To mark the 20th anniversary of Africa Exclusive we would like to sponsor a complete project for the charity Send a Cow in the Western Region of Kenya.  Thanks to the generous support of many of our clients we have already raised over £22,000 towards the cost of this project. If you have enjoyed time in Africa or are looking forward to your first visit to this amazing continent please do consider if you can give something back by supporting this project.

The project will directly benefit 42 farming families (301 people) from two community groups, the Jiinue Self Help Group and the Echengo Temakho Farmers Group.

The Jiinue Self-Help Group is made up of 28 members (17 women and11 men) from 22 families. As a group they care for a total of 128 children, of whom 25 are orphans.  Struggling to farm the land or grow enough to sell at market, farmers earn just 50 Kenyan Shillings a day (40p) and are unable to support all their families’ needs.  As a result more than 30 of the children cannot attend school, with books, pens and uniform unaffordable. Without sufficient food, families can only eat one meal a day and children often fall sick due to poor nutrition.  

The Echengo Temakho Farmers Group is made up of 20 members (7 female and 13 male) all of whom live within a two kilometre radius of one another.  As a result of HIV/AIDS many of the farmers have lost family members and several are living as widows after the death of their spouses.  Five members of the group are living with HIV/AIDS, having openly disclosed their status, and a further three members of the group are disabled.  The group cares for 125 children, 37 of which are orphans.  

 

The project will also indirectly benefit the wider community through informal training, increased understanding of issues such as HIV/AIDS and access to inputs such as seeds and farm produce.  With Send a Cow farmers passing on the gift it is expected that a further 420 families (2940 people) will gain food, income, plus other benefits.

Sue Burdett visited the project in October 2010 and was able to see for herself how in only a few months the families have already learnt new farming techniques that have enabled them to grow enough vegetables to improve their diet and provide a small income.  They will continue to receive training and support in sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry and hope to receive their cows in mid 2011.  See Sue's project blog at http://jiinue.wordpress.com.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Send a Cow and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.  

So please dig deep and donate now.