and old women.
Small-scale farming of maize, beans, Irish potatoes and cabbages is the main economic activity. Although food crops do well in the area, especially if rains are adequate, during the dry season the conditions are not good and one can hardly spot green vegetation. Livestock kept are cattle, especially dairy, sheep, chicken and donkeys.
Due to the poor road conditions which make transportation very difficult, donkeys are used to transport luggage and thus are an integral part of the community welfare.
The process of establishing SHGs would not have been effective without involving the local people. YMCA staff and volunteers worked with the local authorities in identifying women to act as community facilitators and assist the project staff in the implement-ation of the concept.
Three women from each area, accompanied by a project officer, went through a one-week workshop on the first module of the SHG concept.
The group formation process then began through explaining the concept to the local leaders in each area, with the YMCA Limuru Agricultural Youth Centre also involved. Community and individual family visits were done, followed by an invitation to the participatory rural appraisal exercise, which established that the majority of the members were poor.
There are now 75 groups in Kilifi and 40 in Ndeiya. Kindernothilfe has continued support through capacity building, exposure visits and financial support. Success stories include children who had dropped out of school resuming through group financial support, decent houses being built, and self-employment and income-generation through the small business ventures.
The women have also reported benefitting from receiving nutritional or health-related information through the groups e.g. family planning, which is now resulting in manageable family sizes and, in turn, reducing poverty levels.
Photo: Women have been able to build houses for themselves, due to the SHG projects, like this one in Kilifi
