Ruhiira, A Beautiful First Trip to Uganda

On their most recent trip to Africa, Judy and John spent two days in the Ruhiira village cluster, one of 12 clusters participating in the Millennium Villages Project (MVP). Ruhiira is located in the southwest corner of Uganda, not far from the borders with Tanzania and Rwanda. This marked John and Judy’s first visit to Uganda, and it exceeded their expectations, from the beautiful countryside, to the lovely people, to the comfortable weather. They met with MVP staff, toured the villages, visited the two Eliminate Poverty NOW project sites, and met people involved in the projects.

Members of the Kabuyanda Farmers Cooperative

The first of those projects is the Kabuyanda Grain Warehouse. The goal of the project is to increase farmer income, achieve better prices by safely storing crops after harvest, jointly negotiating selling prices, and contracting with major feeding organizations like the World Food Program. Results have been mixed. A 300 metric ton warehouse was financed by the Craig Family Foundation (precursor to EPN) and a farmers cooperative was formed with the goal of gaining 500 members. Currently, the cooperative has only 125 participating farmers and only a fraction of the warehouse capacity is being used, so there is potential to achieve significantly higher farmer participation and income generation with more proactive leadership. John and Judy officially commissioned the warehouse during their visit, which was a nice honor.

The other project they funded in Ruhiira is the Kabuyanda Women’s Craft Cooperative, a women’s cooperative that creates a variety of crafts to generate extra income for the family. Funds were provided to test a new line of beaded jewelry. The test went well, and John and Judy found a wide variety of beaded products being sold at the local co-op as well as through local retail stores.

Members of the Kabuyanda Crafts Co-op

Farmer Paul

Judy and John also had a lovely visit with Farmer Paul, a retired military man with a thirst for knowledge and openness to new ideas. He is a prime example of what a diversified and integrated approach to farming can achieve.  The MVP provided Paul with training, an $800 prized dairy cow, and a hearty breed of goats from South Africa. In addition, Paul planted a garden where he grows fruits and vegetables for sale and personal use. He grows grasses that he feeds to his cow and goats, then uses the manure to fertilize the fields. The manure also is used in a biogas system that produces the gas he cooks with, eliminating the need to cut down trees for firewood, as well as the smoke that permeates most homes. Paul has dramatically improved his standard of living. He has built a new home, financed a retail shop for his wife, and sent his kids to university. He has also given offspring from his cow and goats to other farmers in the community so that they can begin to enjoy the same benefits as him.

John and Judy were particularly impressed with the progress made in infrastructure in the cluster. A network of all weather roads has been cut through the steep terrain, connecting the villages to each other and to the outside world. A water management system has been implemented that provides 9,000 people in the cluster with safe, easy access to water. A prototype shared solar power system was installed, providing power to approximately 120 businesses and households in the area. And the government is installing power lines that will connect the cluster to the national power grid, a decision that MVP had been advocating for many years.

The major goal for economic development in the region is to increase the economic value and diversity of farming activities. Ruhiira lies in the heart of banana country, and bananas are the cornerstone of the economy and local diet. There is much to be said about this subject--we are preparing a blog post dedicated to it! 

All in all it was a wonderful and rewarding trip.

Guest Post by Dov Pasternak: The Transformation of the Sadore Village

We are thrilled to have another guest post this week! This post is from renowned agricultural scientist, and Eliminate Poverty NOW Advisory Committee member, Dov Pasternak. Dov has written a wonderful article about the transformation of the Sadore Village. Please scroll through the pdf below, or read it on Scribd.

The Transformation of the Sadore Village by Anna Drury* (*please note that the article is written by Dov Pasternak, and posted to Scribd by Anna Drury*)

Lead Farmers, a New Millennium Villages Project!

We are pleased to announce that Eliminate Poverty NOW and Millennium Promise are teaming up again to start a Lead Farmer project in the Millennium Villages cluster in Mayange, Rwanda!

One of the challenges in helping rural farmers upgrade their farming practices is providing them with on-going, cost effective technical support. Extension services, which farmers in the U.S. and other developed countries rely on, are largely non-existent in Africa. The "lead farmer" concept is an innovative attempt to provide extension services with a cost effective and scalable model.

The concept groups together 30-50 local farmers, headed by a "lead farmer" selected by the group for being particularly skilled and progressive in his approach. This lead farmer then works closely with an extension agent and shares the knowledge gained with the rest of his group. In this way, the reach of the extension agent is greatly magnified. One extension agent can work with as many as 20 "lead farmers," thereby sharing knowledge with as many as 1,000 farmers. Millennium Promise has used this concept with cocoa farmers in their village cluster in Ghana with encouraging results. This marks the first time the concept is being introduced in Rwanda.  

EPN will provide funds to pay salaries for the extension agents, purchase of seeds and fertilizer for the lead farmers, and training in the development of business plans and loan applications.

The program is well thought out and offers good prospects for enhancing crop yields and economic returns for the 2-3,000 farmers who will participate in the program. This project has the potential to become a highly cost effective model for providing extension services, and addresses a critical need in agricultural development on the continent of Africa.

Keep your eye on the blog for more news as the project gets under way!

Professional Video: Lunapads One4Her Distribution

We are so pleased to share this professional video with you about the Lunapads One4Her distribution of kits containing washable sanitary pads at Little Rock ECD. You will see some familiar faces, like Judy and Little Rock founder, Lilly Oyare, as well as meet some of the girls who are being directly helped by this amazing gift. If you missed Judy's post about their experiences at the first day of distribution, you can read it here.

Once again, we can't thank Madaleine Shaw and Lunapads enough for their generosity with the One4Her program, and AFRIpads, who manufactured the kits.

We hope you enjoy the video!

Guest Post: Towards The End of Poverty? The Case of Mwandama Millennium Village in Malawi

This week we have a guest post for you! 

Rodrick Chirambo is responsible for the agricultural cooperatives in the Mwandama (Malawi) Millennium Villages Cluster. These would be the parallel organizations to the Kigarama Farmers' Cooperative in Kabuyanda (Uganda) where John and Judy funded a grain warehouse before the establishment of Eliminate Poverty NOW. Rodrick has written this post to inform our network of the wonderful work being done in the Mwandama cluster. We hope you enjoy the post!

TOWARDS THE END OF POVERTY?  – THE CASE OF MWANDAMA MILLENNIUM VILLAGE IN MALAWI

By Rodrick Chirambo, Business & Cooperatives Development Coordinator, Millennium Villages Project - Mwandama

Some say poverty is a fact of life. It is here to stay; we just have to learn to live with it! In 2005 Malawi was described by UN officials as a “perfect storm” of hunger, poverty and disease and represented the plight of some 1 billion people around the globe trapped far below the first rung on the development ladder. In the same year, the Millennium Villages Project (MVP), comprised of a team of Malawi’s rural development experts, started working in the village of Mwandama, in one of the poorest regions of the country. Eight years later, the picture first described by those officials seems like a bad dream.

The Mwandama community has moved from perpetual food insecurity to being a food basket for the surrounding district of Zomba. The average distance to the nearest clinic is now about 5 Km compared to 25 Km before the start of the project. Over 70 percent of people are sleeping under insecticide treated mosquito nets compared to only 13 percent eight years ago. Primary school attendance has increased by 96 percent. Infrastructure and local institutions have improved tremendously. Wherever you look in Mwandama, you see people who have been empowered, are able to support themselves and their families, and invest back into the community.

Fast tracking development takes hard work but with the proper steps, it can be done.  As a Malawi citizen and the business development coordinator in Mwandama, I can proudly say that I have witnessed this transformation. I am part of a wonderful team of local development workers passionate about improving the livelihoods of their compatriots.

The building blocks of development are simple and readily accessible - community-led action, visionary and motivated local leadership, supportive Government policy, dedicated and knowledgeable staff and technological advancement. When these are in place, with good quality programming and the requisite financial resources, you are on your way.

As the local staff of the Millennium Villages Project, we have fostered community ownership of all development activities. The community chooses its own destiny. We’re here to help build systems of delivery and provide the essential knowledge that will build their capacity to get to where they want to be. By and by, small changes appear and accumulate into permanent transformation.

Of course, let’s not celebrate before the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals is reached in two years time. It is not yet a done deal and there’s much work to do beyond. It is time to ensure that the capacity of the community to maintain and manage the gains achieved so far is enhanced. This entails setting up systems for continued access to improved technologies; building institutions, such as business cooperatives, to support the farmers in accessing farm inputs and market linkages; creating a network of volunteers to promote girls attendance in schools; developing a cadre of community health workers; and building valuable partnerships with stakeholders.

With the support of wonderful partners like Eliminate Poverty Now, the Millennium Villages Project is proving that it is a matter of time before we end extreme poverty in our communities. Together, we are on the verge of a breakthrough that will help rural Africa not only get a grip on the development ladder, but also energize communities to climb higher. I will say this again – it can be done. With small targeted investments, huge changes can be realized. It is within our power. Visit www.millenniumvillages.org and get involved.

**The views expressed here are my personal ones and do not represent those of the Millennium Villages Project.

Watch Now: Little Rock Scholars Professional Video

Have you seen this amazing video about the Little Rock ECD scholarship program? We are so pleased to share this professional video with you, to give you a chance to meet some of the kids and see how they live, and the profound impact that the Little Rock Scholars program has on their lives. We hope you enjoy watching the video--as always, we would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

If you would like more information about the Little Rock Scholars program, please read our post from last week. If you're interested in donating, click here. You can also contact our Director of Operations, Helen Greenberg, by email (hpgreenberg@eliminatepovertynow.org) or telephone (908.725.2325) with your questions or pledges. 

Making a Priceless Investment in the Future of Remarkable Young Africans

In this world of haves and have-nots, the students who graduate from Little Rock Inclusive ECD Centre in the slums of Nairobi Kenya are in a different class of “less fortunate.” Tucked in among hills of garbage, their homes often lack electricity and running water, and it’s common to have 8-10 people living in a 150 square foot space. Just walking through the alleyways of Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum, is an assault on the senses.

Enduring hardship that no adult should have to face, these kids have wisdom and courage beyond their years. It is amazing to meet them. One can’t help but wonder how they have not been crushed by the devastating conditions in which they live. They know what it means to be left behind, and fully recognize that education is their way out. Helping them escape the slums in order to achieve their dreams is a priceless investment.

We are asking you to give them the education to escape the slums and lift themselves, and their families, out of extreme poverty. We hope you will take six and a half minutes to watch this video about the scholarship program to get a real sense of who these kids are and how they live, and how this program changes their lives.

You can offer support by choosing to:

1.     Sponsor a student for a full 4-year scholarship = $4,000*

-You will receive the student's name, photo, and the opportunity to establish an on-going personal relationship for years to come.

2.     Sponsor a student for 1 year of school = $1,000*

-You will receive the student's name, photo and letter of thanks from the student for supporting their secondary education.

With your generous donations last school year, Eliminate Poverty NOW sent 6 of these talented kids, whom you met in the above video, to secondary school with full scholarships.

Now there is a second group of seventeen students scheduled to take the exams this fall, including Emily and others. You can watch each of them telling their stories on YouTube.

These kids are Kibera’s best and brightest. They are hardworking, determined, extraordinarily motivated, and amazingly resilient. They give us hope because they are an inspiration—a triumph of the human spirit. We hope you will seize this opportunity to help change a child’s life forever.

You can click here to donate or contact Helen Greenberg by email (hpgreenberg@eliminatepovertynow.org) or telephone (908.725.2325) with your questions or pledges. 

*Can be financed as pledges paid out over time

The Numbers Are In: 2012 Annual Report for Eliminate Poverty NOW

In the spirit of transparency, we are proud to share our 2012 Annual Report with you. We hope you will take a little time to scroll through the report and celebrate all that was accomplished last year with us. We couldn't have done it without your amazing support and generosity!

2012 EPN Annual Report - FINAL by Anna Drury

Reflections of a visit to Africa through Fresh Eyes

From Helen:

In the spring, I helped Judy and John put together an itinerary for their July trip to East Africa, making their reservations, arranging for visas, hotels, and meetings while on the ground. All the while, they talked about the possibility of me joining them as it would mean a lot given my new role as Director of Operations in Eliminate Poverty NOW. I thought they were just being their polite, kind selves. Well, they really meant it because I went with them on July 3^rd when they left for a 2 week tour of the programs that EPN supports in Kenya and Uganda.

I tried to limit my expectations and let the experience drive my impressions. I knew I was going with seasoned travelers – I left my fate in their hands.

With all the advanced hype of how poor the people are, how great EPN’s charity partners are, and how they hoped we would have a successful trip – I thought nothing could be as bad or good as they described – it was too hard to believe.

Well, if you think you know what poverty is, you don’t. I personally visited the poorest county in the USA several years ago as part of a trip sponsored by Save the Children. I was stunned that kids in our country live this way - in dirt, dust, debris, and malnutrition. Compared to the children I met in Kibera, Kenya and whose homes we visited – the kids in Kentucky live in the lap of luxury. At least most have electricity and running water.

Little Rock nursery school students



Our Little Rock Scholars live in 150 square foot hovels piled on top of each other without running water and electricity – sleeping on the floor or in a chair. They get up in the morning and go to school where they have their only meal of the day. Then they return to the squalor and rubble, and must be in their homes before dark unless they want to be robbed, raped, or murdered.

Little Rock Scholar Candidates

Yet, the children have hopes and dreams – they want to do whatever they can to “get out”. They are amazing when you see what they live with. You would think they should just give up because there is no way they can possibly succeed with the illness, hopelessness and death that surrounds them. You may not believe they will make it but many do – their ambition drives us and the overwhelming desire to help them in their quest to succeed.

 I met the most amazing, dedicated, and passionate people on this trip. Their belief in what they are doing is so strong and motivates everything they do. The founding Director of Little Rock School even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for her “kids” and the programs she runs at the school!

Determination and entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Eldoret, Kenya - through the auspices of the Joyful Women’s Organization (JoyWO). A small group of women began providing financial services to other women through a concept known as “table banking” – similar to what we recognize as a credit union in the US. It has grown to over 30,000 women throughout the Eldoret area with coffers in excess of $3.5 million in pooled savings they are loaning back to each other. Plans are in the works to grow nationwide throughout Kenya in the near future. This is a true example “give them the pole so that they can learn to fish” story.  

JoyWO Members and Staff

Witnessing another exhilarating experience was meeting the success stories that came out of this endeavor – women who are lifting their families out of poverty by providing financial resources, establishing their independence in many cases in abusive or neglected relationships, and giving their children a future they could not have otherwise. 

When I first arrived in Africa, I thought that maybe the work that EPN is doing is just too small to make any kind of difference because the problems they are trying to solve are so profound, long term, and ingrained. Now I can say that I believe that I am changed forever by my visit to Africa with John and Judy. I have many more stories to recount but I will spare you my blathering.  Suffice it to say that there are images, memories, and relationships that are now etched in my memory that will serve to make me a better person driven to understand and help wherever I can delivering a message of hope and success for the future.

P.S. Would you like to meet these extraordinary kids, experience life in Kibera, witness first hand the power of Table Banking, and spend quality time with the remarkable people leading these programs?

We are thinking about another trip in or around July 2014.  If you would like to join us, please feel free to reach out – Helen Greenberg (hpgreenberg@eliminatepovertynow.org or 908.725.2325). We would love to have you come!

Where is God? In Kibera.

From Judy:

(Don't miss the video at the end of this post!)

There's still so much to tell you about our trip to Kenya and Uganda. We visited all seven grantees in East Africa, and saw wonderful results of our funding. Lives are being transformed. We'll tell you about all of them as soon as we can.

But there's so much we need to tell you about Little Rock Scholars! John's last post was a moving slideshow about the dismal world of Kibera, which these children come from. All of us - yes, even John - tear up when we watch "A Walk to Vincent's House."


When Lilly said, "God is in that place," Helen was shocked. "What do you mean?" she asked. Lilly answered, "Because these kids are alive, they come to school, they have hopes and dreams and want to succeed."

Thanks to you, the first 6 Little Rock Scholars are thriving. Not only are their minds being stretched, but they are getting 3 meals a day and sleeping in beds for the first time in their lives.

Next year's candidates will sit for their secondary school entrance exam soon. We met them at Little Rock and asked them about their hopes and dreams. Talking into a mike and being videotaped is hard - I can't do it at all. And they were really nervous. (See how their friends are huddled close to support them?) But people rarely ask them about their lives, and every one of them wanted to share their story with you. Because life in Kibera is really hard.

These kids are some of the bravest people I've ever met. And it is an honor for us to share their voices with you. So we'll be introducing you to all of them over the next several weeks.

Thank heavens, the videographers were professional. Please forgive the amateur job (mine) of editing. I've added subtitles, which should help until your ears are tuned to the beautiful Kenyan English accent.

Now meet Emily Atieno - the epitome of bravery!

A Walk to Vincent's House

From John:

Vincent Oduor

Please join us for "a walk to Vincent's house." Eliminate Poverty Now awarded a 4-year secondary school scholarship to Vincent Oduor, based on his outstanding performance on Kenya's national entrance exam.  What makes his achievement remarkable is that he excelled in the the face of extraordinary hardship.  Vincent grew up in Kibera, Kenya's largest slum.  When asked to describe life in Kibera, his answer was simply "life is hard."  To see just how hard, please click here to visit Vincent and his mom in their home.  

Lunapads One4Her Distribution: Judy, John, and Helen in Africa - Day 2

From Judy:

No, you didn't miss a post on Day 1. We had a wonderful first day in Kenya, and we'll tell you more about that later. But before that, we MUST tell you about the incredible day we had on Saturday, July 6 at the Lunapads One4Her Distribution.

One4Her donates sanitary pads to Kibera school girls

First, the background: Eliminate Poverty NOW has provided access to sanitary pads since we started. Many girls in Africa lack access to sanitary pads. They may miss a week of school a month, increasing the likelihood that they will drop out. But girls who stay in school tend to marry later, have fewer children, a lower risk of HIV, and a much higher lifetime income. 

Kibera school girl at One4Her distribution

As we've told you on earlier occasions, Lunapads - and its founder, Madeline Shaw - have been extremely generous to Eliminate Poverty NOW. And not just to us - they established One4Her so that their customers could  help girls in Africa receive sanitary pads. It's a fantastic program. As their website explains:

For every One4Her purchase you make, Lunapads will provide a girl in need with a Uganda-made AFRIpad to support her education. 

We contacted Lunapads to see whether the girls in the Kibera slum in Nairobi could be beneficiaries of the One4Her program. Madeline Shaw asked whether there were 2,000 girls who needed pads! Two thousand is a big number - our largest previous distribution had been 200 girls. So we asked Lilly - founder and director of Little Rock ECD Center, our partner in Kibera - and Lilly said, "Absolutely! We welcome the opportunity to transform so many lives."

Kibera girls in line at One4Her distribution

Kibera school girls receiving kits of sanitary pads

The pads were produced at AFRIpads, a small, but growing, business in Uganda employing 60 local women. AFRIpads delivered 2,000 kits (the pads come in a sack with a small purse pouch) while Eliminate Poverty NOW added a bucket, mesh drying bag, and underpants, since many girls don't have those either.

Teacher Evelyne explains care of AFRIpads

We arrived in time for the first distribution day at Little Rock. Lilly and her staff selected 2,000 school girls to receive the kits. On the first day, 300 girls came from primary schools, secondary schools, and girls' groups, including Little Rock's own girls' group. All of them are enrolled in programs that provide sex education, HIV sensitization, gender empowerment, hygeine, etc. There were 6 training sessions, each with about 50 girls. 

The girls were interested, attentive, and VERY grateful for the opportunity these pads give them to stay in school. They asked telling questions. My favorite? Teacher Evelyne explained the importance of drying the pads fully in the mesh bag on the clothesline, to avoid infection. One girl (a 6^th grader) asked, "Will I be able to dry them in boarding school?"

Kibera girls learning about AFRIpads

This question is special because this girl clearly assumed she would go to a good secondary school, all of which are boarding schools. She would obviously be the first in her family to do so, since she did not realize that there would be clotheslines at the boarding schools. What an opportunity Lunapads gave us to help this girl - and the other 1,999 - to achieve their life's dreams.

THANK YOU, LUNAPADS! THANK YOU ONE4HER!

A professional video of the distribution is being produced, but for now you can see what this special day was like in John's beautiful photos.