TOTAL RAISED OFF LINE so far: £145 added to online Just Giving total

£40 special collection at church service, £10 sale of finger puppets, £85 special collection at church service on 14th July

INTERNATIONAL CHARITY APPEAL 2024

The Nasio Trust, Kakamega County, Western Kenya

During 2024 St John’s ECO-Church is raising funds for The Nasio Trust which is a UK registered charity and Kenyan NGO.

The Nasio Trust

The Nasio Trust supports orphaned and vulnerable children and empower communities in Kakamega County, Kenya to break the cycle of poverty and thrive, by focusing on three key strands – Education, Healthcare and Sustainable Livelihoods.

We will be running fundraising and information events, together with special church services. More information will be on this page soon.

All fundraising and donations will be sent by the church direct to The Nasio Trust, together with any gift aid given.

St John's are specifically supporting:

The Nasio Trust Project for Sustainable Agriculture

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

The Nasio Trust currently supports over 1,285 small-scale farmers in Mumias West-Sub County. Their goal is to ensure that the community they work in :

- has access to cheap, and locally-sourced food

- Is self-sufficient in food including grains, vegetables, and fruits

- Is part of a strong food system

- Has developed climate-change mitigation skills

Through their partnership with the 'One Acre Fund', 'the World We Want Foundation', 'Global Foods', and 'Sankalpa' the charity provides farmers with the following to ensure higher yields and better income:

- Farm inputs such as seeds and fertilisers

- Training in irrigation and sowing techniques

- Training in table banking

- Support with accessing market and value chains

- Access to a bereavement fund

The Muslim farmers they support also donate a portion of their yields to members of the community who may be in need, as part of their zaakat or religious charitable donation.

Young Farmers Club

The Young Farmers Club (YFC) has trained 128 young people in partner schools to set-up their own kitchen gardens to grow vegetables and reduce dependence on food bought elsewhere. They also have their own kitchen gardens at the Noah’s Ark and St Irene’s ECD centres to help supplement the meals Nasio Trust provide to their beneficiaries. Guardians of beneficiaries tend to the crops rotationally to develop their own skills and to give back to the community.

Combatting Climate Change

The Nasio Trust recognises the adverse effect of climate change and unpredictable weather patterns on small farmers and rural people at-large. Poor crop yields push people into situations of hunger and poverty, with increase in school drop-outs, risky sexual behaviour, and poor overall health.

To mitigate these effects, this sustainable agriculture project aims to provide training to the beneficiaries in climate change and incorporate regenerative agricultural techniques such as composting, crop rotation, and agroforestry into their programmes.

Fund Raising - For Sale £3 each

Knitted finger puppets (or pencil tops) - Lions, Giraffes, Monkeys

Can be ordered from Jill Kent - treasurer@gastardchurch.org.uk, or there are some available to buy in the church.

2023 Sustainable Agriculture Achievements

- 249,875 kgs of maize harvested by 1,000 farmers, with an average yield of 250 kgs per farmer

- Farmer yields improved by 34.7% in comparison with 2022

- Farmers provided with regular monitoring and support through 442 farm visits

- 66 compost pits dug and maintained to encourage adoption of organic farming techniques

- 600 trees planted to promote ecosystem diversity and reforestation

- All OAF farmers are repaying their loans

- 5,872 indirect beneficiaries in farmer households benefitting from increased food security

- 1,000,000 meals created from agricultural yields, improving nutrition and food security

- 600,000 KES of surplus income generated that has been reinvested into children’s education by farmer households

- Farmers now trained to grow beans, millet, sweet potations, arrow roots, and bananas for nutritional diversity

- Over 1,000 days of school fees paid

2023 Report Case Study - Margaret Chibasa

Margaret Chibasa is a 52-year old farmer from Imanga village, a beneficiary of the pilot project. She is one of the farmers who benefited from the pilot project. In 2022 Margaret harvested 2.5 80kg bags of maize from ¼ acre of land. Upon harvesting, she was forced to sell 2 bags of maize to pay for the One Acre Fund loan and the maize left with her could not sustain her household of 7 for even a month.

With inputs received as part of the pilot project in 2023, Margaret was able to plant maize and harvest 4.5 bags from the same piece of land she planted last year, harvesting a surplus of 160 kgs of maize. She and her family are now able to enjoy three meals a day instead of their usual one.

Margaret has stored 3 bags of maize for future consumption and the remaining 1.5 bags will be sold when the market price is high to generate income, which she will use to pay for her son’s school fees. She will also use the income to purchase farm inputs for the short rain season. She is excited to be part of the project, and she is optimistic that the project will lead to sustainability.