Kanyamfwa Village

FAST FACTS:

Village Location: HOMA BAY COUNTY

# of Villagers: 4,000

Village Started: OCTOBER 2022

# of Households Surveyed: 100

# of Villagers Who Started in the CHEC:  100

Graduation Date: MAY 30, 2023

# Graduated from Health Training: 73

# of Participants in Economic Training: 73

2023/2024 Primary Economic Groups: 

CEREALS (33 MEMBERS)

TAILORING/SEWING (14 MEMBERS)

RICE FARMING (9 MEMBERS)

WATER PURIFICATION (15 MEMBERS)

Kanyamfwa is Global Health Connections 4th village to date in Homa Bay. The Kanyamfwa community is located in 17 KM due north of Olare, Global Health Connections first village in Homa Bay Country.  

The GHC team did Baseline health, economic and social impact surveys on 100 Households in mid-October 2022 and started the 24-week health training curriculum the following week.  Out of the 100 households surveyed, members from all decided to join the CHEC.  

The village is quite poor and the team found the conditions challenging. Most of the households are made of mud and poles. The majority of the children have ringworms and there are poor sanitation practices throughout. The primary source of water is a contaminated river; the villagers both bathe and drink from this source without boiling it or treating it. Furthermore, there is poor water drainage throughout the village which often causes flooding on individual compounds. Due to this, water-borne diseases are prevalent. Hand washing practice is non-existent. The village has widespread open defecation; the majority of the community members does not have their own toilet/latrine, and therefore they share with neighbors. 

The members were happy to learn that GHC was there to help teach them how to prevent diseases, maintain better hygiene, treat water in different ways, and improve their standard of living through new, empowering economic activities. GHC is excited to be in another village in Homa Bay County, and we hope to create and instill sustainable change here.

GHC graduated 73 members from the health training curriculum in May 2023 and all the members showed commitment and engagement throughout the program. Our Project Coordinator, Salome, did a fantastic job teaching and training members on the various health topics.  Surprise household visits showed that the majority made marked improvements on cleanliness in their respective households. They are practicing proper dishwashing and drying, as evidenced by newly built drying racks. They have installed tippy tap hand washing stations outside their latrines, and most are in the process of preparing their kitchen gardens. Those who don't have land on which to build a garden gardens are improvising using sacks. Overall the progress is remarkable! 

All 73 members continued on to economic training where they will now focus on several income-generating projects including cereal cultivation, tailoring/sewing, and a rock quarry.  We are excited to see them progress!

All 73 members will continue on to economic training where they are focusing on cereal re-selling, tailoring/sewing, rice farming and a water purification project. We look forward to helping them become a sustainable village.