Kitale and Majengo KENYA

In 1983 Community builders visited Kenya for the first time and began to learn about the talents and skills of people living extreme poverty. These early lessons led to the creation of the Pay it Forward plan.  Bowers Lihanda, a pastor living in the remote village of Majengo, Kenya, received one of the first PiF grants to start a dairy and poultry farm. Over the years, Bowers and his wife Gladys have maintained this project which has brought sustainability to their family. It has also allowed them to Pay Forward to new participants and creating employment opportunities to others.

These two pictures show the dairy and poultry farming in Majengo village.

Last year,  a second generation of Pay Forward efforts in the Lihanda family was planted. Iris Lihanda received funds to start a home based bakery in Kitale, enabling her to continue the work of supporting people in extreme poverty.

Iris showing off some of her baked cakes and scones.

Despite some initial difficulties with her business, Iris is currently working on building a structure for the bakery in Biribiriet village. Pictured below are men beginning the construction of the bakery.

Currently, Iris has registered Biribiriet Community Builders Organisation which aims at eradication extreme poverty conditions in the area. Iris is now looking forward to having the bakery work in Biribiriet village, in order to get close to the community she is supporting.  Apart from the bakery, Iris is a farmer, she plants maize/corn and beans. The farming also creates employment to the local community.  Pictured below are two women who work for Iris on her farm. These ladies, are also looking forward to starting small scale businesses with the Pay It Forward model. 

Mbeya, Italalazia, TANZANIA

Mbeya is located in southwest Tanzania. Mbeya has weather with enough rainfall and fertile soil to enable it to be the largest producer of maize, rice, bananas, beans, potatoes, soya nuts and wheat in relation to other areas of Tanzania. There is also extensive animal husbandry.  Mbeya is also surrounded by a number of villages, Ilembo, Pashungu, Italazia, Masoko, Shola, Izuo and Igale. These villages are characterized by extreme poverty conditions.

Alfred Rogers, one of our PiF leaders in Tanzania, is based in Italazia village. This is a very remote village and the poverty conditions are extreme.  However, over the years, Community Builders Network has helped Alfred start various PiF projects that are helping eradicate extreme poverty within Italazia village .

Among these projects are piggery, dairy farming, fishery, pharmacy kiosk, small scale businesses such as selling of vegetables, and animal feeds. Recently, the women of the village have started small scale businesses by using the Pay It Forward model that Alfred Rogers introduced in Italazia. Here are some pictures showing the progress in Italazia.

Women selling vegetables at the market place.

Zero grazing by Alfred Rogers.

This is the manual way of preparing land in Italazia. No use of oxen or tractors due to the poverty situation.

Macdonald, Haiti

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is no stranger to natural disasters, in January 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake. Three million people were affected.  The death toll was estimated from the range of 100,000  to approx. 160,000 people.  The damages were vast. Currently, health conditions are poor, there is a lack of clean water and the population is living in deplorable conditions of extreme poverty. Community Builders Group and Anhart Foundation have been doing their best to help these people that live in extreme poverty. 

Julie Roberts, one of the Community Builders director, together with Nixon Gabriel, founder of Comitè MacDonald, have spear-headed the humanitarian work of helping the poor people in Haiti. Most of these people cannot afford food. Gabriel’s kitchen was started by funds from an Indiegogo campaign and funds from CBG and Anhart Foundation. Gabriel’s kitchen now serves 250 meals/day at a very small cost.  Apart from Gabriel’s kitchen, medicine is distributed to the poor people, the homeless elderly are cared for, there is a piggery project, fishery project, latrines have been built and small scale businesses have been started.  Below is Haiti progress in pictures.

A group of people waiting to to be served a meal at Gabriel's kitchen.

Gabriel helping to serve the meals at the Gabriel's kitchen in Haiti.

One of the latrines that were built for the people.

Katanga Lumbumbashi DRC

Lubumbashi is the mining capital of DR Congo. It is a hub for many of the country’s biggest mining companies.  DRC produces more than 3 percent of the world’s copper and half its cobalt, most of which comes from Katanga.

The Second Congo War, that ended in April 2003, was responsible for the death of approximately 3 million people. Now, 11 years later, there is still instability, poverty and unemployment in Katanga.  Community Builders Network and Anhart Foundation are forging a way to help the people who are living in extreme poverty in Katanga .

Last week,  Grace  and Ibrahim, accompanied by their father Jean, distributed funds to a group of ladies living in extreme poverty to start up small scale businesses. These funds were sent to them by Community Builders and Anhart Foundation.

One of the ladies who received the funds is known as Gloire Ndaya, she has been raised by her grandmother because her parents divorced long ago.  Now that she has received PiF funds, she has decided to start buying and selling of charcoal in order to support herself.

Below are some of the pictures showing the ladies receiving the funds. A total of eight women received funds to start small scale businesses. 

Jean Ilunga distributing funds.

The ladies showing the funds they have just received.