• Communities living around the dam were trained and enabled to transition from subsistence farming to agri-business ; growing new crops e . g . spinach , melons , etc . Amiran was a critical partner in setting up the irrigation infrastructure . Agromists were at hand to train over 400 farmers who are farming on + 100 acres of land under irrigation .
• The community was encouraged to form themselves into groups to facilitate bulking and selling of produce .
• The water pumps were solarized to manage operational costs .
• Coast Water and Sewerage company enabled water treatment and distribution of clean water to over 90k people .
Over 22,000 people have benefited from the program . Today the people living around Nyalani dam are selfreliant ; with livelihoods improved and communities thriving . Scenes of previously malnourished children are no longer there . In fact , children have more time for school and play . This could only have been achieved through the power of partnerships .
Kenya Red Cross contributed their expertise in executing large scale impact projects . M-PESA Foundation and the County of Kwale contributed funding to ensure delivery of the program . Amiran and the agronomists delivered their expertise in delivering agri-business training . Over the last 10 years the lives of people in the Nyalani Dam area have improved . The strategic partnership was a success .
We now segeway to Mukuru Sinai Slum in Nairobi Lunga Lunga Industrial Area . This is home to 300,000 residents . Most of the residents live in informal settlement area . The day-to-day challenges for women to access maternal healthcare cannot be under estimated . Mrs Mambo has build a shelter for girls in the area . The girls come from families with violence or need placement from the Welfare Department . By working with community health workers , she identified a huge access gap that pregnant mothers lack appropriate pre-natal care , mothers with complications facing huge risks to their health and even death as they seek to be transferred to other hospitals , mothers having great challenges bringing life into this world . Mrs Mambo together with sponsors started an audacious project to build a hospital in the middle of Mukuru slums . A ray of hope .
The Rotary Club of Lavington Jioni , in an unrelated visit to Mukuru Slums , to support another community project , was introduced to Mrs Mambo who gave the members a tour of the area and the building that was under construction . Mrs Mambo outlined her vision and as a club we agreed to partner to deliver a fully furnished maternal and child healthcare project .
The Rotary club of Lavington Jioni embarked on getting a grant to support the project . Due to large amount required , we had to partner with another club , the Rotary Club of Edina Morningside , from Minnesota , USA . Rotary Clubs can apply to global grants to undertake large scale programs . There are over 1.2m Rotarians in the world . The motto of Rotary is Service Above Self . Rotary has seven pillars of service , one of which is Maternal and Child Health . The project aligned to global pillars .
Rotary Club of Lavington Jioni , where I am a member , applied for a global grant of $ 75,781 . With the grant , the club aimed to deliver hospital beds , ultra sound machines , delivery beds , incubators and equipment to deliver a fully functional theatre . After working on the project for 18 months , the equipment was delivered and installed and a grand project launch arranged for 1st February 2023 by the then District Governor Azeb Asrat . The impact so far is quite positive . Over 1300 babies have been delivered safely and on 25 September 2024 , two caesarian sections were performed at the hospital . The community of Mukuru Sinai have a gem of hope in their midst , ensuring that mothers at the point of bringing life to this world , can do it safely and with dignity .
Hellen Keller has a famous quote , “ Alone , we can do so little ; together we can do so much more .” We can all be transformational and deliver great results by working with strategic partners . It is fulfilling to know that communities in Kinango and Mukuru Slum are having a better day because strategic partners came together with a united goal , to make a difference to humanity . My ask , let us all reach out to each other , and make a difference to another human being .
Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi is the Chief Consumer Business Officer , Safaricom PLC . You can commune with her on this or related matters on email at : Fawziakimanthi @ gmail . com .