Making cement blocks is one of the major livelihood projects in Kingeero, Kenya. PLWH (People Living with HIV) and former alcoholics work together in the production of these blocks. After these blocks are sold, the initial capital is deducted, and the net profit is divided among the workers. This project has been going on for over 4 years.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, workers are practicing social distancing and mask wearing while making the cement bricks.
Peanut butter production is another project. PLWH use this product for their personal consumption in order to boost nutrition requirements. They also sell this to the community to generate income.
These ladies are involved in peanut butter production.
This family was baptized after it was reached by our program. At the left side is the mother who is HIV positive. With her are her daughters. They make peanut butter which they sell to the surrounding community in order to generate income. They need a machine to help boost their production.
Additional report of Gabriel Gathungu
With the radio program I am doing with Hope Channel, Kenya, I also work with a government-owned national vernacular radio called CORO FM. My talk includes HIV/AIDS and the Family and Workplace, and HIV/AIDS and Alcoholism and Drugs. I have also given a talk on World “No Tobacco” Week on the risks and dangers of smoking.
I always thank God for His grace and mercy and for making me an instrument of His work.
The work is not easy due to different challenges, but our God sustains us all the way.
Gabriel Gathungu Maina
The current projects we have are:
- Baking: This is a project that has made a great impact among ourselves and the community. Four people are working on this project. They do the baking, packaging and selling. Each person is paid ksh350 and they are paid on Fridays. After the weekly salary and other logistics are deducted, the organization is left with about ksh1000 per week. Some of the money is used to support those in need. Sadly, this project was stopped after the government banned the use of polythene paper for packaging. We cannot afford the recommended packaging material because they are costly. On a positive note, one person who has HIV is a beneficiary of this project.
- Yoghurt Making: This is our favorite project. We were able to make a profit of ksh1300 per week. We have good and modern equipment, but the government ordered us to put plaster on the walls, construct a chimney, and use tiles on the floor for hygiene purposes. As of this writing, we had plastered one side of the wall from the profit we had made, but we need more fund for the rest of the requirements.
- Soap and Detergents: This is a highly successful project. It is implemented through individual approach. We have discovered that commitment and strong determination are major factors that determine profit margin. Fourteen women are on this project and it has greatly improved their lives. Four of them are HIV positive but they are well and enjoying their work. They support their families from their income; two of them started their own project from the money we gave them.
- Entrepreneurship: Seven women are involved in this project; two of them are HIV positive. They are selling vegetables and fruits at the nearby Wangige Market.
- Interlocking Soil Blocks: This project was started with the funds from AAIM. It has reached over one hundred men and two women and offered skilled training. It has transformed the lives of forty men! With God’s help, they were able to overcome drug addiction, alcoholism, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. The approach and strategy for the implementation are three dimensional: spiritual, social and economic. Because of its great help to the community, the government gave us a machine to use for this project. But last year, the machine broke down. To continue generating income, we paid for its repair. The repair costs us ksh30,000. It is properly working now. Hopefully, we can soon recover what we had lost.
Impact of the Program:
- A family of three whose mother is HIV positive has been baptized. The mother and her two daughters are making peanut butter. We hope to help them buy a machine for mass production. At present, they are renting a machine which does not work very well.
- Tabitha, an HIV positive woman, benefited ksh2000 from us. She is making detergents and selling them for a living. Her son, who is also HIV positive, worked as a mechanic but stopped because he had a stroke.
- Mbene, another HIV positive woman, received Ksh2000 from us to use for her business of buying and selling chickens.
As I reported earlier our work is progressive and cumulative as we work together for a strong sustainable approach.
- The demand for the services that we offer is extremely high.
- I have conducted two sessions for a 16-year-old boy who is using bang, a drug inhalant. The parent is a church member.
- The men with whom we are working have greatly improved in their spiritual walk whereby they can now pray on their own.
- The government supports our youth group by providing them seeds needed for their farming project.
Reported by: Gabriel Gathungu Maina, HIV-AIDS Coordinator
Kingeero Project – Nairobi, Kenya