I have just arrived in Kisumu and in two weeks I will watch the first graduating class receive their certificates and become alumnae.
Exciting – and also bittersweet.
We started SANGO-Kenya in 2020, with a group of 19 women smallholder farmers from a single village. In the first months of that year, we provided agriculture and nutrition training focusing on African traditional vegetables.
The nutrition training, which involves learning how to prepare the vegetables and maintain maximum nutrition, is always a favorite — the students get to taste for themselves at the end!
Then…COVID struck. I rushed home. We had no idea if the program would even continue.
But from the very beginning, the SANGO-Kenya farmers have shown so much determination. Despite COVID, the farmers persevered.
SANGO-Kenya farmers work hard to ensure the well-being of their children.
The farmers have always shown incredible dedication. They understood better than anyone how critical food and nutrition security were for their children.
And from the very beginning, they wanted to share what they learned with their communities.
The second year we added more farmers, more training, and our first full-time staff person, Winnie. A trained nutritionist and quite perseverant herself, Winnie kept the program going and expanded the training. The next two years we continued to add farmers and training and staff.
We are continuing to grow. We just recruited 250 new farmers for 2025, which means next year, we will have nearly 700 farmers in the program plus 70 graduates. Our program consists of 27 training sessions in sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and improving livelihoods — taught by our four full-time staff members!
And our impact is even greater — our farmers have a direct impact on the food and nutrition security of approximately 3,750 women, children, and other household members.
And so, in two weeks, when we have our first real graduation, 70 farmers who have successfully completed three years of the program, will become the first alumnae of SANGO-Kenya.
They have mastered the sustainable agriculture techniques we have taught. They are implementing the nutrition training and are eating — and feeding their families — vegetables regularly. They have increased the yields of their crops so they have more surplus to sell.
Over the years, I have visited them in their homes, walked their farms, and been in meetings with them. They shaped the program together with the SANGO-Kenya team.
It is such a proud time, but it is also bittersweet. I will still see them, but perhaps not as often.
But one thing is certain — they will all continue to make a difference in the lives of their children, household members, and their communities.
Congratulations to the 2024 graduates of SANGO-Kenya! You are empowered and inspiring women!
Erokamano! Thank you! With much gratitude,
The SANGO-Kenya graduates, farmers, their children — and Winnie, Evance, Peter, Franck Junior, Connie, and Kit
Giving Tuesday is December 3rd!
Thanks to the generosity of some of our donors and board members, wa have received a matching grant up to $10,000.
Every dollar you give will be matched, dollar for dollar!
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Photos: Etan Rozin
www.rozinphotos.com
Write me! I love hearing from you! kit@SANGO-Kenya.org