Soklo Village

FAST FACTS:

Village Location: HOMA BAY COUNTY

# of Villagers: 1200-1400

Village Started: SEPTEMBER 2024

# of Households Surveyed: 125

# of Villagers Who Started in the CHEC: 125 

Graduation Date: May 2025

# Graduated from Health Training: 124

# of Participants in Economic Training: 124

Primary Economic Groups: Agriculture

Soklo, GHC’s sixth CHEC village and one of our two remote pilot projects, sits on the shores of Mfangano Island in Lake Victoria. In late September 2024, GHC conducted baseline surveys with 125 households—revealing serious challenges in access to clean drinking water, limited healthcare, financial illiteracy, and widespread gender-based violence. Social disunity also made community efforts difficult. Yet every household surveyed chose to join the CHEC, eager for training, connection, and a path toward better health and opportunity.

Soklo is ending 2025 with meaningful momentum. CHEC members completed both the 24-week health curriculum and the financial literacy training and are now actively applying what they’ve learned. Savings groups and a weekly merry-go-round are strengthening habits of contribution, accountability, and long-term planning—an essential shift for families who once relied on short-term survival strategies. 

Soklo’s first income-generating project is now underway: a shared agricultural venture growing mixed crops. Members have secured a dedicated plot and are preparing to plant beans, groundnuts, vegetables, and maize—crops chosen to boost both food security and income from seasonal harvests. Sub-groups will also test additions such as poultry or goats as capacity grows. One member captured the feeling well: “We now understand how to grow our money and our crops. This time, we are planting for our future.” 

The shift is already visible. With savings habits in place and farming preparations underway, Soklo families are beginning to imagine a future with:

• more food on the table,
   
• income from surplus harvests,
   
• support for school fees and medical needs,
   
• gradual home improvements, and
   
• greater confidence in planning beyond the immediate week.
   

As one member shared, “Before, we planted only what we could eat that week. Now we are going to plant what will feed us and help us earn.” 

Soklo’s Sustainable Governance Committee (SGC) has completed the leadership curriculum and is guiding the village from planning to implementation—overseeing savings records, coordinating land preparation and planting schedules, supporting crop sub-groups, and communicating needs to GHC staff. Their leadership ensures that Soklo’s progress is truly community-driven. 

From new savings habits to the first crops taking root, Soklo is showing what’s possible even in remote settings with limited resources. With trained local leaders, committed members, and a growing sense of unity, the village is building a foundation for long-term stability and opportunity on Mfangano Island.