Yesterday we held a staff development day at our house. The Community Development Chairmen (CDC) came over and we discussed everything from banking, to female empowerment, to maps. Philip Mohochi (our head chairman and community business guy) taught the rest of the CDC how to keep a budget and do their own books. The CDC …
Last week I spent most of my time roaming around the area with GPS and camera in hand to map and photograph as much of the area as possible. The original map I made didn’t have much in the way of location information and no pictures to associate with any of the structures. This time, …
It’s amazing how providing access to simple information and resources can dramatically improve the lives of the extremely poor. In February, Nuru issued farmers in the Nyametaburo and Nyangiti communities a loan of maize seed and fertilizer. Why? Their soil was so depleted of nitrogen and phosphates (critical to crop growth and sustenance) that the …
Eleven college campuses. Over 800 students participating. Hundreds of dollars raised by students, and thousands given by benevolent donors. “Be Hope to Her” is effecting change – real, lasting, sustainable change. This campaign began because Nuru noticed a need in Kuria, Kenya – a need that is an injustice; women and girls, sacrificing education and …
I may be more naïve than the rest of us, but it wasn’t until I started getting involved in this clean water awareness campaign nicknamed BH2O+ (“Be Hope to Her”) that I actually considered what a dramatic impact water has on my life. Think about it. How many times do you come in contact with …
I was recently encouraged by a close friend of mine (my brother-in-law) to do something that seemed at face value to be a little ridiculous in today’s world…to write a letter to the President of the United States. I laughed for a while at the notion when I first read his email, but over the …
Nuru’s farm loan program is a critical foothold program for us here in the community. The farm loan program involves Nuru purchasing high quality inputs (fertilizer and seed) so that famers can dramatically increase their crop yields (400%-500%). At harvest, the farmers repay the loan and have plenty left over to feed their families for …
16 February 2009 Hapana is the Kiswahili word for no. Unfortunately, during my work here I have had to use that word probably more than any other word in this beautiful language. I use the time during my daily walk to work for many purposes. It’s an hour and a half, so it’s a pretty …
The Nuru Foundation Team returned to Kenya in mid-January and we’ve been running 100 mph ever since. A lot happened in the first couple weeks back on the ground: – I finished a report documenting pretty much everything I did in the first 3 months here and the water and sanitation needs we’ve seen and …
Nuru’s farm loan program is a critical foothold program for us here in the community. The loan will enable farmers to become totally self-sufficient in food production for their families and increase their family income. Both of these results help win the battle against chronic hunger and malnutrition here in Kuria. This program involves Nuru …
I returned to the U.S. from Kenya this holiday season with a very heavy burden on my heart: we were critically short on funding for our program here in Kuria. As I stepped off the plane at SFO, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the hopes and dreams of 3,000 brave souls, the …
Well…another year is upon us. The approach of a new year always brings such a mixture of emotions in me – beginning with New Years Eve. Every year is the same…trying to figure out what party to go to or what “event” to be at – all the while holding such incredible expectations that this …
No matter where you go in Kuria you’ll be surrounded by kids. They seem to have a built in mzungu radar (mzungu is the term for a white person in Kiswahili) and come running to greet you. Greetings here are a big deal. If there is a small group of 10 kids standing in a …
November 19 was World Toilet Day! I was notified of this from my friends at Water Partners: “We celebrate World Toilet Day and the incredible value of the can. Call it what you will – the pot, the loo, the throne, the latrine, the water closet, the bog, or here in Kenya – the choo. It’s one …
People have been asking what a typical day looks like for me here in Kuria, so here goes: 6:30 a.m. We wake up to the rooster crowing (oh wait, he crows pretty much all day). I put on my flip-flops and head for the choo (toilet) out back. The squat provides a great morning leg …