In Kenyan villages, education opportunities are limited, particularly for women and girls. In Migori County, there are few schools, and those that exist are ill equipped. Twenty percent of residents have no formal education, and only 15 percent have a secondary-level education.
Western Kenya is an important trade and cultural link to Lake Victoria, the Serengeti, Uganda and Tanzania. Economic opportunity is critically important to the rural villages, as they have much to contribute to the local economy.
Good Villages is working to address these inequities through skills development, sustainable agriculture and education support.
We believe in the priceless value of education
We believe in self-empowerment, particularly for women and girls
We believe in bridging generational and technological divides
We believe every person has a right to learn and pursue opportunity
WHAT WE DO
01. Education Support
For a typical school-aged child in a Kenyan village, the day begins at 4:00 a.m. and school begins at 7:00 a.m. There are no school lunches, so children return to their homes for lunch.
After returning to school, children come home and do household chores. Many children do their homework by lamplight because there is no electricity. Almost nobody has or knows how to use a computer.
School supplies are nearly non-existent. Some families share one pencil between several siblings. Classrooms may have one textbook shared between several students.
Most children do not continue beyond primary school, due to family obligations or government academic requirements for secondary education. Girls are the least likely to continue their education.
For those lucky enough to pass exams, most families can’t afford tuition and boarding fees for high school.
Good Villages is helping by:
1. Creating scholarships for tuition assistance
2. Designing a Good Villages-branded African textile school bag, produced by women in the business mentorship program
3. Providing school supplies and teaching aids to village schools, distributed in our custom school bag
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02. Financial Literacy
Subsistence is critical to Kenyan villages, but there is untapped opportunity for economic growth and system change by embracing and supporting entrepreneurship, particularly for women in villages.
However, Kenyan villages lack the resources to support business development and entrepreneurship. Access to funding for business endeavors is virtually non-existent, as there is limited infrastructure to support even medium-scale commercial enterprises.
Migori County is part of an important trade region on the border of Tanzania, with important connections to Lake Victoria and Uganda. Villagers could take advantage of the goods moving through the region and re-selling them, but poverty prevents most from participating in the trade economy.
Good Villages is helping by:
Teaching basic financial literacy
Starting a training program in tailoring for villagers to earn money
Providing computer resources for business
Offering interest-free, rotational microloans of $2-$10 for village market-sellers to stock additional products
Offering interest-free, rotational microloans of $2-$10 for village market-sellers to stock additional products
Teaching business expansion and sales strategies
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03. Sustainable Agriculture
For a woman in a Kenyan village, the typical day begins with tending to a subsistence farm, fetching water, cooking, and occasionally selling excess produce at makeshift shops in high traffic areas.
After washing and cleaning, women help their children do homework by lamplight. Their work is vital to the family, but how does she help contribute to the village economy and improve the quality of life for herself and her family?
By expanding their business knowledge and acumen, women can play an important role in breaking the cycle of poverty in Kenyan villages. Women can then be greater contributors to the village and family economies, taking the lead in expanding farming plots and boosting their farm produce to benefit the entire village and eventually expanding to larger-scale commercial farming.
Good Villages is helping by:
Creating an agricultural and gardening program to improve self-sustaining and commercial farming through kitchen gardening
Introducing value addition and mixed cropping
Promoting knowledge of drip irrigation and hybrid seeding
Focusing on diversified production, including composting and poultry farming
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About Your Donations
Donations to Good Villages International are used for program, operations and material expenses. Consider a multi-year commitment that will help sustain education and opportunity for hundreds of rural school children in Kenya for years to come.We accept donations of all amounts and appreciate both in-kind and monetary donations.Recurring donations allow you to support our projects on an ongoing basis. You can choose to donate with the option to make your donation a subscription as well as customize the giving frequency.In order to make an offline donation we ask that you please follow these instructions:
Make a check payable to "Good Villages Inc" On the memo line of the check, please indicate that the donation is for "Good Villages Inc"
Please mail your check to:
GOOD VILLAGES
P. O Box 780011
Zip code: 32878
Orlando Florida,
USA
