After the sand and check dams came through the rains in good shape, and with the fifth sand dam almost complete, we’ve been looking at some additional work which may be possible here in Kitui, and have decided to build some off-take wells. These are connected to the sand dams – water flows out of the dam and into the well, which is easier to use for collecting water. Continue reading “Hands On: Small things that make a big difference”
Aichatou is working on our latest Hands On project in Doutchi, Niger.
Aichatou Abani is the Integrated Food Security Project Coordinator working on our latest Hands On project in Doutchi, Niger.
My role in the project is to coordinate and manage all the activities: from the preparation, to implementation and evaluation.
The biggest challenge for people in Niger is food security and hunger. It has unfortunately become an ongoing problem in the last few years and is affecting a lot of people.
Involving the community
There has been a strong involvement of the community right from the start in terms of planning this project. We have held awareness-raising sessions to help everyone develop ownership of the goals.
Following these sessions we have now begun the project and we have carried out certain activities, notably holding meetings with community members to share information with them, and at the same time to get information from them about how we can improve the plans.
We feel that the community knows where it is and where it wants to go. The awareness raising work we have done has really helped the community understand the importance of everything that they have received in support. It’s been a really important piece of work.
With so much progress made already here in Kitui, it is important that the entire community really feels involved in the project and receives encouragement to keep going until all the work is done. To help this, we recently held elections to form a new project committee.
By giving more people the chance to exercise leadership, new ideas and suggestions are brought to the table, and we can ensure that our work here is as effective as possible.
Thank you as always for helping us get to where we are today, your thoughts and prayers mean so much.
We’ve been talking a lot about Hands On Kitui on social media. Why not share some posts with your friends to let them know about this special project?
As we move into the second half of our two-year plan, progress continues at great pace. It’s full steam ahead for all aspects of the project – terracing, dam-building, zai pits and tree planting are going on all across Kitui.
One extremely important development is that people are taking their new skills and applying them to their own gardens and farms. This will help improve the land even further, and provide yet more food and income for the people.
Thank you so much for your continued support, it means the world to us, and please keep Kitui in your prayers.
Progress and project highlights this month
We are up to a total of 1685m of hand built terraces. This is gruelling work, to get so far is a great achievement.
And we have an amazing 3040 brand new trees around the dam site. They will help protect the dam from drying up again.
Fencing has been erected to protect the trees from animals.
A further 720 zai pits have been dug.
Did you know?
Kenya is home to many herbivorous animals including zebra, giraffe and a variety of antelopes – so it’s essential we build fences to protect the trees while they are young and fragile.
