The Self Help Group Project

 Let me introduce you to a friend of mine. She is the Project Manager for one of the four projects that we work with.  Three of the projects are partners of MCC where our role is advisor, capacity builder and trainer- we accompany them, help in ways we can and liaison between them and MCC.  The project I'll tell you about is the one that is run by MCC itself and therefore- us.  We meet weekly with the Proj. Man. to see how things are going, get and give feedback deal with financial issues and help keep the project running in line with the proposal that we wrote.
But the real hard work of making it happen is in the hands of this brilliant woman you see in this picture. This lady, 11 yrs my senior, mother of four children and four grandchildren helped raise two of her own sisters in addition to her own children and put them through school as her own offspring.  She has worked now for 20 years in the service of community development among her own people, the Maasai of Kenya.
There are certain people that you meet who have an innate drive for learning and knowledge and growth and this woman is one. It is a thrill to work with her and by giving her this position, to open the way for her to do the work she is naturally so gifted and passionate to do.

Our Proj. Manager travels weekly to do trainings with community groups up to 3 hours one way  in any direction from home. As a woman, she is a distinct trend setter for leadership and empowerment of all people in her own community. People love her, trust her, and are so eager for her to come and give more trainings to help their groups move ahead toward higher function. The groups have various goals such as pooling their money to buy tin sheet houses for each member (a long term goal) or to buy a water tank for each household, or to pool their money to buy a plot of land to farm together for income generation. 

Our Proj. Manager is a bold woman who speaks the truth plainly.  During the controversial general elections here in Kenya, she used her community work to promote peace.  During a training, she admonished the people to not be distracted by the elections and not to let divisions stop their forward movement. Despite what it seemed, the outcome of the elections was not going to make a difference as to whether they were able to move their community group towards more income generation and food and water security.  Due to her inspiration, right then and there one member of the group called another to the front, apologized for the grudge between them and hugged in reconciliation. It was a moving story. 

If you can't tell by now, this woman is a true hero of mine. Her  tenacity is like none I've seen before.  And is comes with joy on top. The stories we hear weekly of the challenges she faces on the roads (unmaintained dirt paths) alone are enough to make you cringe. The only means of travel here for public transport to all these bush destinations are random open back trucks or on the back of a hired motorbike.  Any day you can find her advising the driver with wisdom such as:  "a motorbike that is turned over in a rushing flash flood is less valuable than our lives! We'll dry out!" On each trip there is usually a spot where she has to get off the bike and walk so her driver can maneuver through nearly impassable holes and washouts. The times she reports a sore leg or arm because of her driver laying the bike over on a hidden drop or hole are numerous. Needless to say, she is learning to drive her own motorbike and is thrilled to be the first woman to do it in the region!

She is working with 10 groups of 25 people which makes 250 people that she is hoping to train in mission statements, group governance, leadership, decision making, goal setting, etc. And next year she'll get them trained in farming and livestock, water catchment, etc. There are 23 other groups in the area that she does not have time or resources to work with right now. She still maintains relationship with their leaders, answers questions, gives advice, encourages them on.

Our Proj. Man. is such a great teacher, so many pictures show big grins on the people's faces, either she is chiding them to stand up and give their opinion or telling animated stories or analogies that make them chuckle. She loves to get the ladies more accustomed to speaking up.

Somehow our Proj. Man. is able to relate graciously and with respect to men and women alike in a culture where women are generally respected at the level of children. On the side, she is a sought after preacher and walks 1-2 hours each way to meet the request of a little church out in the bush for her Biblical teaching on any given Sunday. 

We know that this Project Manager is the most effective person to do the job she is doing.  We do all we can to empower her. We work to give her computer training, motorbike training, report writing training, manager training, budget and financial management training, and etc. Someday we will see God open the way for her long term dream which is to run a safe-house/school for young women escaping from FGM and teenage marriages.