Kenya

Raila Secondary School & Pillars of Kibera

Project Complete

DIG started its first school project in Octopber 2009. The Raila school serves 800 students in the heart of Kibera the largest slum on the African continent. Their basic diet has been composed of collard greens, corn meal, and beans. We have established two gardens at the school which now provides a variety vegetables to supplement their meals. The garden also proved a classroom environment for their mandatory agriculture classes.

Ruiru Clinic with Mothers 2 Mothers (m2m)

Project Complete

Mothers 2 Mothers offers an effective, sustainable model of care that provides education and support for pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV/AIDS. Their focus in on mother to child transmission of the disease. They operate in hundreds of clinics throughout southern and eastern Africa. DIG has started a pilot project at one of the clinics they work at just outside of Nairobi. This garden is helping mothers know the importance of nutrition and how to achieve it through gardening.

WISER Girls Secondary School

Project Complete

DIG received a grant from Starbucks and the International Youth Foundation to establish a garden supporting the nutritional needs of the WISER boarding school. DIG's mission is usually to create vegetable gardens for HIV treatment facilities so this was a new opportunity for DIG. The chance to build a garden at an educational facility allowed us to engage the students and educate them about new methods of organic gardening, water conservation, and sustainability which they could in turn replicate within their home communities. The chance to start developing a curriculum around the concept of sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and income generation (entrepreneurship) is something that will be very beneficial to the entire community of Muhuru Bay. The WISER girl site is DIG's largest and most extensive garden to date, and it has allowed us to demonstrate three different types of agricultural techniques: improved beds, raised beds, and field crops. It serves as a perfect demonstration site where the students can experiment and gain practical experience to extend into their communities. The students are being viewed as role models by those from surrounding communities who visit WISER to learn, participate, and replicate. The students have already used the practical knowledge gained to create a HUG (Home Urban Garden) at one of the community member’s residence which is already bearing the fruits of their labor. This HUG garden has validated their knowledge, empowered a family, and introduced the idea of giving back through community development.

Working with the girls at WISER has been such a great experience for DIG. It has broadened our concept of how a garden can have a positive impact on a community by educating and engaging youth. The girls participate with much enthusiasm and learn the skills very quickly. It is very impressive to see their dedication and commitment to creating a garden from which they reap many benefits

The WISER project, while not HIV focused, has been a tremendously positive experience for the growth and development of the youth being educated.