South of Kisumu, way out in the rural area beyond where the road ends, there
is a spread-out community called Chiga.
During the rainy season (April) there is plenty of water in this flat land.
But for much of the year there is very little fresh water avalable. In addition,
the area suffers heavily from the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the middle generation
is being wiped out. This leaves grandparents caring for orphans. A lot of
them.
We are starting to become involved with a project here in Chiga.... a project
called "Grandparents with Orphans", founded and led by a wonderful Kenyan
lady, Betty Mutere.
The project is a pilot project based on her reseach for a PhD. Its principles
are to provide support for grandparents and orphans within the community
(as opposed to removing orphans to orphanages).
Betty has started to build a small unit in Chiga, where grandparents and
orphans can visit for advice, education, and health services. It comprises
a small teaching room, an office, and a medical facility. A doctor comes
from Kisumu once a month and looks at all of the people (sick or healthy),
and the unit contains basic medical supplies.
Infant aged children (under 7, when primary education becomes free) will
be taught in the class room.
The land around the unit will be used to grow crops of beans, maize, millet,
and cabbage, thus providing a self-sustaining feeding programme.
Virgin Kenyan landscape, and the site of the "Grandparents with Orphans"
project
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