JIGGERS ERADICATION CAMPAIGN AND TREATMENT

KCWEP provides assistance to children from vulnerable families especially those brought up by widows (orphans) and those from most poor families. KCWEP has been mobilizing local support to such children ranging from provision of food, shelter and education. One of the challenges though has been the jiggers that have highly infested in many poor families in Kakamega County. Currently almost every school in kakamega county have children who are suffering from jiggers, and for every child infested by jiggers there is a family member who is also suffering from the same thus crippling the economy of the family and increasing poverty levels in the county. Kcwep is helping by reaching out to such families and children in their schools and creating awareness of the disease which is categorized by the poor. The organization is always conducting fundraising campaigns in order to lock out the jigger effects that are crippling the economy thus making families poor .The project is ongoing and is supported and funded by KENYA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION PROJECT

SOLAR LANTERN PROJECT

KCWEP is involved in an innovation for solar lantern where we train women in their groups to assemble and refurbish the traditional kerosene lamps into workable and portable solar lamps. This project is turning the lives of the most vulnerable families who cannot afford installation of electricity to have an alternative lighting which not only cut the cost of using paraffin but also improve their health and performance of school going children from those families.The project was funded by THE POLINATION PROJECT

VILLAGE SAVINGS AND LOANING ASSOCIATIONS

At group level KCWEP makes the widow engage themselves in the table banking initiative. This Initiative has born fruits in most of the groups because 80% of the women who participate in this initiative have testified of getting small amounts of money in form of loans from table banking at a very small interest with no property attached as security for the loan to enhance their livelihood activities hence reducing poverty. Most women in this groups are not financially stable hence they are not able to access funds from loaning institutions. With this initiative they are able to access credit because they guarantee each other to get this money which in turn helps them solve small issues like buying school uniforms for their children and solving petty financial issue this initiative has also instilled the culture of saving among the group members. Currently Kcwep has 230 SELF HELP GROUPS of widows

Climate resilience agriculture project (agro-ecology).

Due to unpredictable climatic conditions brought about by deforestation, global warming and other human activities, most members have been affected not leaving behind children too. Kakamega being one of these regions and Malava at large, it’s for these reason that KCWEP is conducting a project on Agro ecology farming in Malava Sub County. Through conservative agriculture we expect to have a holistic system approach to food feed and fiber production balancing environmental, social and economic issues, our focus on diversification ensures improved nutrition at household level and availability of food at household level throughout the year. The integration of climate adaptive farming techniques and social aspects increase resilience towards climate change and natural disasters. The beneficiary groups(85 widows groups) implementing the project are in Malava sub county working in solidarity groups which are food insecure hence the most vulnerable with less than 2 acres of land and with little access to some land .These groups have adopted common activities such as common labour in groups which lessen burden for farmers, contribute to knowledge and skills transfer and increase social cohesion The project main objectives are as folows:

1. 1 To invest in sustainable farming for food security.
2. To create income generating activities for economic empowerment.
3. To reduce cases of chronic illnesses in the community such as cancer, hypertension and 4.ulcers which are mainly caused by use of heavy chemicals to produce agricultural food that we take.
4. To reduce on the cost used for purchase of synthetic fertilizers for farming with compost and farmyard manure. 5 To revive the natural fertility of the top soil.
5. To revive the natural fertility of the top soil.

SORGHUM PROJECT

Sorghum provides a huge opportunity for livelihood diversification in Kakamega County once the various value segments are isolated and promoted through training, capacity building, and empowerment. Sorghum flour when used alone or in combination with other ingredients has proved to be of superior nutritional and health value for children and those challenged with medical complications such as diabetes. Promotion and commercialization of sorghum-based flour products can provide a new and lucrative livelihood support base for the majority sorghum farmers in Kakamega County. Sorghum is also used in the brewing industry as a relative substitute to barley. KCWEP through these project aims at promoting sorghum growth and linkage to commercial brewing markets to offer new livelihood support opportunities to the majority of producers in Kakamega County.

ADVOCACY ON GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

KCWEP is involved in amplifying the Voice of widows in kakamega County . The project aim of empowering the vulnerable women, widows and disabled persons to realize their full potential, worth and strength through empowerment and advocacy activities. Women and disabled persons vulnerability to poverty, economic instability, GBV, discrimination, denied access to health services and land rights is largely contextual but also indicative for the wide spread situation in western Kenya. Though community and nongovernmental organizations have been trying to respond to the needs of vulnerable women and people living with disabilities, there is a need for a consolidated effort from this structures to support this target population to bring primary prevention of violence against women and disabled persons. To scale up support on advocacy we are giving for vulnerable women in the county, KCWEP advocate for primary prevention of violence, discrimination and negligence against women, widows and disabled people. These include: community or working with men and boys on changing gender norms and the acceptability of violence and ensure Girls and women living with disabilities access to quality health and other services and support. We empower women to understand and claim their rights and mobilizing communities on ‘zero tolerance’ through legal literacy about international, national and local laws and policies. Kcwep through human rights based approach advocate for the rights of women in property ownership especially land in order for them to own land and invest in farming for economic sustainability.

GAS CYLINDER PROJECT

Kcwep in partnership with Proto Energy has been empowering rural women in embracing clean energy by issuing gas cylinder to widows through widows groups as part of ensuring we conserve the environment through use of clean energy. Since inception of the project ,Kcwep has been able to issue 2800 gas cylinders to women at a cost of ksh 1500 per cylinder(full set) paid in installment of two months. These has enabled more rural women to access gas at a cheaper cost and be able to refill at a subsidized price.The project targets to reach out to 5000 widows at the end of our 5 year partnership.