OKOK WIDOWS AND ORPHANS GROUP

PRINCIPLES      |      MISSION      |      GOALS      |      PROGRAMS 
ACHEIVMENTS      |      CONSTRAINS      |      CONTACT      |      NEWS

Okok widows & orphans group is a registered cooperative with the ministry of gender, sports, culture and social services as a Community Based initiative in the year 2003. Because of the ever unending challenges the widows and orphans face within the community, the local church and ourselves came together and started this programme to support, mobilize and educate the vulnerable members of the community and in turn ensure that the larger community is sensitized on the effects of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, especially HIV/AIDS scourge and networking with local health facilities and churches. We also engage ourselves in various income generating activities (I.G.A's)

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Many of the members acclaim to the Christian faith and actively seek God's guidance as they serve other members of the community. We seek to promote total well being of individuals as we respond to the needs of the community, building partnerships, Justice, unity and charity with peace and reconciliation as a defining factor. We are greatly accountable to our people as we pursue excellence and seek to learn.

OUR MISSION
To promote total well being of people in poor communities by partnering in provision of essential medicine/natural medicine to enhance prevention and eradication of diseases i.e. malaria

OUR GOALS
Promote a world in which individuals, families and communities have hope as a tool to create conditions that promote total health (holistic responsibility). Seek to have families and communities work together to transform the condition that promote sustainable development both physically, emotionally, economically, socially and spiritual well being.

OUR PROGRAMS
Reproductive Health Program:
In this program, we seek to reduce the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS transmission. We equip and challenge individuals to identify and address the socio-cultural and economic factors that contribute to the pandemic through conducting seminars & open discussion forums, calling for pastoral counseling, partnering with the local churches to undertake sponsorship of widows, widowers, orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS. We also produce herbal plants with medicinal value like Roselle, Moringa & Artemisia.

Poverty Alleviation:
We provide appropriate skill-building opportunities through teaching, training and initiation of income generating activities. We encourage people to use their God-given potential through locally available resources. It is in this process that we undertake rearing of goats for production of Milk, horticulture

Food Security:
The cooperative undertakes to lease farmland and produce crops bothfor domestic consumption by the members and for sale to other community members. This system is acting as a measure for the members to cope with the harsh economic conditions currently hitting the country. Members utilize own labour and local manure from the village to tend to the farmland albeit their smaller sizes. This has also helped to bring the members together to form a strong social bond that acts as a coping mechanism.

OUR ACHEIVMENTS
There is a marked increase in members affiliated to the group and the surrounding families attending VCT and also holding small get-togethers in their homes to talk about the scourge which for a long time has been considered a taboo subject in the village.

-  Improved food security through farming of nutritional plants/crops e.g. Cassava, soap making, oil extraction and tree planting.

-  Several Awareness and Education related forums held in a village area that for a long time has been riddled by fairly backward cultural inclinations that evolved from the practices perfected by our ancestors.

-  Provision of uniforms and scholastic materials to orphans and vulnerable children & providing clothes and food to other vulnerable people in the community.

-  Networking with other Community based Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, churches and government departments

OUR MISSIONOUR CONSTRAINS
Lack of full participation of some members due to ill health and diminished sources of income occasioned by the ever increasing numbers of orphans to be taken care of by the individual members due to the HIV/AIDS Scourge (40members,now 25 only).

-  Lack of capacity in Marketing and promotion of our services and an ever diminishing market for the produce.

-  Unpredictable weather conditions leading to poor harvest/income since the farming mainly depends on the natural waters.

-  Number of orphans and vulnerable people increasing as the prevalence rates for HIV increases.

-  Other community groups changing their focus to the activities undertaken by Okok widows thus creating a competition within our radius that is only healthy in a business environment rather than a social development setting. There is a need to harmonize and provide a larger backdrop for production but it has been a piped dream to get the groups together.

-  Lack of an adequate financial capacity based on lack of exposure for our projects and the diminishing incomes from the sales of our produce.

CONTACT
Okok widows and orphans group is at located near a market center refered to as Gita in Okok sub-location, Kajulu East Location, Winam Division of Kisumu East District, Nyanza province-Kenya.

ADDRESS:     P.O. Box 53, Kisumu-40100,  Kenya
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