The Alendu Village Mission Background

The Alendu Village Mission is part of a larger project that actually involves two villages in Western Kenya, South Nyanza. Alendu, is of course one of those villages and the other is Wimagak. Each village, supporting a population of roughly 2000 people, is experiencing the scourge of HIV/AIDS, leaving their communities devastated socially and economically.

Two women, Drs. Martey Ochola and Eucabeth Odhiambo, have both a professional and a personal investment in these two villages. Dr. Ochola is from Wimagak and Dr. Odhiambo is from Alendu. They know first-hand of the ravaged land and people they seek to help. Professionally, these two women were inspired by the spirit of activism within the women's groups at the villages and determined to study how the groups' efforts could be supported.

In an effort to conduct primary research for the purpose of soliciting funding, Dr. Ochola and Dr. Odhiambo engaged in a two-month long needs assessment in 2006, sponsored by Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this assessment was to determine the population of each community, as well as the residents' knowledge of HIV/AIDS. They also sought to conduct an HIV/AIDS impact assessment on various target groups, determine the influence of Non-government Organizations (NGOs) on HIV/AIDS awareness, and the population needs that, if met, will help elicit behavior change.

The data gathered indicates that there is serious need for the following:

1. HIV/AIDS education
2. HIV/AIDS testing and counseling facilities
3. Vibrant feeding programs for HIV/AIDS orphaned children
4. Educational facilities for orphans
5. Developmental activities geared toward the youth

Two of the biggest hurdles to leap involve information dissemination and poverty. Primarily, people are not learning about HIV/AIDS and how to prevent it in a way that brings about lifestyle change. Many young people get information about HIV/AIDS from school; however, those people who are not in school are left with little educational options. They may learn something from their church, an NGO or possibly from some government source. Often the information is sterile or incomplete--without explanation of relevancy or how to apply it. Severe poverty has also been shown to correspond with a higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS. For instance, a poverty-stricken household is less likely to purchase food. According to the Kenyan National Guidelines on Nutrition and HIV/AIDS, without nutrient-rich foods, the risk of opportunistic infections increases and the progression of HIV to AIDS is accelerated. (p. vi, Forward by Honourable Charity Ngilu EGH.M.P, Minister for Health). Within these two poverty-stricken villages over 35% of the population has HIV/AIDS and each village studied has over 200 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) as a result of HIV/AIDS. This percentage of prevalence contrasts sharply with a national average of 7%, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS, 2003). The need for HIV/AIDS education and the alleviation of poverty is extreme in these two villages, even when compared to the atrocity of national norms. 

Drs. Ochola and Odhiambo conclude that HIV/AIDS prevention could be realized through the following three initiatives:

1. Comprehensive HIV/AIDS education
2. Care for orphans and vulnerable children, including food, shelter and education
3. Economically relevant and viable community projects organized to alleviate poverty and provide employment for young people, widows and widowers (including micro-financing)

Short Term Goals

The immediate goals include the following:

1. To become an ongoing resource for the purchase of food for the more than 400 orphans in the villages of Alendu and Wimagak
2. To build a community center in Alendu which will serve as a food distribution hub for the orphans there
3. To construct a daycare/nursery school for the orphans in Wimagak to serve as an educational facility, as well as a place where food is available to them

Long Term Goals

Looking to the future, the emphases of these Kenyan projects will include:

1. Expanding the Alendu Village Community Center into an orphanage, as well as a facility providing free health education, counseling and basic care and free vocational skills in agriculture
2. Organizing community health testing and counseling for both villages
3. Expanding the Wimagak day care into a free elementary school for orphans
4. Facilitating community development projects for the villages' existing organizations (the women's groups and the Alendu Community Development Group) such as micro-financing, water and agricultural projects
5. Utilizing Wimagak and Alendu as locations where universities can participate in educational undertakings
6. Combating the language and cultural barriers to HIV/AIDS education by collaborating with various organizations to provide culturally relevant educational materials such as books, cultural narratives and videos in the native language of Luo and also Kiswahili to broaden the target populations.

Progress

From June 2006 to June 2007 over $40,000 has been raised by Highland View Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hagerstown, Maryland as a springboard for the community center in Alendu. After purchasing 2 acres of land, the church sent a team of 14 people from June 18 through July 4, 2007 to complete the first phase of community center which consists of the foundation, floor, and walls. As of August 2, 2007 another $7,300 has been made available for the roof and other basic fixtures. Fund raising continues in order to provide windows and doors, tables and chairs, storage shelving, kitchen supplies, office furniture, etc. Also there is a steady need for funds to provide food for the orphans.