It’s almost that time of year again…drilling time! Maji-Tech, our drillers, are set to come and drill a new well in a village called Nyangiti. So, we’ve been busy working with the community to get ready to drill. This includes having meals ready for the drillers who will be hard at work, providing lodging and …
On my first day of work at Micato Safaris, my first job out of undergrad, my boss called me into his office to discuss my role and give me some tips before embarking on what would be a valuable three-year journey of personal and professional development. He said to me, “the best manager is a …
Alright, alright…last week we had a guest blogger (thank you, Stephanie), and the two weeks prior to that I posted some stuff about coal mining, hurricanes, innovation, and tobacco. Each post was very fun to write, but I realize it has been a while since I’ve given an update as to what we’re actually doing …
CED Program Manager, Vivian Lu, shows us the exciting groundbreaking of Nuru’s new Regional Training Center, which will house the Jamii Development Fund and the hub of all of our mobile banking services.
We’ve been in the middle of testing the waters at Moheto lately, and there’s a sense of urgency because of the recent cholera outbreak there. We want to be able to gather data on Moheto’s water sources as quickly as possible so that we can give farmers there the information they need to make informed decisions. …
For those who choose the public health career path, an eye is always peeled for risk situations and poor practices. People who consciously decide to dedicate their life to need-finding and improving health often already exude several of the characteristics that lend to those tasks. Some may include, a good work ethic, the appropriate balance …
Last week, I met with Alasdair Cohen, the lead author of the Multidimensional Poverty Assessment Tool. I wrote about it a while back, so check that out for a general introduction to the MPAT and Nuru. In preparation for the meeting, I re-read the MPAT User Guide (103 pages) and the MPAT Book (211 pages). …
The last two entries describe pretty different profiles. But you may have noticed that Nuru’s target population, those living in extreme poverty, begins working with the Agriculture Program instead of CED. It turns out that many CED loan clients are not the extreme poor. It’s widely accepted that microfinance is not a development panacea. Prominent …
So we, FT5 (Foundation Team 5), just got back from a relaxing weeklong break. What made it even better was knowing I had left the program in good hands. How did I know? The Friday before we left, I sat down for some 1 on 1’s with my team and couldn’t help but see how …
My husband and I traveled to West Virginia over Labor Day weekend and went to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine in the southern part of the state called, you guessed it, Beckley. I highly recommend the museum to anyone who has the chance to go. It offers a chance to learn a bit about the …
A couple of weeks ago, I talked about finishing the baseline for Nyamaharaga. However, we’re not interested in just collecting data. We want to begin conversations with the community so that we can create solutions tukapamoja (“together” in Swahili). So, we’ve been presenting our results to the community, showing them just how contaminated many of …
Today was supposed to be our big meeting to resolve the Taragwiti sponsorship situation. The DEO had called the meeting and had invited the local chiefs, parents, Salvation Army representatives, Nuru representatives, school staff and all other interested parties. This situation is complex. Our education team is treading softly. We don’t want to incite the …
Nuru Is “On the Map” I hope you don’t mind the slight interruption of the 2-week mapping video series, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share a bit of recent news that impacts Nuru’s presence in Kenya. While we have been working diligently to make a reliable map of the area that includes …
In my last post I wrote about designing for the extreme user, and Nuru’s holistic, need-based solution for our target “users”, those living in extreme poverty. This week I’d like to think about a different kind of extreme user – the individual poised to break away from extreme poverty. If Nuru’s programs work as they …
A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the desperate need that we saw in a place called Moheto. People were literally drinking from muddy pits that they had dug into the ground. Since the land there is mostly flat, these pits contained stagnant water that was a breeding ground for bacteria. However, this past …