Blog

Drawing Inspiration from our Impact and Activities in 2021

At Team Kenya we know the importance of reflecting on the journey so far. Moments of reflection are important as they offer an opportunity to acknowledge where we are, to learn from what we have done, to reconnect and realign with our vision, mission and values and, most importantly, to celebrate the big and small achievements along the way. We also know that looking back often provides much needed inspiration for the year ahead. We want to share some of these key moments with you! 

Despite the challenges faced, our impact continues to be positive for the lives and communities of the people, with whom we collaborate in Ndhiwa. 

Here is some of the life-changing impact made possible by our partners in 2021:  

• 8,450 primary school pupils had benefited from Reading Clubs,Debating Clubs, homework clubs, mobile book boxes, attendance at the Learning & Resource Centre (LRC) for activities or homework / private reading, tuition during school closure and improved learning in the classroom
• 4,002 books in the Learning Resource Centre 
• 150 women received and subsequently implemented agricultural training, growing and selling Moringa and Roselle juice as well as increasing their household food security and nutrition
• 12 new crops were trialed a Karibuni demonstration farm, with a number of successful products put forward for official registration and branding

We want to highlight the holistic support for girls and our partner schools made possible by Fonthill Foundation which enabled us to increase support for 90 girls and emergency support to a further 45 girls based on urgent need across 9 partner schools, plus sanitary pads, solar lamps, homework clubs, e-learning support, desks and stationary for girls and their families. The funds enabled urgent renovation work to school buildings and good parenting and table banking training for parents to support keeping girls in school. 

We were able to develop safeguarding in the community, with a focus on changing attitudes to girls’ rights and providing support to victims of school-related gender based violence, thanks to funding from Evan Cornish. In May 2021 sessions were delivered in schools through the Girls Support Groups. Sessions on child protection were also delivered to 55 chiefs, assistant chiefs, religious leaders and community leaders. The  funding also enabled us to extend  community conversations across more schools. 

Our “Safe Access to Quality Education for Girls in Ndhiwa” project has been rolled out in 4 new partner schools, made possible through the UKAid Small Charities Challenge Fund. This 2 year project ending in May 2021, targeted schools with a high number of  vulnerable pupils, lack of vital clean drinking water, and high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in their communities. As a result of this funding and the incredible hard work and effectiveness of our implementing partner, 225 students graduated from primary school (% more than expected) with a higher gender balance of girls than boys. In 2021, following the 9 month school closure of schools due to the pandemic, and deepening poverty, we anticipated high levels of school drop out and adapted our programmes to increase support. We are extremely proud to say that in 2021 our partner schools saw a significantly higher rate of pupils return compared to non-partner schools in Ndhiwa (98.7%, compared to only 70-85%).

Feedback from UK Aid on our own monitoring and evaluation of the project was excellent with a particular strength identified as our approach to sustainability fostered by good community engagement and ownership, and a particularly strong approach to beneficiary feedback mechanisms. 

In 2021 our valued supporters took action for Team Kenya: 

As we continued to face many restrictions in 2021, our community was able to diversify, get creative and try new things to raise essential funds for our friends in Kenya. We are hugely appreciative to all of our monthly donors, supporters who took part in challenges and every virtual audience member who attended our events. Thanks to all our supporters who donated to our online campaigns, including International Day of the Girl, The Big Give and our social media Gift that keeps on Giving campaign for Christmas. 

We want to include a special mention to everyone who initiated fundraisers of their own! From birthday fundraisers on Instagram and Facebook to online yoga sessions. Pub quizzes, wedding gift donations and Christmas Jumper days. Even those of you who donated through Easy Fundraising and Amazon Smiles every time you purchased an item online made a difference in 2021. It all adds up to provide the vital funding needed to continue our work and projects. 

Here are a few highlights from the year: 

The Big Give was a huge success as we smashed our £6800 target and raised well over £7000. We moved into the virtual space to create an international platform to amplify the voices of women in Kenya. We heard  from Anatalia as she shared her personal story in July. In celebration of International Day of the Girl we heard from Vivien, Ruth, Noven and Anatalia, who shared their 10 practical solutions to some of the most disempowering inequalities that continue to face girls in Ndhiwa and Homa County. 

In May, Val Wilson, our Founder based in Newcastle and Anatalia, one of the team working with vulnerable girls in Kenya took on an international 5k May challenge. Anatalia and a team at Twende Pamoja walked 10km from Twende Pamoja Library in Ndhiwa Town to Kabodo Primary School. On the same day, Val took on her first ever 5km challenge and ran, not 5, but 10km to raise awareness and funds for girls returning to school after a 9 months of school closures. It was a wonderful moment as #OurTeamKenya showed that you don’t need to in the same country to come together for a better and brighter future for girls! The challenges didn’t stop there. We are thrilled to have seven passionate and dedicated runners dust off their running shoes to complete the Great North Run, raising over £4000 in donations! 

At Team Kenya we grow with the members of our international communities and were over the moon when Molly, one of our valued Team Kenya Society alumni, started her career at McKesson and brought us along her journey by introducing a dynamic corporate partnership with the McKesson Paddington Bears. We have connected on video calls to hear from Anatalia as she shared her experience of meeting Team Kenya. Anatalia is a beneficiary who was able to access safety and education, for both herself and her daughter, through our projects in Ndhiwa. Anatalia was among some of the very first young women in Ndhiwa to attend and complete university. Her talk with McKesson was very inspiring and the human connection was valued by everyone in the UK and Kenya! Mckesson, inspired by Anatalia and Molly’s journey, the Paddington Bears took on a challenge to complete 20,000 squats/ sit-ups in just one week. Squats and sit-ups replaced sitting in meetings and the team smashed their goal with a total of 22,583 in total. Why 20,000? Because that is the number of girls whose lives have been transformed with Team Kenya since 2008! The Paddington Bear’s first fundraising event was a raffle held in the office. There was great support at all levels and some truly incredible prizes claimed making this a great first event. Inspired by the Olympics 2021, the next event was an epic Office Olympics, which took place on the neighbouring rooftop garden. Some serious skill was flexed in the summer sun as colleagues took on challenges such as ‘archery’ (shooting elastic bands at figurines), ‘golf’ (long putt challenge), ‘ping pong’ (beer pong with water), paper aeroplane javelin and ‘Guess the Flag’. You can Read more about this by clicking here to read the blog written by Molly.  Employees of McKesson have also joined the online events and discussions hosted by Team Kenya and they are and have been an incredible part of our community! We are so grateful for their support and generosity, especially as all funds raised by McKesson employees will be matched by McKesson. 

If you are interested in getting in touch to tell us about a fundraiser you are planning or to find out more about how you can do to make a difference in 2022, contact Peta, our Fundraising and Operations Manager via email – peta@team-kenya.co.uk