December Update from Kager Village JVP Team

Below is a short report from David Kayando and the Kager Team. It is a great display of the leadership that David is providing the Project and demonstrates that the local leadership team he has built is embracing their role as their own community transformers:

"Greetings to you in Jesus most Holy Name. I hope you are well and the Lord is doing good to you, your family and the JVP Partners. Thank you for the HHI food and security workshop manual. I wanted to respond to you yesterday on the Kager JVP Champions meeting and updates but I was overwhelmed with much work, and was not able to do it.

I had Rhoda Nungo make a short visit to Kager yesterday and so I had to see her around and have some discussions with her. I will let you know about our discussions in another email.

The Champions met yesterday after the festivities of Christmass and new year celebrations. I saw shining faces of joy and briliance as they embrace the new year with a commitment to serve Kager Village under JVP. It is my prayer that the same spirit of unity in love wiil continue to drive our work and bring meaningful results.

Among the things we discussed are in Food and farming, Housing, education and on economic development. I also had Rhoda talk to the Champions and share some of her work experiences with the group.

The group agreed to have the model farms begin work on, and finally approved the four farmers to be involved in this. We had George and John on the Kager Center side of Kager Village and two other people on the other side of Kager. These are Maurice and Charles. The group had some crops to choose from e.g variety of vegetables, beans, maize corn, pepper, bulb onions tomatoes and others. It was identified that one of the farmers selected for model farms has been doing well in pinneapple growing and so this was also considered.

The four farmers are to meet with the Kager JVP Champions on the 20th this month for more discussions. The group embraced the idea of drip irrigation, use of good seeds, fertilizer farm equipments and inputs and other things that will be involved. They are waiting to get to know your budget for the model/demonstration farms so as to see how to adjust. I had informed them of the amount JVP received from the East91st Christian Church. I would request that you make a budget for this and this will help the team here know how best the model farms should be done.

They asked one question which I had no good answer and so I have to consult with you. Since JVP will be fully supporting this model farms, who are the beneficiaries of the Harvest? Should the farmers share their harvest with others or simply take the whole thing. Please your idea on this will be helpful. Meanwhile George is to visit the Agricultural office soon and discuss with the extension officers for more advise on the best practise.

The idea of sponsoring a boy and a girl who have performed well in Kager was a bright idea that all of us are seeing as a way of raising the education standard in the Village. In case you will find it possible, the Champions agreed that the criteria should be that in which only needy cases would be considered. That means a student who has perfomed well and is not able to join the school he or she has been called to join because the parents are not able to meet the fees cost for that particular school, and so may resort to a substandard school, which will eventually affect his or her peformance. They had three options for doing this. JVP could take a boy and a girl each year or take the two after every year or take the first two and see them through upto form four and then begin with another two, and so this all depends on the resources the Lord may make available for JVP under education and training.

The team came up with a team of 16 women carefully selected from every quarter of Kager and all the churches represented to be able to participate in the Joy Kitchens initiative. We will meet with these women on the 20th this month, to share with them about this and get their idea and willingness. And so the Housing Champion will be sharing with them about this and the whole team of champions will help in explaining more about what Jubilee would like to achieve through the Joy Kitchens iniatiative. The Kager JVP champion's Secretary Dianne Ochuka, is already preparing letters to be sent out to these women this week.

With the Coming of Rhoda at such a time when the Champions were meeting, it gave us fresh ideas in regard to the Basket fireless cooker as an enterprise. She said that this should not only be for Women, but as well for Men who will be interested. The Champions are now considering the right people for this, and women like Rose Omanya the rope maker were fully identified as the people who can be effective. We will look for ten people for this group to begin this as an enteprise. Rhoda agreed to come and bring someone else with her, since the training would go even for a week, and being that she is busy, she cannot stay for that long, and so she would bring a co-trainer who would stay and the she comes back to supervise. Her time schedule is so tight and we are trying to fix this training somewher mid February, but this will depend on how the Lord has provided for this under economic development, and so as you discuss more with the Partners on the 12th, I hope you will give us directions.

Most importantly, I would love to know your budget for the model/demonstration farms and what you would love to see done and resources provided for.

The Kager Village has experience real drought throughout December upto now. All the small ponds and water tanks are all dry. The only source of water now is the Bore-hole. Famine continues to bite and the little harvest people are reaping now is for a very short relief, and the worst is expected of the month of March and April through to June, when the famine is seen to be scaling up, and the cost of a 2kg Maize corn may hit over Kshs. 100. We ask for your prayers that the Lord will help JVP in transforming the village so that food security is achieved. I believe with the meeting on 20th with various people in Kager, alot of awareness Campaign about JVP is going to begin flowing and spreading effectively in Kager, and it would be my wish that an action be felt soon.

I have not bought the Improved Jikos, as I wanted to get some input from Rhoda on this. I also realised that most women in Kager knows about the improved jikos, even though many do not have one. I therefore believe that good understanding of this is there on this kind of stoves for households. In regard to hood Chimney stoves, Rhoda advised that these are for institutions, and she can find us the best person to install one for us at the Jubilee Model Kitchen at Kager Center, and so I have not bought the Jikos yet, but considering this soon.

God's blessings to you and the Indiana Partners team. We know the Lord has called us and we have reason to allow him use us to bring meaningful transformation to our Village. The Champions sent lovely greeting to everyone in Indiana Team, and are looking forward to your visit this year again.

Shalom,
David.