Meet Ann!
Ann is a farmer and housewife in Nakwijit Village, West Pokot, Kenya. She is married to Tomee Loriong and has 7 children.
She is one of 32 women who we supported through an income-generating enterprise in partnership with Centre for Indigenous Child Rights. Ann shares how life has changed since she started growing vegetables in her garden.
What was life like before the project?
Ann was forced to drop out of school and got married at a young age. She relied on her husband’s income to feed the family.
Her husband would buy food on market days after selling a goat. They only ate once a day in the evening. She had no business skills.
What was your involvement with the project?
Since joining the Mochukwo (Kitchen Garden) women group, she realised she has a capacity within herself that was untapped.
She participated in rotational watering of seedlings at the River Suam, next to her farm. She fenced her farm and tranplanted several vegetable seedlings. She begun harvesting vegetables daily to feed her family and was able to sell surplus to the community.
What improvements have you seen since being part of the project?
Her husband and family are happy with her work and she is able to purchase other food items with money earnt at the market. Her children and herself have improved health and weight. They are now eating two meals a day.
She is able to participate actively in group activities and can now speak in front of people. She is a role model to other women in the community and teaches others about vegetable farming.
What else can we do for your community?
The community leaders saw the amazing work of the women, and unconventionally granted 2 acres of land to use as they wish. They dream of using this land as a Women’s Training Centre. To do this, they need to have sufficient infrastructure in place.
We hope to install a borehole on the land and train the women to build rainwater harvesting tanks for 50+ households in the community to ensure access to safe water year round.
Read the full article about the Income-Generating Enterprise Project here.
Read more about our WASH project in Nakwijit here.
Photos from the Income Generating Enterprise Project, Nakwijit, West Pokot, Kenya.
Photos from CICR, April 2023
