Improved Food Security Improved Nutrition Improved Health Many of us take our health for granted, but for the people who live in the communities where SANGO-Kenya works, health is never taken for granted. Cost, inaccessibility to proper health care, and lack of availability of medication are some of the challenges that make good health so elusive. These are also the factors that led to the founding of the World Health Organization and the celebration of World Health Day every April 7th. We started SANGO-Kenya five years ago to strengthen the food and nutrition security of smallholder farmers ..read more

March 22nd is World Water Day. The theme this year is water for security — including food and nutrition security. As the earth’s temperature rises, and weather becomes more erratic, the impact climate change is having on water is becoming more pronounced and of more concern. These impacts directly affect SANGO-Kenya farmers, their crops, and their ability to feed their families. Addressing Climate Change In many ways, much of the SANGO-Kenya program has been designed around addressing climate change and the associated erratic rainfall. From the beginning, our programs have focused on techniqu ..read more

This week, around the globe, people are celebrating International Women’s Day. At SANGO-Kenya, we celebrate remarkable women every day. We are inspired by their kindness, their hard work, their endless commitment to their families; their love of learning; and their determination to build a better life for themselves and their families. We Invest in Women by Providing Knowledge The 2024 theme for International Women’s Day is investing in women. That’s exactly what we — the SANGO-Kenya team and all of our generous supporters — do. We invest in women by providing them the knowledge and the techn ..read more

2023 was a challenging year. The farmers faced more extreme droughts and floods than in the past. Together with SANGO-Kenya, the farmers worked harder — and smarter. In the end, while still a difficult year, they managed to continue to feed their families, some even having enough surplus to sell. New Techniques Improve Outcomes, Save Money In 2023, we added new programs and techniques to help the farmers increase crop yields and save money. One example is the gutters that Owen, one of our SANGO-Kenya Board Members, taught the farmers to use. The new plastic gutters allow farmers to collect m ..read more

Some of the SANGO-Kenya farmers proudly displaying their certificates Some days are just pure joy. Last week, we celebrated the 240 farmers who completed SANGO-Kenya’s 2023 program of sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and livelihoods training and implementation. It was a day filled with singing and dancing and listening to stories. Everyone joined in the joyful dancing The program began, of course, with the singing and dancing. It was such fun. We all joined in and had such a wonderful time. The Farmers Inspire with their Stories After the dancing stopped, we started the program. It is so mo ..read more

Our Project Officer Evance training one of the groups of new farmers on composting. Our theme “Maximizing Your Land” is highlighted on our banner. Although it is not quite December, we have already started our program for next year! That’s because the long rainy season begins in late February or early March and some of the preparation takes a long time. Farmers are all given notebooks and pens so they can take notes during training — and most do! They are very eager to learn We have recruited 224 new farmers for the 2024 program. They are so excited to start training — and very interested! Las ..read more

Today is World Children’s Day, a day meant to recognize children and their needs. But for the mothers and grandmothers of SANGO-Kenya, every day is Children’s Day. The members of SANGO-Kenya, mostly women farmers, work tirelessly. When we talk to them about how the program helps, why they work so hard, they often talk about their children and grandchildren. The mothers are always taking care of their children, often bringing them with them to training, to work on their farms, and to take care of their other responsibilities. Because of SANGO-Kenya, their children have more nutritious food ..read more

The whole family is happy with SANGO-Kenya This is such a great trip, so much I want to share with you! Just today I visited three farmers with Winnie, our Program Officer, and Evance, our Project Officer. During one of the visits, the husband, children — and poultry! — joined us. I always like meeting the families, seeing the children and how healthy they are, and talking to the husbands. It’s very interesting to hear their views about SANGO-Kenya and their wives’ participation. Maybe it’s just luck, but so far, I haven’t met a single husband who isn’t very enthusiastic and doesn’t want to pa ..read more

SANGO-Kenya farmers are very happy with — and proud of — their new rain guttersIn the Field with SANGO-Kenya Farmers. Seeing the Impact First-Hand I am writing from Kenya, having arrived a couple of weeks ago for a very busy visit. It is always so heartwarming and rewarding when I come back to Kenya and visit the farmers. There is no substitute for seeing their farms and hearing first-hand the impact SANGO-Kenya has on them, their children, and the community around them. In addition to visiting individual farms, I attend the weekly meetings our team has with the Lead Farmers. The Lead Farmers ..read more

Farmers watch demonstration of how new gutters work Today is World Food Day, a day established to bring worldwide attention to the issues surrounding sustainable agriculture and food security. The theme this year is “Water is Life; Water is Food.” There is no issue more critical to the SANGO-Kenya farmers than water. Farmers with pipes before they are cut into gutters. We cut them into 3-meter sections (approximately 10 feet) for each farmer. As you know, SANGO-Kenya does not give participants things; we provide knowledge and support. However, at the end of the year, we give the farmers someth ..read more