WEPOGA- the organisation

1.      INTRODUCTION

WEPOGA in conjunction with The Move Against poverty (MAP)  are national based NGOs registered as international organization with projects and programmes in sustainable agriculture, child abuse, vulnerable children, forestry, water, energy, women’s rights, environment and technology/industry, gender, health/mobile clinic/HIV\AIDS and safety. The organizations have been established since 2002. It is comprised of board of directors

2.     OBJECTIVE

The main purpose of WEPOGA and MAP is to mobilize resource both local and internationally towards the above mentioned program mes, which are sustainable, environmentally friendly, poverty eradication. Developing, managing and financing community based program mes through popular participation of the target groups in Kenya.

3.    BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM DEFINITION

Many developing countries are poor yet rich. This is true for the situation in Kenya and African countries in general. Very many people in Kenya and especially in the rural areas are willing to work very hard and help themselves, but they lack the means. This is also true for many poor urban people of Kenya. These communities have the will but they simply lack the means to solve their problems both at individual and at the community level.

The community needs sustainable assistance. They do not need short-term handouts that soon dry up, Instead they have to be made moving in the right direction. They need to be mobilized, encouraged, motivated, trained and supported financially and materially, for sure they will be empowered with knowledge  and therefore move from the cycle of poverty.

Forests are fast disappearing, rivers are drying up, water source are heavily polluted, there is no firewood nor charcoal for cooking, agricultural land is reducing and becoming less productive as the available land is poorly used and population growing day and night at an alarming rate. All these people need food to eat but there is no food, they need to farm but there is no land or if any then it is too small and unproductive. They need job but there are no industries, which need investors and of course raw materials and technology for them to start and run.

 We are involved in the support of children in the community who are abused sexually, child labor, and genital mutilation, street children, through a center that we have established, providing food and nutrition programme, education, clothing and accommodation to the vulnerable children. We have achieved this through establishment of kitchen garden, introduction of the nutrition flour and proper sanitation.

On health we are running mobile clinics in the remote/marginal areas in the district. We do 5 clinics per week and attending to about 200 patients mostly children, around the following Districts: Teso, Bungoma south, Bungoma North, Bungoma West, and Mumias Districts. We need volunteers who can help us in the running of the same project. HIV\AIDS clients are supported by giving them free home based care treatment and counseling, ensuring that they access ARVS/ART from the medical centers.

On women rights, the community needs empowerment of their rights according to our African tradition which pin or subject them to a lot of frustration under their men. They are overworked, raped, denied property after the death of their husbands, forced inheritance and leaving an isolated life after the death of their husbands.  

Our goal in sustainable agriculture is to assist small-scale farmers in the region to increase their incomes while improving public health and environmental quality through the introduction of organic farming.

For more than three years of educational outreach efforts by these farmers evidenced a high level of interest among area growers, who were struggling to make ends meet in the face of high costs of agricultural chemicals and the region’s climatic unsuitability for Kenya’s most profitable exports, coffee and tea.  Though excited about the economic prospects and concerned about the health and environmental problems linked to pesticides and fertilizers, these farmers proved hesitant to completely alter their practices after mere informational sessions. To address this hesitation WEPOGA/MAP decided to expand its activities beyond educational consultations and began providing a forum for collaboration and assistance among interested farmers.  The aim of this forum was to enable farmers to find the support they needed to make a successful transition in each other.

All these problems must be addressed or else this community will lose its grip to eradicate poverty. As a result they will drink any water to survive only to drink polluted poisonous water and therefore die faster, womem, Youths; Children will all live a very poor life and this will result in the increase in the spread of the  HIV\AIDS virus They will need industries but there will be no investors, raw materials and with poor skills. They will also need energy to power their house and industries yet not affordable and no reliable energy will be there to use.

It is against this background and forecast that WEPOGA\ Map was formed by a group of professionals in child abuse, women’s right, vulnerable children, energy, technology, forestry, sustainable agriculture, Finance management and water. WEPOGA/ MAP has the initiative and so are the Community and people. We have the will and the skill but all will remain a dream unless we are funded and supported adequately by you, your friends, organizations, foundations and families or otherwise anybody else.

4.    ASSISTANCE.

In the endeavor to realize our objective, WEPOGA/MAP faces problems. These problems are genuine and are expected because we have no finances of our own nor we make profits from our operations.

 WEPOGA\MAP has to pay rent, pay salaries, feed the children, Train women on gender issues, get drugs for our mobile clinic, 4×4 mobile ambulance, buy clothing for the children, buy seedlings and also raise our own, train farmers and artisans, drill bores, install pumps and maintain them, the staff members and officials need to travel and of course the organization has to publicize its activities to the donors, beneficiaries and the general public.

All this activities requires resources. We need the money and equipment. We need support in all this areas and other not mentioned and it is for this reason that we are writing to you for support and commitment.

5.    HOW TO ASSIST.                                                                         

WEPOGA/ MAP will be happy to receive your donation and or that of your friends, organization, Foundation, well wishers and the government. Give your assistance in the form of cash, equipment, materials and advice or any other form of assistance you can best offer.

You can also identify donors for our NGO and program mes since our contacts are limited. Remember that together, we can eradicate poverty and remove pain and suffering from the face of this community. Do not watch as the poor and disadvantaged suffer and die. They are simply disadvantaged and therefore they need your genuine assistance. Let us together leave a legacy in our community today for it is either now or never.

6. SPECIFIC ASSISTANCE

Your assistance is welcomed in all or some of these areas:

a)     Computers, printers, fax and any other office equipment (New or Used).

b)     Office rent, security, overheads etc.

c)      Project vehicle (New or Used).

d)     Drilling equipments, pumps, pipes, and other accessories for water projects.

e)     Farm inputs and implements e.g. fertilizers, seeds, seedlings, etc.

f)        Irrigation equipments.

g)     Workshop machines, tools, welding transformers and equipments and any available industrial machinery and equipment for use in vocational training and demonstration in our industrial and technology development programmes.

h)      Solar and other energy equipment for demonstration and training in energy management and conservation programme.

i)        Material for HIV/AIDS, Gender, and environmental education e.g. films video cameras, videotapes projectors, journals and any other literature. Old and New equipments are acceptable.

j)        Volunteers, experts and other professionals in agriculture, agro forestry, water, environmental conservation and education, industrial production technology, energy and experts in the management of self help groups.

k)      Staff salaries.

l)        Operational costs financing.

m)   Any other available material, technical, financial and operational assistance.