As Nuru supporters know, the Nuru Kenya Agriculture Program (NK Ag) is growing quickly. In 2013, NK Ag is serving about 5,500 farmers throughout Kuria West, a nearly 100% increase from our 2012 farmers. As NK Ag grows its impact, it has also expanded its staff to include new leadership. The NK Ag District Manager, …
Over the past few months, the Social Marketing team has been busy developing messages and awareness materials to help fight against maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND). MLND is a devastating maize disease that is a huge threat to the livelihoods and food security of farmers in Kenya. The team began by holding focus group discussions …
Jane Omanga is the newly hired District Manager for the Leadership Program. She has extensive experience in project management, counseling, and social work. She is originally from Kisumu and is married with three children. She is happy to join us in the fight of eliminating extreme poverty in rural Kenya. Below, find some of her …
After a long search, Nuru’s Education Program has finally found a District Manager. George Baridi officially began work with Nuru’s Education Team in March of 2013. Baridi has a long history of working in the international education sector with various NGOs and other collaborations with governments. Over the past 10 years, he has worked as …
In February 2013, Nuru International held interviews with applicants from all over Ethiopia who were interested in working in the new Nuru Ethiopia Agriculture Program. The task was to find high-capacity agriculture experts who also held a strong commitment to servant leadership and the eradication of extreme poverty. The group of applicants that walked through …
In February 2013, Nuru International’s project in Ethiopia transitioned into the early phases of field implementation. In this update, I introduce Douglas La Rose, Nuru International’s Agriculture Program Facilitator for Ethiopia. Before I do so, I want to review where we’ve come from and where we’re at currently. Nuru International started working in Kuria, Kenya …
When the Leadership Program launched a couple of years ago we had some specific ideas about how we wanted the organization to value the voices of those we were serving and desired to strategically put us in a position to lead together with those living in extreme poverty. We believed a ready-made Western solution to …
As the start of Term 2 approaches in Kenya, the Nuru Education team is poised for success and continued impact. The team has generated considerable momentum this year under the strong leadership of Victoria Tissian and Jimmy Leak. George Nyamweya’s move from a Field Manager to the team’s Training Manager has enabled us to take …
Sustainability and Environment The subject of this post is Nuru International’s approach to environmental sustainability in the Agriculture Program. Nuru International often discusses sustainability in terms of projects running on local finances (Financial Sustainability) and local leadership (Leadership Sustainability). While these values are fundamental to the way projects operate, there are other qualifiers of sustainability. …
We are thrilled to see Nuru’s Community Economic Development (CED) program growing every day and expanding its services to every village and community in Kuria West District. As of March 31st 2013, CED has helped more than 2000 community members in organizing 304 savings and loan groups in its Misingi Wa Kapesa (Mwak) model. The …
It’s very sunny here in Kenya but we are still working hard and when I think of Nuru’s mission I work even harder. When I joined Nuru, I never thought I would be so emotionally committed to Nuru and “ending extreme poverty one community at a time”. This phrase takes my heart away, especially when …
This is a question we have often contemplated in Leadership, and while it seems on the surface to be inherently complicated, we are slowly beginning to make sense of it. In a previous blog post I mentioned that one way of measuring our program will be through the Staff Leadership Review. In addition to this, …
Since the beginning of Nuru in 2008, Nuru’s education programs and initiatives had been concentrated in Isebania Division. As one of Nuru’s goals is to scale to new places, the education program began offering its outreach program in Mabera Division in January 2013. Preparation for this expansion began in August 2012 with the hiring and …
Planting is in full swing for the 2013 long rains season in Kuria West, Kenya. Farmers have spent the last few months preparing land, acquiring their farm inputs (seed and fertilizer) from Nuru Kenya and awaiting the rain. The rains have come a bit late to Kuria West this year, but now that they are …
We are off to a great start for Nuru Ethiopia here in Gamo Highlands. The team has been on the ground with me now for three weeks, and I can already tell that this is going to be a really cohesive and effective team. During this first phase of the project, we will focus on …