A Ki-Swahili expression one gets used to after a little while on the ground here is tuko pumoja (are we together?). Often used to check for understanding and agreement in conversation or a staff meeting, these words steadily creep more and more into my English usage as well. That’s the question we always need to …
In the Nuru International Agriculture Program, I often find myself planning and anticipating what’s to come: the next few years, the next season, the next activity in the field, or the next month’s outlook for rain. Nuru International’s Agriculture Program is growing, with a robust program under Nuru Kenya and a nascent program under Nuru …
Happy New Year from Kenya! The Healthcare team reconvened after a restful Christmas break full of enthusiasm and hope for the year ahead. We began by reflecting on the achievements of the past year that included scaling to a new division, launching our social marketing program and helping to stop a measles outbreak. But don’t …
Today, I have the privilege of introducing our newest addition to the Community Economic Development (CED) team, Mr. Ibrahim Sifuna. Mr. Sifuna was hired as Nuru Kenya, Community Economic Development Program District Manager as of January 2013. Mr. Sifuna was born in Kakamega District, western Kenya. He is married and a father of six children. …
Before the end of the year, the Leadership Program was gearing up to make quite a few changes, and now that we have entered January, these changes are in full swing. First, we are currently working on growing our team. With two staff members leaving us during the holiday break, we have now hired two …
The Education Program has seen tremendous growth in facilitation skills over the past few months. This growth is in no doubt thanks to the outstanding trainings of our new training manager George Nyamweya. George worked his way up from Education Coordinator to Field Manager to Training Manager within Nuru’s Education Program. George has a thirst …
Kenya has a bi-modal rain pattern, meaning it has two rainy seasons. The “short rains” season occurs from October to December, while the “long rains” begin in late February and last up to June. As the long rains season approaches, the Nuru Kenya Agriculture program has started one of the most logistically intense operations of …
We all thought we had Claire Rumpsa pegged. Smart, kind, diligent, and armed with a hint of Northern Irish strength. But fresh off a recent field visit I can assure you that’s is only just the start. I’ve come to find that Claire yields an unexpected sense of humor, just a good shade on the …
Looking back and reflecting is something I have never been that good at. The pace of my life over the past five years and the aggressiveness of what we are trying to achieve at Nuru keeps me running so fast that I seldom feel like I can pause, take a breath and take stock of …
*For an explanation of Nuru’s Proof of Concept, see below. I’m very excited about the launch of our new country project in Ethiopia. I just spent the last three months in Arba Minch, Ethiopia laying the foundation for the project – developing required administrative infrastructure, building a solid logistics and support base, conducting early M&E …
In July 2012 about 106 Community Economic Development (CED) Msingi wa KAPESA savings club (Mwak) members have lent to their members an aggregate of 448,000Ksh (Kenyan Shillings) in microloans. The loans were given for a three month term. At the end of the third month, all clients successfully paid their loan on the agreed terms and time frame …
Recently, I was posed a question: How does indigenous knowledge fit into Nuru International’s Agriculture Program? With such a vibrant history in our current countries of operation, Kenya and now Ethiopia, Nuru International’s Agriculture Program leverages the vast sum of knowledge accumulated by local people to create and implement sustainable and scalable agriculture interventions for …
I had a great opportunity to visit Proximity Designs and see the work that they’ve been doing in Myanmar. I got to spend time with the design group, led by David Klaus, which is now busy producing a new plastic pump and water basket for farmers there. This group performs needs finding in the community, …
I recently returned to the States from a visit with the education team in Kenya. We covered a lot of ground in two short weeks. Today, I’ll pass along the highlights from my trip. During my visit with the team, I shadowed outreach throughout Isibania division and worked with the team on areas of growth. …
This morning was a foggy morning here in Cincinnati, much like the one above. I didn’t take this picture, it’s from here. I also didn’t see this exact image as this shot was taken from Kentucky, but I did drive along the river to a board meeting this morning, so I got to see the …