Cal Wolfe updated the club on our international service project in Kenya.
Rotarian Cal Wolfe
All the projects Cal is supporting with our Rotary District Grant are focused on sustainability of productive garden plots/farm fields. The goal is to raise enough food and money to permit replanting for the next growing season; and for finding ways to extend the growing season by water harvesting. If the project going on at Emmah’s garden is successful it should be able to replicated in other communities in Kenya.
Currently there have been 5 hectares (2.47 acres) donated by a Rotarian in Kenya to support our project.
Through pictures, Cal let us know that this type of farm in Kenya grosses around $2,000 a year on 2 1/2 acres.
The next picture was of a farm in New York that produces $350,000 a year on 1 1/2 acres.
His goal is to help Emmah’s Garden become a highly productive Garden that will help feed the village more consistently.
He challenges us to continue to help move Nyandoche Ibere to create income like the farm farm in NY. This would be a permanent escape from poverty for the villagers.
Why does the food supply need to improve? These pictures are the why.
Cal then shared the progress that has been made. One picture showed a person preparing a field for planting, a beautifully manicured field that was created by Emmah, and then pictures of a harvest of corn. The harvest was smaller due to people stealing part of the crop.
Preparing the field
Emmah's Garden
This is an exchange of emails that Cal has had with Alloys about a potential way to deal with this problem of lost crops.
Corn Crop Harvest
Hi all,
I suggest that we consider a positive response to the theft. The people stole to feed their families. Let's do something like this: Go to the surrounding villagers and say, " We understand your plight. Your families need food. Fighting hunger is what Emmah's Garden does. We will dedicate a hectare next time to growing food for the poorest people around — year-round. In return we would like you to protect the next commercial crop we grow. We are using the crop to will help you learn some new farming techniques and also help you create kitchen gardens."
This is a way for Emmah's Garden to expand its reach. It will give Emmah a chance to teach and lead, perhaps leading to a county agricultural agent job.
Let's go to the people now and enlist their support and hopes. Let's develop a workable plan.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
Caleb
I like Caleb's suggestions and we can start from there. Someone in the village had suggested that I report the suspects to the police so that they get arrested but I felt that taking that route would go against the vision of Emmah's Garden of helping the poor people in the village. I had a negative feeling about the people who stole the food but Caleb helped me change my perspective on the whole issue and I'm happy that the corn we planted has been of great help to the people around the village.
I suggest that we decide on the way forward concerning the field as soon as possible so that we don't get late with the next project.
Blessings,
Alloys
Cal let us know that Emma and Alloys are now Rotarians. The local club is supportive but not with money.
Emmah is working to engage young girls. Her hope is that she can find ways to keep girls in school, and prevent early pregnancies and marriages. With Cal’s help, Emmah and Cal are talking about opportunities to form an all girl Interact Club in the community. It won’t be high school based as the village does not have a high school.
Cal reminded members that his interest in Emmah’s Garden began when he met Alloys in Louisiana while he was at Layola.
Again this is why Cal is committed to help this village...
Cal share, “I look at this picture frequently to remind myself of what it means to have a high purpose.” These children drive the project we are doing in Kenya for Emmah’s Garden.
Below are two thank you notes we have received from Alloys and Emma for all that we have donated via the Rotary International DIstrict Grant:
Hello Caleb,
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you for your relentless efforts in the last year in making sure that most of Emmah's Garden projects had the financing they needed. I also want to thank the Rotary Club of Lebanon on behalf of the people of Nyandoche Ibere for the two grants they have availed to Emmah's Garden. I do not take it for granted and please mention to them how the money has transformed lives in the village.
With last year's finances, we were able to continue supporting the kitchen garden groups in the village by providing seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides. These efforts led to increased income for the poor women in the village and decreased malnutrition cases among children in the village.
During the Christmas season, Emmah's Garden was able to provide foodstuffs (wheat flour, cooking oil, and sugar) to more than 500 poor people in the village who would not have afforded Christmas. This was in the spirit of sharing the love and compassion of Jesus Christ because Christmas is a big day here in Kenya. Many children were able to have some food in their homes hence reducing depression and stress in families.
On another note, through the support from Emmah's Garden, we were able to plant 4 hectares of field with corn which provided food and some income to the people in the village.
Lastly, we have been able to build some sense of community and provide agricultural education and health education to the people in the village.
It's my hope that in this coming year, we will be able to build a library for the kids to access the internet and books to read and get a truck to offer transportation services in the village.
Thank you,
Alloys
Hello Team,
I take this opportunity to thank you all for your unwavering support towards Emmah's Garden projects in the year 2023.A Big thank you to the Rotary club of Lebanon. Your advice, financial and material support has really impacted positively the livelihoods of women and children in the village of Nyandoche Ibere. We are deeply very grateful.
In the year 2023 through your support we were able to lease 5 hectares of land and engaged 50 women in groups of 10 to practice vegetables farming on them. With a close guidance from me they were able to plant vegetables for their family consumption and sell the surplus to the market. This enabled them to eat a balanced diet and also have some money in their pockets to pay school fees for their kids.
Personally i was able to lease a quarter acre through support from Emmah's Garden. This land is now being used as demo-farm were i demonstrate modern farming skills to my villagers. Currently we have more than six varieties of vegetables on the demo- farm under organic farming.
Sincerely 2023 was a success for Emmah's Garden since we were able to change livelihoods of around fifty families through the women groups we formed. This year we are looking forward to bring more families on board, engage in sanitary pads distribution in our schools and also to expand Emmah's demo-farm into a big farm that can practice large scale corn farming and sweet potatoes farming in this year 2024. I believe through your support we can achieve this.
Again receive gratitude from the people of Nyandoche Ibere, you have really brought new hope in their lives. God bless you.
Sincerely,
Emmah.