NARRATIVES OF CHANGE

NARRATIVES OF CHANGE

Published by ActionAid International KenyaAll African Conference of Churches BuildingWaiyaki WayP.O Box 42814-00100NairobiTelephone +254 (020) 4440440Email: info.kenya@ActionAid.orgWebsite: www.ActionAid/kenya.org

ISBN: 978-9967-027-04-8

Copyright ©ActionAid International Kenya, 2013. All rights reserverd

Photocopies of all or part of this publication may be made provided that the source is acknowl-edged. ActionAid International Kenya would appreciate receiving details of the use of any of this material in training, research or programme design, implementation or evaluation.

AcknowledgementActionAid International Kenya thanks all those who facilitated and participat-ed in the documentation of the Comic Relief project in Western Kenya. We are grateful to Tumaini Support Group members in Bumala, Chief Francis Odhiambo of Odiado location, and Christopher Oduor Otieno, Head teach-er Inungo primary school, for sharing the different activities that have been undertaken in the project. Many thanks to Ruth Makokha, Mama Josephine Odoyo and her grandchildren, and Dennis Onyango for sharing their stories.

Our deep appreciation goes to Women Fighting Aids in Kenya (WOFAK) field office at Sega for facilitating the fieldwork through Richard Adero and Naomi Mosinya. We appreciate ActionAid staff especially Agnes Kola, Pascaline Kang’ethe, Lucy Wanjiku and Naomi Wambui for their professional input and guidance in documentation of this project.

We are indebted to the documentation team led by Dr. George Gathigi, Veronah Kabesa, Samuel Otieno and Anne Kimani; Media South Limited for editorial work and Sande Dengall for design and layout of the publication. Finally, we are very grateful to Comic Relief and WOFAK for their support and partners providing the funds for the documentation and support of project activities.

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About WOFAKWomen Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK), is a national nongovernmental organization established to provide quality care, support and empowerment to women and children infected and affected, to enable them live positively with HIV and Aids. WOFAK was founded in August 1993 by a group of women, the majority of whom were HIV-positive. They came together to give support to one another because they were experiencing rejection, stigmatization and discrimination as a result of being affected or infected by HIV and Aids. In addition, many of their spouses had died and they were faced with the burden of supporting their families alone. After being registered in January 1994, WOFAK continued to reach out to other women who were facing similar problems. Their outreach effort has since expanded to include comprehensive care, provision of and support for quality treatment, and support services, advocacy on key thematic areas of HIV and Aids. This is being achieved in partnership and collaboration with other stakeholders.

About ActionAidActionAid International Kenya (AAIK) is among the first organizations to recognize the developmental implication of HIV&AIDS. It pioneered community-based response, challenging local policies and practices that create vulnerability and exposure to HIV. AAIK recognizes that poverty is caused by injustices, deep-rooted inequalities among communities and genders.

Injustices are in the form of traditions, written or unwritten laws, unjust policies, inefficient and ineffective governance systems and structures that subject the poor and excluded people especially women and girls to daily risks, depriving them of power to independent decisions and access to important resources. This subjects them to violence and denial of rights thus exacerbating their exposure to infection and ability to cope with HIV and Aids.

Our work with communities has convinced us that any successes against HIV and Aids must be solidly grounded on mobilizing action of poor and excluded women and girls, people living with HIV and Aids and other vulnerable groups to identify existing opportunities, address immediate needs, and advocate for provision of efficient and quality health care services.

However, ActionAid recognizes that empowering communities and citizens to respond to AIDS should not mean that we shift the burden of the response to the shoulders of communities alone. Communities should be recognized respected, empowered and supported to unleash and tap the expertise and the capabilities that are within them. It is only through empowerment of communities that the fight against HIV related stigma and discrimination could be won.

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Proper response to HIV and Aids has called for projects that are

relevant to the long-term needs of communities. Following over 20 years of HIV and Aids response, the human rights approach has emerged, guided by the principle that people living with and affect-ed by HIV and Aids should be at the centre of the response. Broadly, the approach also includes the in-volvement of “People Affected by HIV and Aids” such as HIV-negative partners, children and other family members as well as close friends of HIV-positive persons.

This publication presents voices from beneficiaries of the Comic Re-lief project implemented by Action-Aid International (Kenya) and Wom-en Fighting Aids in Kenya (WOFAK) in Busia and Siaya counties using the rights based approach between October 2007 and November 2012. ActionAid implemented the policy aspects of the project while WOFAK was involved in direct implementa-tion at the grassroots, allowing the program to get in touch with the community and address their needs from an informed position.

Project activities included estab-lishment of support for women liv-ing with HIV and Aids and capacity building through training for PLWAs in business skills, peer counselling and advocacy. There was training on advocacy skills among WOFAK

officers and stakeholders such as administrators, community elders, and opinion leaders allowing them to advocate back in the communi-ty. The project offered support to orphans and vulnerable children in form of food baskets to meet nu-tritional needs, education materials and school uniforms.

Policies at national level were aimed at pushing for PLWAs, women and children’s rights. These policies emanate from the grassroots and pushed through to the national lev-el and have included general health and HIV funding to ensure proper healthcare delivery, and rights for PLWHAs to end stigma by lobbying the government. The project is consistent with hu-man rights based approach’s rec-ognition that persons from groups that are most vulnerable to HIV in-fection should also contribute to the implementation of programs that affect them. Because people living with HIV and Aids, and peo-ple from groups most affected, are often financially and socially disad-vantaged and therefore not able to participate effectively in intervention work. It is therefore not sufficient to ensure representation at the fo-rums for example. Activities that are aimed at building their capacity component are of necessary inclu-sion to ensure meaningful partici-pation in consultative mechanisms

Introduction

and decision-making bodies.

The project also recognizes that involvement of PLWAs and vulner-able groups must take place at var-ious levels. PLWAs and vulnerable groups participate in decision-mak-ing or policy-making, and their in-puts are valued equally with all the other members of these bodies. They are also recognized as impor-tant source of information, knowl-edge and skills on the same levels as professionals. They are therefore important components in design, adaptation and evaluation of inter-ventions.

In implementation, PWHAs and vul-nerable groups carry out real but instrumental roles in interventions. They work as carers, peer educators and outreach workers. They are also central spokespeople in matters for change towards HIV. The story of Tumaini support group members brings these realities out. Overcom-ing stigma, growing, as individuals and ability to stand steadily despite health challenges while support-ing their families have been critical steps in ensuring they live a normal life and participate in different activ-ities as community members.

The stories in this publication bring out different angles of the bene-ficiaries and stakeholders’ lives. We see the interactions of differ-ent generations as young people

negotiate through education that will empower them to have a solid future. As a vulnerable group, this group faces different challenges, some having been orphaned, others having to take care of themselves and their siblings. It takes the pro-ject, relatives, community workers and stakeholders working together through educational support, food baskets and vocational training to address these challenges. These activities are central to improving their chances for a positive future.

The advocacy activities have been critical in spurring community into action to address various issues on HIV and Aids. Working together with field officers, elders, local adminis-trators, school heads and commit-tee members are responding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable groups. Communities are starting to question the negative cultural practices that lead to stigmatiza-tion and denial of rights. PLWAs are also making their voices heard and standing up for their rights.

These stories reveal how organiza-tions such as ActionAid Internation-al-Kenya and WOFAK working with PLWHAs, vulnerable groups and stakeholders can touch communi-ties at the grassroots.

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Holding Each other's Hand Towards Self Reliance

In a small village of Mungore in Busia County, a group of women seated under a tree can be heard

chatting softly. They are not plotting a political coup or even gossiping about recent development in their village. They are having a dialogue about their own lives. The women and a few men are members of Tu-maini Support Group, united by their experiences with HIV and the desire to improve their lives through vari-ous activities including peer support and implementing income-generat-ing activities.

Most of these group members are living with HIV. However, they have long moved beyond thinking about their status. Rather, they are con-cerned with ways in which they can overcome economic, social and cultural barriers witnessed in their lives, a situation that is not different from any other resident in the area. Tumaini Support Group is one of the many groups started by Wom-en Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) through the Comic Relief Project, implemented in collaboration with ActionAid.

By coming together, the support

group has not only helped the mem-bers in overcoming stigma associat-ed with their status, they have also challenged themselves to use the resources available, become pro-ducers, and take advantage of the market for agricultural produce. This group is all about empowerment and to prove their mission is a state of the art 50 by 30 feet greenhouse that they credit for bringing progres-sive change in their lives. The green-house, a donation from WOFAK is a positive economic venture that they use to generate revenue. It is also a symbol of hope and inspiration. Besides the greenhouse is a cassa-va farm sandwiched between small banana plantation and a potato yard that the group also uses as income generating activities.

Through the income-generating ac-tivities, the women can sustain their daily needs and have gained respect of their community. Started in 2008, the Tumaini support group also pro-vides positive emotional reinforce-ment, where members can share their problems and encourage one another. Faustin Nabwire, a mem-ber, says that through the group she has managed to overcome various

Holding Each other's Hand Towards Self Reliance

economic hurdles as they have sev-eral income generating activities that they undertake in the group. “We do horticulture, poultry farm-ing, pig rearing, table banking and merry-go-round. Through this we can get money for our own survival and that of our families. We are no longer beggars and that has been because of being in the support group”, says Nabwire with beaming confidence and convincing voice.

Nabwire’s husband, Africanus Taa-bu Wanyama, praises the group for

the support saying apart from eco-nomic gains, members have been empowered in terms of knowledge on business, farming, and family life. “The support group has also helped us in a big way, in terms of social psycho-social support where we help and encourage one anoth-er besides advising one another on economic activities to be undertak-en”, says Africanus.The support group has given mem-bers a window of opportunity as well as taking care of orphaned and the vulnerable in the society. “We nor-

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Members of Tumaini Support Group.

mally help orphans and vulnerable children access basic nutrition, be-sides helping in paying their school fees through lobbying for aid from organisations and also from the pro-ceeds of our income generating ac-tivities”, says Africanus.“For those who cannot afford school material such as books, we also help them. Through the group we have had ac-cess to other organisation such as WOFAK who have given us small grants”, he adds.Africanus is not the only member of the group who has seen positive change in his life; nearly everybody in the 28-member support group

has something positive to tell on the contribution of support group towards his or her life. Lillian Anyan-go, a mother of three and a widow in the group says if it were not for the support group she belongs to, she could have lost hope in life long ago especially after she was wid-owed at a tender age of 24 years, left with nothing to lay her hands on to enable her feed her three chil-dren then. “Tumaini Support group has really empowered me in terms of psychosocial support, in terms of development and business just as any other person here, I also do farm and plant my crops as usual,

The greenhouse, a donation from WOFAK

the group has also empowered me to educate my own children even after the death of their father”, says Anyango. She also appreciates that the group is all-inclusive. “Having both women and men in the group has been very important. There are couples in the group, which has made living together stronger. We are also able to access different settings and to be heard by different stakeholders including provincial administration because of the group strength”.

Anyango narrates how she has been able to raise a family on her own without depending on the tradition-al cultural wife inheritors. Besides that, she has been able to give her children hope in life by investing in their education. She has also bought a few cows. “The merry-go-round sometimes helps me to bor-row money from the group and pay school fees for my son. It is easier that way because the business we have cannot manage full payment of fees but can help in generating small money to repay over a peri-od of time”, adds Anyango. Tumaini

support group has received training on empowerment, income-gener-ating activities from, WOFAK, and through the training she says a lot has changed on their lives. “The trainings that we have undergone through WOFAK have helped us very much because we now know what to do and when to do it espe-cially in farming where they train us and recommend the seedlings to use”, says Anyango.

Jacinta Ojiambo, another member of the group talks of the strength she derives from the group. “As a woman, the support group has giv-en me the inspiration of living with my family. Because of the advice we get from here, I now live with my children very well”, she says. Members have also received small grants from WOFAK that they say has been useful in their lives. “We used to have a small green house which was blown away by wind, but WOFAK bought us a bigger one where we intend to grow tomatoes and even generate more money to buy another one”. They also sell grains, charcoal and

| 5 |Narratives of change The greenhouse, a donation from WOFAK

Income generating activities by some of the members of Tumaini Support Group

omena (sardines). On a good month, they make around Kenya Shillings 50,000 – enough to sustain daily needs but not enough for long-term costs such as children’s education – but they believe they could make more if they had another green house. This way of living has helped sustain the livelihoods of these women but their self-reliance has also earned the group respect from the broader Mungero community. “It’s changed the way people perceived us… [We were seen] as beggars when we got infected,” says Edith. Today, she explains, the Mungero community don’t see them as HIV-positive but as businesswomen.

For Margaret Anyango, however, the main benefits of the group have been emotional. Margaret suffered from depression after she was diagnosed in 1997 and felt totally hopeless. Today, she runs the poultry farm; she smiles and is happy she no longer has to beg. “I now know having the virus is not the end of life,” she says. The self-help group has changed the lives of its 28 mem-bers, but the group has even bigger plans for the future. In the long run, they hope one day to open a confec-tionery shop and add value to their potatoes by making crisps to sell. In the meantime, however, they hope to acquire another green house and expand their poultry farm and establish a water pump where community will be able to buy water and be saved from three-kilometre walk to the streams. Together, their strength holds.

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Income generating activities by some of the members of Tumaini Support Group

In the sleepy village of Sikoma in Butula, sound of a posho mill grinding away freshly harvested maize fills the air. As residents go about their business, a smartly dressed girl is making her way

home. She passes for an ordinary student headed home after an-other busy day in school. You wouldn’t be mistaken to think that 16-year-old Ruth Makokha, like any other girl in her age, is trudging the precarious paths of fate and destiny with hope of a better life in future.

Behind the Smile

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However a closer look at her life reveals a totally different life. Un-like others, Ruth at her age is a parent to herself – and has been for a while– juggling both mother and father’s roles and at the same time as a student. Her home is a small grass thatched house whose

roofs can hardly protect one from a minor down pour, the mud walls reminiscent of a cow shed sup-ported by heavily exposed trees are what separate Ruth from the windy and cold temperatures of Sikoma village. Yet she exudes calmness and a broad smile on

Ruth at home.Behind the Smile

her face. She has mastered the art of survival in the tiny house she calls home. Inside the house two beds, one without mattress, face each other as utensils, books and fire-wood struggle with the fireplace for the little available space.

This is what Ruth’s life has come to be and the sixteen year old orphan is struggling between hope and fear as a young growing girl in the village without any support whatso-ever from relatives. Having known last parental love in 1999 when her mother passed on leaving her at four years of age, Ruth has faced the monstrous world solely after the demise of her parents over what vil-lagers say is HIV and Aids several years ago. Since the death of her mother it has been tough all through her life. Hers is a story of resilience and hard work.

“My parents passed away when I was still very young. I was about five when my mother died then my aunt took me away and later I heard that my father also passed away. I never got the chance to come to his funeral because I was very young and my aunt refused to let me at-tend”. She recalls a turbulent life

in the hands of her aunt who she says used to treat her like a slave doing all domestic chores besides harsh treatment. “My aunt used to mistreat me and I did not even get a chance to attend classes as was with her children before I decided to come back to our home though I knew I will get nobody, but at least it was better than the treatment I was getting from her”, says Ruth.

Her journey to life of solitude started in 2006 when she opted out of her aunt’s home to face real life at her parents’ home in Sikoma where she was welcomed by abandoned grass thatched house and bushy parcel of land. “When I came back home I was in class five and I struggled to go to school. I tried and finished class eight after one woman volun-teered to pay my exam fee”, she says. Determined to live and make a change in her life, she never both-ered to heed the call of fellow vil-lagers or give in to the environment she found herself as a young girl growing in the village. Ruth worked hard and managed to pass her pri-mary school exam and join a local secondary school. Despite Gov-ernment waiver to study in the day secondary school, Ruth could not

even afford the Kenya shillings 8000 demanded by the school for upkeep and she tried for three years in vain before she got Kenya shillings 3000 bursary from the local Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

“When I joined form one life was very difficult for me, I did not even have anybody to go to for fees, Uni-form, or even books and the head teacher used to send me away reg-ularly for the same. My survival at the school depended on the good Samaritans who would chip in and plead with the headmaster to allow me in class with promise that they will settle the fee”.

Then something dramatically hap-pened. A social worker that heard about Ruth’s plight introduced her

to Women Fighting Aids in Kenya (WOFAK). The first support she re-ceived was in form of food basket. For once, Ruth had enough to eat every time she came home from school. Beyond that, Ruth’s con-nection with WOFAK has given her a break in school allowing her to con-tinue with education with minimum disruption. Although she has yet to be able to cater for school fees, the social worker has become her equivalent of the guardian in school and has reached an agreement with the head teacher that Ruth shall be allowed to continue with her stud-ies and different alternatives for her school fees are sought.

This is enough not only to make Ruth smile; she has built the confi-dence of an adult. Ruth literally lives

Having received food basket support, Ruth is determined to produce her own too.

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alone. Her only close relation is a distance relative whom she fondly calls grandmother–“my grandfa-ther’s wife”, symbolizing the difficul-ties of trying to connect the distant bond. She is in her 80s and walking about 500 meters to Ruth’s house once in a while is a task in itself. The portrait of Ruth and grandmother provides an enduring symbolism of hope and courage, an unusual team of two individuals with little in form of material yet full of determination.

With this determination, Ruth’s goal is to become a medic in order to help “treat parents not to die and leave their children at a very young age.” The last thing Ruth would like to see are children being left to navigate life alone like she has had to. “If my parents were alive now, I could have been a very different person but since they died when I was still young, I am this way. My dream is to stop such a thing from happening if it is something that can be prevented.”

The food basket project may have come to an end. However, Ruth continues to work with the social worker and outreach officer from WOFAK office in Sega. More so, the

stability she has gained through the project support has left her mature and strong. She is no longer shak-en by adversity and has learned to direct her energies to achieving her goals. She has started tending a small garden in the piece of land that her parents left.

Ironically, her future is brighter than most of her peers who have had their parents’ protective wings. Girls her age have dropped out of school for marriage, while others have fall-en into pregnancy becoming sin-gle mothers. While some loathe her, probably because she has re-mained steadfast, this has only fuelled Ruth’s determination to fin-ish school. “There are no short cuts to life”, as she wisely puts it.

Ruth has also learned to choose her company carefully. “As a young girl I spend most of the time alone or with my grandmother because my peers don’t understand me, they want me to be like them but I have goals to achieve”. Her grandmother has been a source of inspiration to her. “She teaches me a lot about life, she even sometimes prepares food for me and when I get back from school I find food ready and use the

time to revise or do homework.” In school, Ruth is performing well and there is a room for improve-ment. “If I didn’t have to worry about school fees, set-books and uniform, I would be top in my class but here I have to work with borrowed items”, she says. For now, Ruth remains hopeful and continues to smile.

Ruth and her ‘grandmother’, she occasionally checks on how Ruth is doing.

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Hope Anchored in the Next Generation...

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Thirty years ago, 81-year-old grand-mother Josephine Adoyo Oyuga lived a full life. Her six children were still alive and her family was an envy of many owing to the success of her sons and daughters. Like any oth-er parent, she envisaged the usual trajectory of life. Her children would be soon where she was; the grand-children would keep the family tree running stronger. In the consequent years however, things dramatical-ly took a different turn for Mama Adoyo. In the place of happiness and the expected future would be many bumps filled with sorrow. Painfully, her sons and their wives would pass on, one after the oth-er, in the process leaving a trail of burden heavy enough for her frail hands to carry.

“They started dying one after an-other and within a period of three years they had all gone, leaving me with their children who I had to take care of since I don’t have any rel-ative who is still alive”, says Mama Adoyo.

Dislodged by age from her potter’s business, Mama Adoyo lives with 13 of her grandkids on a small piece of land and two semi-structured hous-es in the small Village of Igango Mu-syweko in Busia County. Her com-pound is dotted with graveyards and several abandoned houses that have bowed to forces of gravity.

In the same compound stands a newly constructed semi-permanent house, courtesy of WOFAK’s work in the area. This house provides a place where most of the 13 grand-children can lay their heads after a long day in school. This house, like the grandchildren is a symbol of hope for the family.

A look inside her house symbolis-es a family that is struggling, a far different cry from the life she used to live. And as if to prove that she once lived an average life, two old bicycles and remnants of a sofa set

Hope Anchored in the Next Generation...

Hope Anchored in the Next Generation

are placed next to each other at the corner of the house.

Having gone through the reality of handling such a huge burden, Mama Adoyo has grown in will to see as she strive to see her grandchildren go to school. This is illustrated in her determination to care for the young grandchildren. Some of the grandchildren have never known their parents as they were left at a very tender age. For Mama Adoyo, “My greatest desire is to see them go through school and that is why when WOFAK asked me what they can do to help me I told them about education first, then shelter and lastly toilet for my grandchildren.”

It is through WOFAK that the grand-children have a place to sleep. Be-fore, the children would be clamped in two rooms. The children are growing, some already deep into their adolescents. What was long a wish, she says that WOFAK built her a house for her grandsons, a toilet and also offered clothes and uni-forms for all the grandchildren who are in school.

All of her grand children, except the eldest, are currently in school at Lu-

gulu Primary School. Two of them planning to sit for their primary ed-ucation examination in 2013, thanks to aid from WOFAK and community health workers. Besides providing the school uniform, Adoyo says that WOFAK Community workers have taken up the role of parents of the children and act as their intermedi-ary with the school.

“When there is some basic need, the community workers offer them-selves and plead with the teach-ers on behalf of the parents”, says Adoyo. While she commends WO-FAK for giving her and her grand-children a roof to live under, she says her happiness will only come when she is assured that the kids will continue with their education.

“I have tried to guide them to ac-cept education as the only way out of their situation but unfortunately I did not succeed with the elder one who dropped due to lack of fees af-ter finishing class eight, I pray that I get these others through”, she says.

Even though she has nothing that can help her take the children to school, Adoyo is living on the edge

of hope as she has done before WOFAK came to her rescue and built her a house.“My husband died and left me with the kids when I was 40 years, I raised them alone and now I have their children to also take care of, the grace that has led me this far will always be with me and I have hope that just like WOFAK came, others too will come and help them”, she says with hope. I have struggled, my kids used to help me, they looked for food and we eat, but the unfortunate happened and they started dying one by one, now I have to contend with the burden of looking after their children from the small donations we get”, says Josephine.

Before coming into contact with WOFAK, Mama Odoyo had tried to look for help from dif-ferent sources to no avail. She recalls one time she took all the children with her to the admin-istration with the hope that they would be receptive to her plight. “Instead of getting help, they accused me of collecting chil-dren from the villages and using

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Mama Adoyo.

them to lie that I needed help”.In addition to the social workers, Mama Odoyo is getting help from the grandchildren’s school, Lugulu Primary School. The head teacher at the school is highly appreciative of WOFAK’s help because it has im-proved the children’s performance in school. “The home environment is very important for a child. If a child is comfortable at home, they are able to come to school, concen-

trate and feel interested in different activities. If they are not comforta-ble, they are restless, unhappy and unable to concentrate”, she says. Through the interaction with social worker, the head teacher and other teachers have put special attention on the children.

The grandchildren are also highly appreciative of their grandmother. Slowly, they are maturing and get-

Mama Adoyo with some of her grandchildren

ting into terms with the amount of work it takes to bring children up. They take each other as broth-ers and sisters and have vowed to watch each other’s back. Nineteen-year-old Andrew, the eldest of all decided not to continue with school to help the grandmother take care of her ‘siblings’. He owns a motor-cycle, popularly known as a boda-boda. “Whatever I get, I bring home and we all share”.

There are definitely more bumps along the way. However, for Mama Adoyo, a home means everything. The children are also attending school and will reap from the op-portunities offered by education. Besides, the family is close knit. From each other, they derive their strength.

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Mama Adoyo with some of her grandchildren

Community Action, Community Rights

Acting Chief Francis Odhiambo in his office at Odiado Location, Butula in Busia County

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Community actions, community rights

When you step into Odiado Vil-lage, in Funyula, Busia County, you can’t but have a sense of calm. At first the village seems as though nothing is going on save for the chirping birds that welcomes you as you traverse the dusty roads. Like in any other place, residents of Odiado have dreams. They want good health, decent way to earn a living and pursue opportunities that will improve their lives. Odia-do has also had its share of bur-den of diseases, including dealing with HIV and Aids.

Francis Odhiambo is the Acting Chief at Odiado location. Having worked as a chief for five years and a community health worker before joining the administration, he reveals that the residents and different stakeholders have real-ized that addressing health chal-lenges requires collective effort and responsibility.

These activities have led to among others, addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children, providing public education on the rights of women and children, and a call for more involvement among

stakeholders such as including education officials and training of trainers. In addition, a lot of other activities in the villages and area schools have become centres of advocacy for the orphans and the vulnerable in the community.

“We started working with WO-FAK in advocacy in 2008 after we had been trained on some skills, back then we did not know what advocacy was and how to work with the vulnerable in our commu-nities”, says Chief Odhiambo. “In the past we knew orphans existed within us but we did not know that there is a way we could help them or even what to do with them, the poor too were left behind in terms of their rights awareness”, says Odhiambo.

Advocacy training has led to in-creased community involvement. “Through advocacy we have learned basic human rights and the rights of children which we have used to make judgement where relatives tend to infringe on the rights of the orphans left be-hind”, says the administrator.

Acting Chief Francis Odhiambo in his office at Odiado Location, Butula in Busia County

Advocacy skills have helped ad-ministrators in decision-making. “As the chief, the skills have made me aware of many other issues that I did not know before, I feel highly empowered and can now stand and make a case on behalf of my peo-ple”, he says. Chief Odhiambo says they have learned to initiate and sustain programs that can be used to help the community generate in-come.

One area that has been targeted in advocacy efforts is working with the school management committees. Before these efforts, school admin-istrators did not take cognizance of the special situation that orphans and vulnerable children faced. Or-phaned children who lack the fa-milial support would for example be sent away because they could not raise school funds costs. Such approach contributed to increased discrimination, stigmatization, and denial of basic children rights in-cluding right to education. Schools have found ways of raising funds that takes care of OVCs educational needs.

“We have projects that are commu-

nity owned and whose proceeds are used to help the vulnerable mem-bers of the society such as water projects and some poultry projects”, says Chief Odhiambo.

OVCs are also assisted to access funding through Constituency De-velopment Fund bursary. Communi-ty advocates also act as mobilizers of the community in the event that there is some projects to be initiated in the village.

There are sensitization and aware-ness campaigns carried out by the community advocates who have also helped in reducing HIV preva-lence and the stigma associated to it.

Negative cultural practices that have resulted in mistreatment of vulnerable groups are also ad-dressed. “Through awareness cam-paigns we have managed to weed out archaic cultural practices that contributed to the spread of HIV, the awareness has also led to accept-ance and now people can openly come out and declare their status”, he adds. “Initially women used to be inherited and because of archaic cultural practices, the spread of the

virus and the vicious cycle of pover-ty continued unabated, but through advocacy we have reversed the way people perceive life in general”.

Incidences of women, especially widows, being denied their right to property have been widely docu-mented. This has been an important area to address. “Before there was a response, women had no right to own property, when the husband dies she has no right to inherit the property. When left in a bad house she cannot rebuild and she has to be forced to wear old clothes for a period of time. Through advocacy that has since changed”, he adds.

Beyond this, the Chief has been instrumental in reaching and iden-tifying the individuals who are in need. In barazas (public meetings), important information is passed to the community. Young people who have undertaken vocational training supported by WOFAK have been re-cruited through this public informa-tion system. “We usually announce about the opportunities and the re-quirements for one to apply. Those who come to us are vetted to verify their needs. The community based mechanism makes this process

open and effective because we have cooperation from wide range of community members”.

One of the key achievements of community based advocacy activi-ties is the extent to which the com-munity’s mind-set has changed in relation to HIV. There is more sensi-tivity, more inclination to act and de-fend the rights of those affected and infected, more ownership and con-tinued sense of responsibility. While WOFAK did sponsor and instigate most activities, the community has taken over ensuring sustainability. In schools, mechanisms that are supporting OVCs remain. Commu-nity dialogue is going on and peo-ple’s attitudes towards fundamental rights of individual living and affect-ed by HIV have changed.

But the community is not yet there. To maintain and achieve more, key stakeholders and individuals need to keep the fire burning. Chief Odhiam-bo is not about to stop. “From my experience working in community health and now as an administrator, I know this work needs more fuel. If we relent, we will lose the gains we have made.” At this point, there are no signs of stopping.

| 23 |Narratives of change

When John Oriaro, a farmer in Mubimbi village in Samia district, started saving to improve his semi-permanent house, he started shopping around for a good mason. As he was doing his homework, he happened to visit a friend nearby and before he left, he knew where to look because he saw a well-finished house. After all, he didn’t want his hard earned money to result in a shoddy job.So when John asked who had done the good finishing on the house, the exact kind of work he was looking to be done for him, he was surprised to hear it was none other than his ‘little brother’, Dennis Onyango. Today,

You must be Ready to Bend: Securing a Future Through Training

Dennis, a 23-year-old resident of Mubimbi village, has proven himself as a reliable mason whom residents can always turn to when they want good work done.When you meet Dennis, his mastery of the masonry skill and the way he handles the tools for work leave even passers by surprised as some

take their time to stare at him as if he was some kind of comedian on stage. When we went to see Denis in company of WOFAK field represent-ative, we found Dennis surrounded by a group of women, some selling ripe bananas to the mason and his friends who sometimes double up as his helper.

| 25 |Narratives of change

Dennis doing masonry work in Odiado Village, Busia County

As a paternal orphan, Dennis has taken his work in a stride and de-spite being the last born of the fam-ily; he is taking care of his mother and other family members. It is a re-sponsibility he relishes; something that he says separates him from his friends. “You know I could just be like any other young men, wak-ing up in the morning and hanging around the shopping centre. I could have indulged myself in alcohol and other harmful substances if I didn’t have something stable to keep me busy.”Dennis has indeed made a good choice. However, he credits his luck to a day when he decided to attend the local Chief’s meeting, popular-ly known as baraza. In the meeting, there was an announcement that caught his attention. WOFAK office in the neighbouring Sega Market was looking for orphaned and vul-nerable youth to sponsor them for vocational training at a local poly-technic. “After the event I decided to go and talk to the chief personally and he explained to me what I needed to do. It was on a weekend so come Monday; I woke up very early and headed to WOFAK offices at Sega.

I was there long before anyone. The first person to report was Richard, the WOFAK field representative. Af-ter explaining to me what opportu-nities were there like training for a vocational course, I was delighted because I have always wanted to go back to school”. Growing up, Dennis had the dream of many young people. “My father died when I was in class seven, he had a dream of taking me to second-ary but sadly he passed away be-fore he realized that dream leaving me and my poor mother plus other siblings at the mercy of the world. After completing my class eight exam, I had to find a way to support myself. But without training, there is little you can do here. There are few opportunities in the farms and even when you get something to do, the pay is minimal”.Knowing these realities, Dennis could not let an opportunity such as the one presented by WOFAK pass. He was taken to Sega Polytech-nic and chose to study masonry. “I chose to train as a mason because I felt there are opportunities. Peo-ple are always constructing hous-es and with masonry skill, you can leave in the morning carrying your tools and along the way, someone

will ask you to do a job for them. You also have an opportunity to prove yourself because your work speaks for itself”, he adds. This is true because these days, Dennis get calls from neighbours such as John”.John is full of praise for Dennis. “He is trustworthy, responsi-ble and knows his work. I have known him since he was young but then I went away from the village and when I came back, I was impressed to see he is one of the few young people who have found the right direction. I had no problem having him work on my house. Initially, I wanted him to work on plastering the in-side walls. As you can see, we have ended up working on the whole house and now we are fin-ishing on the outside.To be young and to have stability is not an everyday expectation in Mubimbi and Dennis realizes this pretty well. “When I leave in the morning at least people back home are assured of food or sugar and when I have more jobs I call my friends who also train in the job to assist me. That way we deviate from village temptations and activities that might put us at

risk including engaging with ac-tivities that may lead me to HIV”, he says.The vocational training has helped a number of orphans re-alize their dream. Fredrick On-yango who benefits from Denis’s work by extension says the train-ing has opened a new source of income to them.To the villagers, vocational train-ing skills that take about 20 youth every year is regarded as a miracle in that it has also helped in reduction of crimes and HIV infection in the village. Richard Adero a programme officer with WOFAK says the youth have been rescued from a number of societal vices and put into posi-tions of responsibility.“Many youth have benefitted from this program. One of the reasons why it was started was to offer an alternative way of in-come other than wife inheritance and other archaic cultural prac-tices that the youth were sub-jected to”, said Adero.Since its inception, over 300 or-phans and vulnerable youth have benefited and the district huge orphan population is getting al-ternative ways of survival.

| 27 |Narratives of change

Dennis Onyango, speaking about his work in Mubimbi Village.

Grass and Chalk: Responding to OVIC's Needs in UgenyaChristopher Oduor Otieno is not a farmer; neither does he rear any cow to warrant his interest in the nappier grass farming. This inter-est was neither the reality in the past few years. Today, there is im-portant connection between the chalk and the nappier grass for the teacher. Seating in his modest office, you look out of the window and the first thing you will see is the nappier grass.

Mr. Oduor is the headmaster of In-ungo Primary School. For a long term, the burden of HIV and Aids on orphans has always meant a number of things for administra-tors like him. The students are constantly unable to fit within the school framework because par-ents support a huge chunk of fi-nancial needs. Those who are unable to meet the levies that are agreed upon for example will be

sent home. But this is probably the lesser of the problem.

At school, teachers interact with students who are well prepared at home. They come fed, rested and are expected to have materials. According to Mr. Oduor, this is nev-er the case with orphans and vul-nerable children. They face differ-ent kinds of challenges, making it difficult to fit in the school system. After struggling with this group of children, the School Committee at Inungo Primary School resolved to look for a solution. One commit-tee member had heard about an initiative championed by Women Fighting AIDs in Kenya (WOFAK) in the area. She proposed to the committee that they explore an income generating activity whose proceeds can be used to address some of the school related finan-cial needs of the orphans and

| 29 |Narratives of change Dennis Onyango, speaking about his work in Mubimbi Village.

vulnerable children attending the school.This initiative, it was agreed, would also try to work beyond the school. Closer attention, the committee realized, was needed to make sure that OVCs are not different from other children and their right to education and good

life are protected. This conforms to the right-based approach to HIV interventions that aims at ensuring that individuals, irrespective of their HIV status or related experi-ences such as losing guardians for children, continue to access the basic requirements in their every-day lives.

Nappier grass in Inungo primary school whose proceeds is used to support OVCs education needs School

Since the committee took the bold action, they have cultivated part of the school farm where the nappier grass is planted and sold to local farmers. The proceeds from the farm are used to buy school sup-plies, paying for students’ entry exams, uniforms and other needs. One standout outcome is that the school has increased the retention rate of OVCs ensuring that chil-dren’s right to education is defend-ed and fulfilled.

The IGAs in the school help ad-dress various problems. “Often, families affected by HIV here can-not cover the basic costs of school uniforms, books or transport. Some pupils manage to work through the hardship. But when they get to class eight where they are sup-posed to register for the end ex-ams, they cannot raise the required funds. One of the first things we have done is to use the money to pay for the pupils’ Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination. It is very unfair for a child to work through the years only to be hin-dered by lack of examination fees” says Mr. Oduor.

Beyond that, the school manage-

ment committee realizes that they have to cater for other needs. Ac-cording to Mr. Oduor, “I have been visiting the administrative offices in Ugenya and in several instances, we have been able to get food sup-plies including maize and beans. With this, we are able to cook for the vulnerable children in school”.

This collaborative effort between WOFAK, the SMC that works with parents, teachers and authorities is helping to improve the quality of education in the community. It is also an effort that is sustainable since the investments into the pro-ject are minimal. The choice of nap-pier grass is also strategic because the plant is not labour intensive and can be harvested severally around the year. At Inungo primary school where Oduor says over 40 per cent of the pupils have lost one or both their parents, the project has helped teachers and students strengthen HIV prevention clubs, which dis-seminate information and offer sup-port to pupils and other community members affected.

“Some of my pupils have dropped | 31 |Narratives of change

Nappier grass in Inungo primary school whose proceeds is used to support OVCs education needs School

out of school because they lost interest and others because they got married. Many girls here marry when they are 15 or 16 years old especially after being orphaned, the project is helping in retaining a good number”, say Oduor.

Richard Adero, program officer at Wofak Sega says the initiative was launched as an alternative source of income to the orphans so that they could be protected from carrying the begging bowl that sometimes makes them vulnerable to the soci-ety.

“Although communities around the

school knew the impact of HIV, in-cluding a rise in orphans, they did not address these issues. The prob-lem was finally addressed when we sensitized them and organised the SMC in a way that they can have source of funds”, says Adero. “Af-ter these sensitization meetings, communities and the School Man-agement Committee started to plan. One activity they planned was the establishment of a vegetable gar-den at the school that could be used for feeding as well as fundraising for the orphans. The idea became a re-ality”, says Oduor.

Christopher Odhiambo (right), the Headmaster, Inungo Primary School

Christopher Odhiambo (right), the Headmaster, Inungo Primary School

All African Conference of Churches BuildingWaiyaki WayP.O Box 42814-00100 NairobiTelephone +254 (020) 4440440Email: info.kenya@ActionAid.orgWebsite: www.ActionAid/kenya.org

Narratives of ChangeISBN: 978-9967-027-04-8Published by ActionAid International KenyaCopyright ©ActionAid International Kenya, 2013. All rights reserverd