Success Stories
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The Story of the Guardians Project
According to the United Nations, there are an estimated two million people in Kenya living with HIV/AIDS. More than half of infected adults are women, and nearly 200,000
Nearly 200,000 of these are children under the age of 15, and more than half of infected adults are women.
The small village of Kunya has not been spared the ravages of this disease. A rural community, Kunya subsists mostly by farming and fishing. Though resources are few, thirty women from Kunya have taken in thirty-two AIDS orphans, some adding to their existing families, some making room in homes where children were long grown and gone.
Life in this village is already hard. Three years of drought have made the already-difficult task of caring for their families into a nearly unbearable burden for these women. This would not deter them from banding together to find a way to feed, clothe, educate and find medical attention for the orphans they took into their homes and hearts.
With the help of the Pangea Network and a Kenyan based partner, Mama Na Dada, the women were organized into a cooperative. Land for a large garden and a fishing pond, and a building for a school and bakery were donated.
Last year, Pangea conducted education in leadership, human rights, and in-home health. Belgian-based Doctors Without Borders was brought in to care for the children’s basic medical needs, such as vaccinations and ARVs. Local agricultural organizations provided assistance with building the fish pond and starting the garden.
Early this year, they had major setbacks. The drought in Kenya drove monkeys from the highlands into the village, pillaging and destroying all the crops. Floods on the far shores of Lake Victoria caused the shoreline to rise and envelop the newly built fish pond. Disease struck their chickens, taking the remaining fruits of their labor. Starvation was a real possibility for the women and the children.
Once again, the women had a plan. If they could band together, they could create a chicken coop which would be the responsibility of the entire cooperative. They would all be trained to clean, feed and raise the chickens and share in the work and the profits. By coming together, they could minimize the risk of failure and feed their families. Again, with the support of The Pangea Network and Mama Na Dada, this dream will soon be a reality. Construction of the chicken coop begins in weeks and training is underway. Because they have come together as a community, these women have gained strength from each other. They have also proven that by cooperating, they can face down overwhelming odds.
