Dream/Innovate: Revolving Fund Connects People to Medical Care

Peter Kariuki, the leader of Shalom City, is working tirelessly to ensure that 3,000 displaced families are resettled on safe land that is good for farming.  He has built trust and a community identity among these 3,000 families that remains strong even when the group is scattered on their new land (Read about how this community formed).  The families are being settled in groups ranging from 50 to 450 families together on land given by the government.

Peter addresses the families gathered at Shalom City

  Because the families are settling on farming land that is unoccupied, it is often quite remote from any town.  This poses a problem for residents who need to access medical care, especially in emergency situations.  To overcome this challenge, Peter is taking the idea of a revolving fund to help each community purchase a vehicle for emergency use. 

Revolving funds are often made up of a group of women who meet weekly and each bring a designated amount to contribute to the common pool.  Each week, one woman is the recipient of the pooled funds.  She might use the funds to purchase a sewing machine, make a home repair, or pay her childrens' school fees.

With the Shalom City revolving fund, each family gives the equivalent of $1.30 each month to the common pool.  Then, from the pooled funds, a car is purchased for one community at a time until each group has an emergency vehicle.  Right now, the idea is still a dream that Peter has and has not been implemented yet.

Africa Rising recognizes and encourages the innovations of African leaders which often come from a dream of meeting a community need.  We look forward to seeing how the Shalom City revolving fund connects people to emergency medical care through grassroots efforts of families that share a common dream.

Example of vehicle that will be purchased through Shalom City revolving fund

 

Innovate: No Chicken Wire, No Problem

A chicken coop made out of a mosquito net at Shalom City

Aid agencies in Kenya regularly give out mosquito nets. They don't however give out chicken wire. This is not a problem for Anne, who has found an innovative way to use a mosquito net to meet her chicken containment needs.  In addition to being the head teacher in  the cooperative community of Shalom City in Kenya, she is also contributing to the community's agriculture innovations.

Close up of mosquito net chicken coop

The chickens look quite content in their stylish accommodations.  No doubt Anne has started a trend that will spread throughout the community and to many places beyond through the visitors Africa Rising introduces to Shalom City.  We can't wait to see what Anne comes up with next.

Anne in front of her garden and beside her home in Shalom City

You can learn much more about the amazing community of Shalom City on Africa Rising's website.