IMPLEMENTING AGENCY:
WATAMU ADVENTIST HIV/AIDS PROJECT (WAHAP)
CONTACT PERSONS:
- GEOFFREY WAITHAKA CHEGE
- HON. LUCAS BAYA MAITHA
- WAHAP COMMITTEE
To provide lasting and sustainable solutions to the orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) challenge in Malindi.
- Building a high class comprehensive school named The Watamu School.
- Building a sports academy to cater for the abundant sporting talent among the OVCs.
- Building a cultural center to tap the rich and vibrant Kenyan culture and turn it into an industry to reduce or eradicate poverty.
PHASE II: A sports academy to cater for children who are endowed with sporting abilities whose talents would otherwise be wasted.
PHASE III: A cultural center for tapping and honing the huge cultural heritage that this country boasts of but which has not provided a basis for wealth creation for the people of this country.
ince so many people are coming up with children’s homes to provide interventions for orphans and vulnerable children, there is now a need for diversity in the interventions. This project aims at provision of quality education and guarantee of quality life for the OVCs. The school will be holistic, starting from nursery to secondary and will be for both boys and girls. 70% of the children will be drawn from poor children, orphans and other children made vulnerable by disease and/or poverty, while 30% will be drawn from well to do families who can afford to pay the required fees. The school will be high class and will be staffed by highly quality teachers and other support staff.
his phase will build a sports academy where children will be encouraged to excel in sports and hope to become the best in their respective fields of sporting. There will be a school and sporting facilities, a stadium, gymnasiums and other facilities. Those who do well here will find themselves playing for big clubs in the developed world where they will be transformed from poverty to riches untold.
here is a rich cultural heritage in this country. But this rich culture has not been properly appreciated as a means of poverty eradication for the people who practice it. The best that has been done is collection of a few cultural groups like Maasai, Giryama, Duruma, Pokomo etc who dance for tourists in the hotels or during public functions like Madaraka day, Jamhuri day etc, or when leaders are visiting their areas. These groups have never been shown the way to exploit their own talents for betterment of their lives. This project aims at building a cultural center where the cultural groups will be encouraged to form a cooperative society which will be their means of creating wealth by saving and borrowing to engage in other businesses.
IV/AIDS has become a challenge in all spheres of human living especially in the developing world. Though Kenya is emerging successful in the fight against the disease, the challenges it is leaving in its wake are daunting. It is true we are experiencing wonderful success in curbing the prevalence from an all high of between 17% and 20% only a few years ago to about 6.5% in 2006. This success is phenomenal by all standards. It is a result of concerted effort of Kenyans from all walks of life including Government departments, private sector and civil society coming together with one accord. It is also a way of proving that Kenyans are capable of improving their lives if they came together and pulled in one direction.
However, when we celebrate the success gained, we can not lose sight of the challenges posed by the aftermath of the disease during its heyday, especially during the lost one and half decades from 1984 to 1999 when the epidemic was declared a national disaster. Very many people were infected while stigma was left to run wild. Not many infected people wanted to declare their sero – status for fear of stigmatization. Most of those infected in those dark days are now succumbing to the disease. Sadly, we have to accept that the death phase is here with us. It is for this reason that Kenya is recording a very high number of orphans and vulnerable children who must be taken into consideration now before they too get infected due to poverty or lack of care from us.
Malindi district has close to 12,000 orphans according to the national census conducted late 2005 to establish the number of orphans. Considering that there are other children who are at risk of being infected by HIV due to poverty and/or disease in their homes, the number of children needing immediate intervention in Malindi alone can be estimated to be more than 40,000. This is also considering that Malindi district is among the poorest in Kenya with between 67% and 70% of the people living below poverty levels. This number of children living without hope of improving their lives is a time bomb which may explode on the society with dire consequences. Malindi has already been documented as a hot spot in child sex exploitation, child labor, human trafficking, drug dealing and many other social ills we can afford to do without. If we do not give hope to these children, we expose them to those evils and stand to feel the negative outcomes in a very near future. We therefore must think of ways of ensuring that our children are taken care of before they hit back at the society for ignoring them. We must consider this as a holy calling to do for our children what needs to be done to improve their lives and give them hope. It will mark the difference between creating future leaders and future menace. The choice is ours and we have the time and resources to do it. We only need to employ good judgment and will power. we also need to perfect the art of making right and timely decisions in tackling social challenges. by allowing for good choices, we shape our future for our own good.
his proposal will be initiated and implemented by Watamu Adventist HIV/AIDS project (WAHAP). Funds will be raised by public awareness created through a charity walk involving Mr. Geoffrey W. Chege. It will be built in three phases as outlined in the introduction. The details are as follows:
STEP 1: Geoffrey will walk from Mombasa to Malindi, a distance of approximately 125 kilometers (77.7 miles). The aim of the walk (dubbed STEPPING OUT FOR OUR CHILDREN), is to create awareness on the plight of our children as well as raise funds to start building the project. Sponsorship will be categorized as follows:
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PLATINUM SPONSORSHIP: This category will be for companies, foundations, organizations, governments or government institutions or individuals who will give from 20,000 Euros and above.
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GOLDEN SPONSORSHIP: This category will, be for companies, foundations, organizations, government/government institutions or individuals who will give between 10,000 and 20,000 Euros.
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SILVER SPONSORSHIP: In this category will be companies, foundations, organizations, governments/government institutions or individuals giving from 5,000 to 10,000 Euros.
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BRONZE SPONSORSHIP: Here are companies, foundations, organizations, governments/government institutions or individuals giving from 1,000 to 5,000 Euros.
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FRIENDSHIP SPONSORSHIP: These are sponsors of all descriptions who will give from 50 to 1,000 Euros.
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LAST COIN SPONSORSHIP: This category comprises all who wi8ll give any amount of money less than 50 Euros.
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LOGISTIC SPONSORSHIP: Here are those who will give logistical support e.g. Sleeping arrangements in Mombasa on the eve of the walk, drinking water, first aid kit, fuel for ambulance and security escort, sleeping arrangement in Kilifi at the end of the first day, sleeping arrangement at the end of the second day in Watamu or Gede, reception ceremony at Malindi stadium etc.
STEP 2: With the funds thus raised, phase one of the projects will start in the second quarter of 2007. This will be a school of national status where children from poor families including orphans will be given free or affordable education. In this school, no child will ever miss a chance to excel due to lack of money. The school will not be for profit although some children who come from well to do families will be required to pay in order to provide sustainability for the school. Staff will be recruited from highly qualified personnel who will also need to display qualities of volunteerism.
STEP 3: It is good to acknowledge that not all children will score As and Bs in academic performance. Those who are not endowed academically have other natural talents which God gave them for their own good and to fill the world with diversity which is the recipient for happiness. Those who mare gifted in sports will benefit from the phase two of the project. This will be a sports academy which will not only seek academic excellence but will also be encouraged to pursue their natural endowments. The academy will seek partnerships with sports bodies here and abroad where those who excel in their chosen sports disciplines will be given an opportunity to go to the highest possible point. They will be encouraged to honor their sports as a means of poverty eradication for themselves and their families too. The academy will get its sustainability through transactions between itself and the said sporting bodies who will employ the talents nurtured at the academy.
STEP 4: Having looked into the welfare of our children, the third phase of the project will focus on the richness of our culture. Kenya is one of the richest countries in the world, culturally speaking. But our people get no notice from the rest of us until we need a cultural group to welcome a visiting dignitary or when our cultural groups are hired to entertain tourists arriving at the airport or relaxing in their hotels. Though we know that our cultural heritage is very rich, we have not taken advantage to turn it into an industry for the benefit of our people. We are happy to see pictures of our people, Maasai, Durumas, Giryamas, Kambas etc. painted in tourist brochures or made into wood carvings but we don’t care to think about those communities as Kenyans who help sell our country abroad. their contribution to tourism needs to be recognized and be used to move them from poverty. The goose that lays the golden egg needs to be fed and nurtured to ensure that the egg will always be there.
This project will build a cultural centre where the cultural groups will be organized as a cooperative and work as an organized industry to create wealth and employment for themselves and others like managers, sales people, accountants etc. They will be empowered to negotiate with those who consume their services for better pay in contrast with the current trend where they sign contracts that they do not understand and neither are they involved in their creation. Without being extremist, the current state of affairs can be termed as exploitative, a situation that takes advantage of the people’s helplessness.
atamu Adventist HIV/AIDS Project (WAHAP) is a community organization based in Watamu, Malindi district. It’s objective is to provide care and support for people infected and affected by HIV. The two major activities which achieve this objective are:
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Home Based Care (HBC) for people who are in various stages of HIV infection. Some are too sack to be able to do things for themselves and need nursing care at home because there is not enough room for all of them in Malindi district hospital. WAHAP has personnel of ten community health workers who do the work in conjunction with the health facilities around and other referral systems available in Malindi.
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Care and support for orphans and vulnerable children. There are about sixty children in this program who get free nursery school education through Mnyaka nursery school, project of WAHAP and Watamu women group. Subject to availability of resources, the children are also provided with lunch while at school. There are also three orphans who are highly endowed academically and are in Mambrui secondary school who are catered for by WAHAP and Watamu women group. Their fees are paid by donations raised in Watamu SDA church.
- There is also a program for prevention of new infections. This is done through various activities which include the following:
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Peer education for youth in the church
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Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) program at Watamu SDA dispensary, Watamu maternity and nursing home, Watamu community health care and Timboni community dispensary.
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Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) done at Watamu Maternity and nursing home and soon to be opened at Watamu community health care and Watamu SDA dispensary.
For the above services, there are 5 trained counselors and 3 PMTCT service providers.
WAHAP is managed by a committee led by a chairman. Daily activities are executed by the executive committee comprising of the chairman, secretary and treasurer. They operate a bank account with Kenya Commercial bank, Malindi branch. They have a partnership with Pathfinder International who, through funding form USAID have been running the COPHIA project which is about Home Based Care and OVC. Inclusive of the main programs, i.e. HBC and OVC, there are also matters which rise form the activities like paralegal issues involving People Living with HIV/AIDS, which mainly revolve around stigmatizations and human rights. Through WAHAP local arbitration is made possible and where applicable referrals are made to the courts, administration or elders, whatever the case may be.
WAHAP has not engaged salaried personnel but has a number of volunteers including 10 Community Health Workers, 10 paralegals, 5 VCT counselors, 8 PMTCT service providers and 2 full time officers who are involved in resource mobilization and daily activity programs.
t is easy to see the project as a poverty reduction project, and indeed it is. The proposed school (THE WATAMU SCHOOL) and sports academy will go a long way in improving the living standards of orphans and vulnerable children. The project will tap the academic talent of those children who would otherwise remain unnoticed. It aims at producing academic giants from the children who currently live without hope. It aims at bringing back live to those who have been rendered hopeless by the disease and/or poverty. In the long term, the school will be famous and attract attention from other parts of Kenya. This will augur well for its long term sustainability.
The sports academy (WATAMU SPORTS ACADEMY) will be a catchment for sporting talent. The big clubs in Europe and other areas of the world will use this academy to access the talent they require for their sporting business. Our children will benefit from the contracts because they will be well paid for their services to their clubs. There will be big sporting names nurtured in this academy and those who break through to get good contracts will not only improve the living standards of themselves and their families but will also be role models for other poor children who will need encouragement in order not to give up.
The cultural center (WATAMU CULTURAL CENTER) will be something that could be duplicated elsewhere for its originality. Cultural groups from various parts of Kenya will come together and form a cooperative society. They will run cultural (curio) shops and pool the money in one account. Tourists will be encouraged to visit the center and consume the variety of cultural mixture, which will be found under one roof. Hotels and other tourist resorts will still manage to enter into contracts with the groups and will even find it easier to do so since the groups will be found at one place. Anyone needing to research on Kenya’s culture will have their work made easier since they will only need to visit the center and all the culture they want will be there. Group members will benefit greatly by getting direct employment as workers of the cooperative who will be paid according to work done and money realized, but will also hold personal accounts with the cooperative society where they will expect to be paid dividends when they are due. They will also be able to borrow soft term loans as contributors to the cooperative society in order to engage in private investment.
his school will be built on a 14-acre land in Jimba sub-location of Watamu location. Its situation is in the area generally known as Watamu.
The Watamu School will admit children from nursery to secondary school. There will be two streams i.e. two classes for each year. The nursery school will admit a maximum of twenty-five children per class to influence good learning conditions and to give the teachers enough space to deal with individual children. The primary section will have a maximum of thirty-five children and secondary will admit a maximum of forty, all for the same reasons.
The children will be drawn from Malindi district and also other parts of the country. The criteria for selection will be determined by social status of the children (poor, orphaned etc.) academic performance will also determine whether the child will be admitted since the purpose of the school is to give academically gifted children a chance to excel. A maximum of 70% of the total number of children admitted will be from poor backgrounds. The rest will be drawn from rich background who will be able to pay the required fees to provide sustainability for the school. Donor funding will also be sought to offset some of the expenditure and also meet educational costs for individual children through distance adoption. Families abroad will be encouraged to befriend the children and help meet some of the cost in their upbringing. Thus the school will be a conduit for the children to access the best in life through the principle of distance adoption and responsible tourism.
The school will compete with others in academic and extra-curricula pursuits like athletics, music, and drama etc. the children will be encouraged to do their best and all the facilities in the school will be at their disposal. Teachers and other staff will be drawn from trained and skilled manpower and will be given incentives for job excellence. Volunteer corps from friendly foreign countries and associations will also be given the opportunity to serve as school staff. Those children who need to go to university or other institutions of higher education will be encouraged through the same principles, i.e. giving the poor the same opportunities enjoyed by the rich.
The school will be managed by a board of governors appointed annually by WAHAP board and comprising of people from different backgrounds all willing to serve on voluntary basis There will also be a Parents/Teachers Association formed by parents/guardians whose children will be enrolled in then school. Their terms and remunerations will a responsibility of WAHAP. The school’s activities (including financial management) will be made public in order to cement trust and goodwill from all stakeholders. The school board will be in charge and will be expected to deal with all challenges affecting the school. From time to time, there will be open forums to solicit public opinion from stakeholders and well-wishers This will strengthen the school and guarantee its autonomous status.
his project aims to tap the vast reservoir of sporting talent available in Kenya. Generally, very few people get their sporting breakthrough due to poor management of sports especially soccer, lack of early scouting systems, poor performance by our national teams apart from athletics where our country stands heads and shoulders above most big boys in the world and a general lack of resources. There are no known sports academies in the country which makes it difficult to help any youths willing to pursue their chosen sports disciplines. WATAMU sports academy will try to bridge this gap by proving sporting sponsor\ship to especially gifted children aged from 8 years who will be encouraged to go through education while honing their sporting talent.
The academy will be creating in conjunction with stakeholders drawn from Kenya and outside Kenya. It will be ran through partnerships with internationally recognized sports organizations like soccer clubs, basket ball clubs, swimming clubs, athletics organizations etc. It will be built in Mijomboni sub-location of Gede location, about 12 kilometers from Watamu. It will operate like a normal school but with modern sporting facilities and a bias towards sports.
Children will be drawn from all over Malindi and will be mainly form poor families inclusive of orphans and will be staffed by suitably qualified personnel drawn from Kenya and where applicable from sporting organizations/clubs with whom partnerships will be forged. There will be long term partnerships with sporting organizations especially from developed countries who will be interested in developing sports talents. Individual children will be sponsored to excel in their chosen sports disciplines. When they grow old enough to be able to travel abroad they will be facilitated in order to access better facilities and possibly be hired on contracts to the organizations. The academy will be benefiting by facilitating the transfers at a fee and money thus raised will be used to cater for the welfare of the children. Through those partnerships, the academy will be self-sustaining.
WAHAP will manage the sports center in conjunction with sports organizations from around the world with which partnerships will have been formed. Revenue realized from the project will be used to improve the facility and also the lives of the children who will be enrolled to learn there. It will be an autonomous institution with its budgets and work and/or strategic plans.
nother huge resource which ahs not been properly tapped is the cultural heritage. Apart from the Maasai who are worldly renowned due to their sheer daring and strength, there are other equally strong cultural groups still maintaining and a re proud of their centuries old cultural inheritance. Just around the Kenya coast, one my find the Giryama, Duruma, Digo, Taita, Pokomo, Orma,Bajuni etc, not to mention other cultural groups from other parts of the country who could benefit from this project by direct involvement or replicating it in their respective districts. All of these groups are like a gold mine which has not been tapped and is lying unnoticed. Occasionally, some of these groups get some obscure contracts in tourist resorts and hotels where they perform some of their cultural activities and get paid below their true value.
This project aims to bring various cultural groups from around the country together as a cooperative movement where they will pool their resources and create wealth for themselves. They will operate curio shops and boutiques targeting tourists who will be encouraged to visit the center. They will also operate a café also targeting the tourists. Arrangements will be made with the local hotels to, include the center in their excursion programs. This project will solve several social-economic problems including the following:
- The influx of unchecked beach businesses which are difficult to tax.
- Having the curio and other local businesses which target tourists under one roof.
- Hotels will not need to include in their entertainment budget the vote that goes to cultural activities.
- Creation of well-paying, secured employment for the target group
- Poverty reduction through job and wealth creation.
- Creating connection between the tourists and the host communities which encourages repeat visits.
- Preservation of our culture.
- Bringing the world to our village and taking our village to the world.
he budget will factor in the building of an entire school, sports academy and cultural center from scratch. They will be located in different areas and each will be autonomous with no connection to the others. They will also be tendered to different contractors, who will each be required to prove their competency and honesty. WAHAP will liaise with the District Development Committee (DDC) in all stages of each project. All the government institutions relevant to the projects will be involved and whenever applicable, asked to give the required assistance. The institutions will also be registered and with and licensed by the relevant authorities. All documents pertaining to all or part of the projects will be open for scrutiny by relevant authorities at all times. Budget and work plan plans for each project will be produced separately and issued to stakeholders before and/or during project implementation.
