To Catch A Thief
If you ask anyone in Kuria “siku za mwizi ni ngapi?” (how many days does it take to catch a thief?), the prompt reply will be “arobaini”. Forty days.
Nuru
New Leaders Developing Through More Responsibility
Of Bicycles and Leadership What’s the missing ingredient in International Development? This has long been debated as aid has continued to fail to work. I’ve been thinking about “leadership” as the missing ingredient in development efforts. You can pour all the money in the world into a leaderless pit of bureaucracy and never fill it …
Land Loans: Targeting Extreme Poverty
It’s unusually hot and rainy for January. The maize is turning golden and farmers have begun to harvest. With the granary construction just about completed, the Nuru team is getting mobilized for a busy month of buying maize and receiving loan repayment, followed by the issue of next season’s inputs. Payment for maize will be …
Educating Rural Kenyan Teachers
In many of the schools we work with, preschool teachers are viewed as little more than baby sitters for the youngest children attending school. The government does not hire certified teachers for preschool and kindergarten, so most ECD (early childhood development) teachers are individuals who never went to secondary school, much less teacher college. Because …
Touring the what??? THE WHOLE COUNTRY!
We are a little over one week into our 75 day adventure and the days are already starting to run together. I think that is why it is so important to spend some time reflecting on the places we have been and the people we’ve come in contact with. Nuru attracts people from every walk …
Moms Working to End Extreme Poverty
From time to time, people write us and share stories of how they are being Nuru in their world. Your stories are incredible, and we want to share them so you can inspire others. The following story comes from a Nuru advocate and mom named Nicole. We thought you would enjoy her story. . . …
Risk Management in Microfinance
Rats are spiteful, evil geniuses. They had a field day while we were gone for the holidays, eating the soap and carpeting my room with poop. They turned my laundry into a nest of half-eaten bugs, poop, and shredded underwear. I find it funny that I can’t stand rats and they did this to my …
Travel Log from California to Kenya
I just arrived back this week. Nothing has really happened yet, so I’ll just write about what did: a 49 hours and 52 minutes of planes, trains and automobiles, except without the trains. Which is the shortest amount of time it’s yet taken to get from my door in California to my door in Kenya. …
Challenges and Changes with the Education Program
We arrived back in the project last Wednesday, less than a week into the New Year. Although the foundation team has been gone for more than three weeks, life here in Kuria and the projects here on the ground have continued to steadily push ahead during the holiday season: our Nuru headquarters has been moved …
Nuru Tour Launches on MLK Day
Morgantown, WV January 18, 2010 On a day when the entire nation was reflecting and remembering the pioneer of justice, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Nuru International launched its first nationwide tour in an effort to mobilize others to join our efforts to end extreme poverty. Three young poverty fighters will drive around the country …
BH2O+ 2010 Is Coming…
Beginning today Nuru is on the road bringing the fight to end extreme poverty to a city near you. Nuru’s National Tour departed from Morgantown, West Virginia this afternoon in a beat-up, old passenger van embarking on a 3 month, 20,000 mile, 50 city tour to catalyze a movement of hope to end extreme poverty …
Merry Christmas from FT III
A belated Christmas message from Foundation Team III (David Carreon, Vivian Lu and Chelsea Barabas) as they head home for a well-deserved break. They’ve already returned to the project and are hard at work in Kuria.
Primary School Infrastructure Enhancements in Rural Kenya
An update on the infrastructure project at St. Joseph’s School from Chelsea Barabas, Nuru’s Education Program Manager.
Home Surveys Conducted in the Nuru Evaluation
Whew, this wild three-week evaluation is nearing its end. Our evaluators, the interviewers they hired, the Nuru staff here on the ground, and Stephanie, the manager of the Eval, have worked amazingly hard to do this job. I can’t believe what they have been able to accomplish in just a few short weeks. We have …
Really? The End Of Extreme Poverty?
Whoa, we are here!! Crazy. Stephanie, myself, and our two evaluators, Sarah and Crystal, strolled into the Nuru house a one week ago yesterday. Our schedule has been absolutely full since then. Stephanie organized and is in charge of the evaluation, Sarah and Crystal are doing all the data gathering. I’m supervising. You know how …