02/05/2023
A Call To Action: Promote Nutritional Support for Children and Youth with Disabilities at Tumbuni Community Center. The project is to be implemented at Tumbuni Community Center in Makueni County.
Tumbuni Community Center was initiated in January 2006 to support the growing population of learners with special needs in accessing education in regular schools. This was occasioned by the long distance to the schools, which learners with mobility challenges had difficulty traveling, and also by the lack of trained teachers in sign language, which denied children with hearing limitations a chance to be in regular schools. Over time, the center has grown to accommodate learners from needy backgrounds across the counties of makueni, machakos, kajiado and Taita taveta.
The Center harbors a vision of an inclusive society where children and youth with disabilities can participate equally without discrimination; this is to be realized through our mission of removing barriers that limit the participation of children and youth with disabilities.
Problem Statement: Climate change is becoming one of the most serious challenges to Kenya’s achievement of its development goals as described under Vision 2030 and the Big Four agenda. Kenya is already highly susceptible to climate-related hazards, and in many areas, extreme events and variability of weather are now the norm; rainfall is irregular and unpredictable; and droughts have become more frequent. Makueni being an ASAL is characterized by prolonged periods of abnormally low rainfall and a shortage of water. This results in a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture, harming the local economy. The prolonged drought events have resulted in the drying up of water sources with an associated increase in the distance to water points in the pastoral livelihood zone, loss of livestock, crop failures, school dropouts, and escalated human-wildlife conflicts.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts forward a transformational vision, recognizing that our world is changing, bringing with it new challenges that must be overcome if we are to live in a world without hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition in any of its forms. Climate change and increasing climate variability and extremes are affecting agricultural productivity, food production, and natural resources, with impacts on food systems and rural livelihoods, including a decline in the number of farmers. All of this has led to major shifts in the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed worldwide – and to new food security, nutrition, and health challenges (FAO 2019).
Hunger and an inadequate food supply are still affecting large parts of Makueni County’s population, with serious consequences for health and well-being, especially for children. Undernutrition and malnutrition in childhood interfere with physical and mental development, thus compromising whole lives. Despite progress made on health outcomes over time, malnutrition in Makueni County remains a major public health problem. The county stunting level stands at 25.2%, wasting at 5%, and underweight at 8.1% (KNBS, 2014).
In many communities, persons with disabilities and their families already face food shortages on a daily basis due to their poverty. Climate change is projected to exacerbate food shortages and malnutrition in the world’s poorest regions. Malnutrition is estimated to cause approximately 20% of impairments worldwide (DFID 2000). With increasing malnutrition, we must expect that more children (including those of parents with disabilities) will acquire disabling impairments.
Food insecurity can affect health and well-being in many ways, with potentially negative consequences for mental, social, and physical well-being. Many studies using experience-based food insecurity scales have documented the negative psychosocial effects of food insecurity in women and children. Furthermore, one particular study using the global FIES data found that food insecurity is associated with poorer mental health and specific psychosocial stressors across global regions, independent of socio-economic status. This calls for enhancing access to nutrition for vulnerable households. With adverse climate change hazards that are likely to exacerbate food insecurity, it is imperative that the communities are sensitized and supported to adopt climate-smart initiatives to enhance their access to food and nutrition in appropriate qualities and quantities.
It is commonly understood that poverty goes hand in hand with hunger and malnutrition. Poverty is indeed one of the underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition. However, they do not always move in unison, and sometimes they diverge from what is expected. Investigating why this is the case is critical for eradicating food insecurity and malnutrition. The relationship between poverty, food security, and nutrition is also bidirectional, meaning that food security and nutrition are both determinants and dimensions of poverty. Food insecurity, poor health, and malnutrition are often reasons why households end up in poverty or sink further into it if they are already poor. In addressing household income levels, the project will open options for families to meet their food and nutritional needs.
Project Scope: The scope of this project shall be within the Tumbuni Community Centre for children and youth with disabilities.
Project Beneficiaries: The primary beneficiaries of the project are children with disabilities. The project should assist learners with disabilities in enhancing their
Goal: To enhance the retention and learning of children with special needs at Tumbuni Community Center.
Outcomes:
Improved nutritional support for children and youth at Tumbuni community center
Elimination of malnutrition and undernutrition among learners at the Tumbuni community center
Enhance children's concentration during learning.
Objectives:
To reduce malnutrition and undernutrition for children and youth at Tumbuni Community Center
To increase food ratios for children and youths at the center
To reduce school absenteeism occasioned by a lack of food
Project Strategies: The strategy of the project is anchored on two key pillars. The first is short-term measures which will be to increase food stocks while in the long term, we intend to utilize our land to grow food for the Centre
Monitoring and Evaluation: The project recognizes that monitoring and evaluation are the drivers towards improving the impacts to achieve the set objectives of the project. The Tumbuni Center management committee, with support from the technical team from the supporting company or institution, will monitor the children's nutritional progress for the agreed period. The school management will ensure the purchased foods meet the required food standards, and they will be kept in places as directed by the manufacturers.
The support will go a long way in enhancing children with disabilities' retention in school, as they will be having a meal on their table, which will save the institution costs associated with undernutrition, such as frequent hospital visits.
BUDGET:
1. Purchase of 30 bags of maize @8,000 - 240,000
2. Purchase of 10 bags of beans @12,000 - 120,000.00
3. Purchase of 10 Bags of green grams / kamande @15,000 - 150,000
4. Purchase of 100 liters of cooking oil @300 - 30,000
5. Purchase of 10 bales of all-purpose wheat flour @3600 - 36,000
6. Purchase of 10 bags of rice @5,000 - 50,000
7. Purchase of 4 50kg bags of sugar @8,000 - 32,000
8. Purchase of 5 boxes of bar soap @4,000 - 20,000
TOTAL 678,000,00
For Donations:
PayBill: 400200.
Account Number: 40090585.
Account Name: Tumbuni Community Center
Tabitha K. Mburugu, HSC, DSM.
Chairperson, Board Of Management.
