Impact of SANGO-Kenya’s Programs
“Before the program, I didn’t even have a kitchen garden. Now I know I just need a small piece of land I can maintain and I can grow vegetables, feed my family, and sell extra to buy things like solar panels, utensils — I bought them all from selling vegetables.”
That’s how one of the many farmers I met described her experience with SANGO-Kenya. But so many farmers had similar stories. Throughout the time I was there, I was constantly impressed with how much the program and the farmers are advancing, strengthening their food and nutrition security and improving their livelihoods — and the food and nutrition security and health of their children and other household members.
That is the mission of SANGO-Kenya, and we are moving further towards meeting our goals every day thanks to you and your support — and the strength and determination of our team and the 500 farmers now in the program.
Empowering Women
As always, one of the first things I do when I arrive is meet with the Lead Farmers. We now have 50 Lead Farmers organized into four groups, according to where they and the farmers in their groups live. These meetings are a great way to get a snapshot of what is going on with all the farmers, as the Lead Farmers meet with each of the farmers in their groups at least once a week.
The Lead Farmers are always so open with each other and with us. Every one of them talked about the impact the floods had had on the farmers in their groups — from losing crops and topsoil to having their homes flooded. However, they also said that because of the SANGO-Kenya training, almost all farmers had planted at least some crops in areas or in ways that protected them from flooding, so they still had crops to harvest and sell and food to feed their families
And every Lead Farmer said how grateful she was to have been selected as a Lead Farmer, and how much it had meant to them to be treated as leaders not just within the program, but in the communities. They also said being Lead Farmers made them better farmers. “I can’t ask the farmers in my group to do things I haven’t done,” one of them said.
Sharing with their communities
One of the reasons the farmers are so grateful and proud is that friends, neighbors, and family members notice that the farmers in SANGO-Kenya are doing better than most who are not. The crop yields are greater, and the vegetables are healthier. Several farmers told us that their vegetables are even recognized in the market and known as SANI-Kenya vegetables. (SANI-Kenya is our registered name in Kenya.)
We know that there are many more farmers in the communities where we work who would like to be in the program, and we expand every year to try to meet the needs. However, it takes time; so we are very excited when farmers tell us that they have been training a friend or family member. Everyone seems to want to learn to make multi-story gardens. We saw the Lead Farmers demonstrate how to make them on one of our visits, and one farmer told us she had taught the students in a school how to make them.
The impact of SANGO-Kenya
On one of my last days, Winnie (our Program Director), Evance (our Head of Agriculture), and I went to visit one of our farmers with Lucy Oyombo, the treasurer of our Kenyan Board. This was Lucy’s first time in the field and we took her to see an extraordinary farmer who was in the first group of farmers in 2020. It was an amazing meeting. Winnie, Evance, and I said very little, letting the farmer and Lucy speak directly throughout the meeting.
It was just amazing to listen to her as she described her journey with SANGO-Kenya, all the things she had learned, from compost to multi-story gardens to improved poultry farming, and how she was able to sell surplus vegetables to cover household costs.
These stories, these women, all demonstrate how SANGO-Kenya truly changes lives. We are beginning to plan for next year, adding farmers, strengthening programs, and reaching out to communities.
And with your help, I am sure we will continue to succeed.
Thank you. You and your support have made all this possible.
Please consider making a generous donation to SANGO-Kenya today.
With much gratitude,
The SANGO-Kenya farmers, lead farmers, Winnie, Evance, Peter, Franck, Connie, and Kit
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Photos: Etan Rozin
www.rozinphotos.com
Write me! I love hearing from you! kit@SANGO-Kenya.org