Farmers in two wards in Migori county are set to benefit from a donation of 100 bicycles to help in tackling cases of malnutrition.
Through the Ripple Effect and World Bicycle Relief, the two organisations offered the bicycles to farmers groups in Kakrao and West Kanyamkago wards.
Ripple Effect And World Bicycle Relief
“We started off as groups which were affected by HIV and wanted to boost our nutrition through kitchen gardens and fruit farming, before we realized we could make money,” Jane Auma, a member of Ogongo Women Group said.
She said after realizing there is a need to tackle malnutrition and boost local economy they started up kitchen gardens among members and chicken rearing.
“We started off with banana farming as a best means to boost food security and we realized we could sell off, these bicycles will help in our work,” Auma said.
Jacktone Odundo, chairman of Suna East Pamoja Farmers Cooperatives Society which has 411 members said the bicycles will be offered to group members who have been acting as extension officers.
“Among our group members we have those who have been offering extension services life vaccines to chicken and seeds, this will make our work easier,” Odundo said.
Titus Sagala, the country Director Ripple Effect said the bicycles will also be used to transport produce to the market apart from family use.
“We started by promotion of nutritious food and creating kitchen gardens in homes, we saw a new need to increase extension services for more farmers,” Sagala said.
Peter Wechuli, World Bicyle Relief said the donation will help in mobility to access markets for their farm.
The project was worth Sh3m and the two said they will scale it up to Sh10m in the future.
Bicycles donated by Ripple Effect And World Bicycle Relief
Police in Migori town have recovered alleged stolen assorted items after a raid at Pandpier slums in the outskirts of Migori town.
Stolen Items at Oruba Police Station
According to Suna West sub county police commander Elizabeth Wakuloba said that the officers working on tip offs from members of the public raided a rented house in the slum and recovered the stolen items as the occupants managed to escape the police dragnets.
Suna West sub county police commander Elizabeth Wakuloba
She said that the police managed to recover stolen clothes,window curtains,television sets, laptops, radios, utensils and other electronic goods.
She added that they suspect the recovered items are alleged to have been stolen in different places and estates in Migori County and towns.
Eliakim Boaz a resident of Oruba estate said that his brother lost all the items in his house as it was alleged to have been broken in and assortment of items stolen from the house during the day when his brother was at work.
He wants the police in Migori town and other places to beef up security in all the estates around Migori town in order to make sure that the residents are well secured and safe to conduct their businesses.
Vivian Odoyo a businesslady in Migori town recovered some her stolen items at Oruba police station said that the slums are hubs of criminals and the youths in the slums pounce on businesses at night and conduct their evil actions to the business community in Migori town.
She wants the police officers in Migori to conduct several daytime raids in the slums so that they could be able to arrest and get the criminals who are causing terror and harm to innocent Migori residents.
Migori town and Migori county at large has witnessed a wave of crime that has resulted in night watchmen being badly hurt and others even killed in cold blood
The residents living in estates near Migori town are now living in fear as the criminals rein terror and cause deaths to innocent residents.
The newest store by the retailer will cover 35,000 square feet of trading space, promising to adequately serve the residents of Ruai as it carries through on its mission of delivering a world class shopping experience to all. This opening comes during the exciting Naivas annual festive season campaign dubbed Kikwetu. This year the campaign called #TeamNaivas has two phases with the first phase Kikombe Kikwetu whose tagline is “Kila Mkenya ni Mshindi” having already kicked off. It is therefore quite exciting that the residents of Ruai will get to experience the joy that is the Naivas festive season with something in store for everyone ranging from market-leading sales promotions to chances of winning gift vouchers, the iconic Naivas mbuzi and even TVs. “This expansion targets to bring our unique offering of freshness, quality, and affordability to all our customers. With every new opening we ensure that the store set-up, layout, and catalogue meet shopper needs. “We understand that you need to have a reason why shoppers choose you as their retailer of choice, and that’s why for us exceeding customer expectations is our modus operandi,” remarked Willy Kimani, Naivas Chief Commercial Officer. “As a homegrown brand, we know we bear a responsibility to the communities where we set up shop, we believe we exist to make other people’s lives better and this goes beyond our excellent customer service. We firmly believe in the sustainability of not just our business but also the communities we serve and that is why we have firmly entrenched environmental, safety and governance practices embedded throughout our business operations something that we know the residents of Ruai will appreciate given the strained infrastructure borne out of a very fast-growing township,” concluded Willy Kimani.
Chiefs and their assistants have been warned against diverting relief food for hunger-stricken families.
Nyatike South DCC Mr. Daniel Ouma Migose said the food distributed to the must be given to needy families adversely affected by drought ravaging the region.
He ordered the administrators to avail the list of the beneficiaries and their contacts so that the randomly call to confirm if those handling the relief food have made sure it gets to the intended persons.
While witnessing the release of the 560 bags of rice and beans to over 2,200 families in Nyatike South subcounty comprising of Kaler ward, Got Kachola and Muhuru wards, Migose said the food will go a long way in mitigating the drought effects and appealed to other organizations to direct their energies on assisting the residents.
Kaler MCA Thomas Akungo said the formed committee will guide on the priority groups and areas and ensure transparency in the exercise.
His Muhuru ward counterpart Lawrence Magubo said they are keen and will be monitoring the whole exercise closely saying that any issue that will be reported related to diversion of food will be dealt with firmly.
The Kaler residents were equally happy saying they have missed food for days thus the consignment will greatly improve their lives.
Information, Communications and The Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owalo on Friday launched food distribution in Nyanza region targeting more than 60,000 homesteads in Nyatike Constituency of Migori County alone.
He explained that the government had set agenda of economic development meant to address agricultural production, mining, and the fishing sector in the Lake basin region.
The Sub County was allocated a total of 1680 bags of rice and beans that will serve an estimated population of 60,000 in Nyatike South and the larger Nyatike Constituency.
All parents remember the excitement that greeted every milestone the new baby, especially the first one, reached.
Some people even have photo albums and diaries with records of baby’s first smiles, first steps and to extent first days in school.
Unfortunately for 67-year-old Mama Grace Imari, all she can remember about the 28 years lifespan of her first born daughter, Margaret Ajema, is a spell of unfulfilled dreams, despair and total sufferings.
Imari’s all hopes of living a better life ended immediately she gave birth to Margaret who bounced into this world, a physically challenged child.
Margaret Ajema
The jovial and bright looking disable girl, whose life has since gone full circle of poverty, only moves around by crawling due to her twisted lower limbs. The ever smiling girl also lacks the full ounce to handle heavy works because of her abnormality in her upper limbs.
Margaret is one among hundreds of persons living with disability who have vowed not to be deterred by their physical impairments.
Born without limbs, Margaret is determined to beat all odds and become the sole rescuer of her poor family.
“My condition will not shatter my urge to uplift my family,” vowed Margaret during an interview with the Kenya News Agency (KNA) recently.
At the moment, as found out by LTN, her ailing mother and young sister are fully dependent on her.
Unbelievably of her condition though, Margaret is able to cook, wash clothes, clean utensils, receive and make calls easily on her cheap phone without much ado.
However, Margaret has to be in turn helped to bathe, dress up and do other house and personal chores by her sickly mother and siblings.
Mama Grace Imari and her Daughter Margaret Ajema
According to her mother, Margaret was born in that condition in 1994. Since then it has not been easy raising her as she required a lot of support which she could not get.
“I gave birth to Margaret in her condition. Life has never been easy ever since as I had to work extra hard to take care of her. I faced a lot of challenges because I had no formal employment,” said Mrs. Imari.
A first-born in a family of four children – three girls and a boy- Margaret who did her fourth form at St. Georges Secondary School for the physically challenged persons in Nyakach, Kisumu County, scored a D+ in her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, wiping away all her hopes of taking up the full responsibility of fending for the family.
Her dream of becoming a high Court Judge in Kenya was all washed away after performing poorly in the exams. “I had all along dreamt of being a High Court Judge in Kenya to help dispense of with the many injustices happening in Kenya and especially those peddled against persons living with disabilities,” she told the LTN who visited her home in Suna East Constituency, Migori County.
Nevertheless, Margaret is still a spirited and determined soul that one day she will meet someone who will open college doors for her to pursue any course that will help her raise her son and also support her ailing family.
Amidst the hardships Margaret and her family face, she is so determined on doing things for herself in helping the family and at the moment she is the breadwinner for her mother and younger sister, who is set to sit for her KCPE exams.
The family leaves deep in Nyahera village, about 30kms from Migori town and, their ramshackle single leaving house is enough proof that mama Imari and her children lead a poverty ravaged life.
Things turned worse when Margaret’s father, Mr. Tinael Misoga, passed on in 2006 leaving her wife with four children and no job.
With no formal employment and a small piece of land for cultivation, the Mrs. Imari has since been forced to do manual labour on other people’s farms to fend for her children.
Life has not gone well for mama Imari as she has been on and off hospital after developing chest problems due to heavy manual labour of working for other people. At times she is forced to beg for food from the neighbours to give her children.
Her only wish is for her daughter Margaret to get someone who can take her to college and get trained on something she can earn a living from rather than begging people from time to time.
“After my husband passed on, I have been working as a manual laborer to feed my children. In the long run, it left me with a chest problem and currently I am grounded. If I don’t beg, I depend on my daughter who is disabled,” said Margaret’s mother.
The family is in a total fix, wading in a sea of poverty and depending on food tilled from a quarter acre farm, the only piece of land the late Misoga owned in the area and, to extent, food sourced from money earned out of performing manual labour for other people.
Compounding the misery in the family history is the fact that Margaret herself has one boy child to take care of. The boy is also physically challenged like her mother Margaret, nursing a deformed leg.
She gave birth to the lame child while still in school after a man lured her to an illicit sex escapade to the chagrin of the family members and the local villagers.
The boy who could not be fended for properly by her mother and grandmother is currently under the care of a local orphanage home and attends school at the Kenya Relief Academy within the outskirts of Migori town.
“I gave birth to my son while I was very young. I wanted to be with my child and see him grow and walk in my arms, something I cannot do. But I had to let him go after three months because I had no means of taking care of him,” she remorsefully narrated.
Despite her admiration to be with her son, who is now eleven years old, Margaret is grateful for the well-wishers from the Kenya Relief Organisation.
The organisation has taken full responsibility for educating her son and allowing him to visit home every holiday when schools are closed
When Inua Jamii cash transfers and disability funds came in, it gave hope to many who are unable to fend for themselves like Margret. She has been a beneficiary of this program where she has been receiving Sh. 8000 after every three months.
However, she laments the delayed remittance of such funds from the ministry as sometimes it takes months before they receive the support.
This leaves her and her family in a devastating state. “Mostly I rely on disability funds to fend for my mother and sister. Sometimes it delays which forces me to seek other solutions like begging from people,” decried Margaret.
According to her, the last remittance they received was on June 2022. Since then they are yet to receive another bunch of the money.
Apart from financial support, Margaret’s main wish is to get a wheelchair that she can use to move from place to place since crawling is not easy, especially on their rocky roads.
She says that with the chair, she can also move and find means of getting simple jobs and earning a living.
“My main challenge is movement. The roads leading to my home are rocky and after crawling for long hours I feel much pain. With a wheelchair I can move easily and reach places where I can get help,” she narrates.
With overdependence on her family for food and small home chores to help her ailing mother, Margaret is forced to do house chores like washing clothes, cleaning utensils and cooking when her younger sister is at school. This she has been doing for years as she insists she does not want to be a burden to her family.
Sadly her inability to provide for her little one and having no formal job or source of continuous income left her only with the option of sending him to an orphanage centre at the age of three months.
Although, she shares that it is always every parent’s wish to see their children make their first strides and even call the name “mama”, this is something that nature has denied her.
An interview with an orthopedic expert Amos Odhiambo who has treated Margaret and has an insight history of the family revealed that the family suffers a hereditary health problem.
The problem manifests well in first born children within the family lineage, explaining that Margaret is first born, her son who is lame is firstborn, her father who was also lame was first born and her step-mother who died long time ago gave birth to a disabled first born son.
According to Odhiambo, who works at Migori Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Margaret’s condition is referred to as congenital malformations. This is a condition where the patient has defects or abnormalities in the body that develop during pregnancy.
The condition is caused by genetic or chromosomal abnormalities, environmental factors such as exposure to toxins, and maternal health during pregnancy.
Mr Odhiambo states that the condition can only be rectified at birth or before the baby reach five years. Although, the medical operation can only be done to help the patient to stand but not develop undeveloped limbs when the patient has none.
Gabriel Omondi who is a physiotherapist at MTRH states that expectant mothers should routinely visit maternal and child health clinics and not buy drugs over counters. This is to assist them to avoid conditions that could lead to or bring gross disability.
“One of the main causes of such anomalies is that most of the mothers are not able to access medical facilities due to lack of funds or distance and end up buying over-counter drugs from quacks and even from traditional healers,” he said.
The end results can be dangerous because they use unregulated medication that eventually leads to the malformations we are talking about, explained Mr Omondi
Although Mr Omondi regrettably notes that in an instance where the ultrasound conducted on pregnant mothers reveals the disability of the unborn, the technology they have is not high tech that can rectify the deformity. This is possible in developed countries.
Over 500 children from Awendo constituency are relieved after a well-wisher donated clip boards, pencils and geometrical sets to all the 19 primary schools.
Paul Onyango said the move to save the situation by materials worth Ksh. 500,000 was necessitated by the suffering he saw in parents struggling to keep their children in school in Ulanda area of South Sakwa Ward.
Paul Onyango addressing the Media
Through Ulanda primary school head-teacher Mr. Tom Mboya, hard economic times, many families were unable to provide materials required for national examinations, such as good quality pencils and geometrical sets.
He said this has even forced teachers to dig into their pockets to help such pupils in order to ensure that they do not miss out on the crucial examinations.
Mboya said many parents have been struggling to feed their children and that buying the examination materials would have been a tall order for them.
He further said his donation will ensure all children get an equal chance when writing the examinations regardless of their backgrounds.
The students also asked more well-wishers to join the cause, especially as they join secondary schools.
Cricket Kenya interim selection committee has announced the Senior Men’s National Cricket Team to Kigali, Rwanda for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa A Qualifier. The tournament is scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda on15th – 26th November 2022 in a round robin format and is the first step towards the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The top two teams from the tournament will join the winner and runner up of the Africa Sub Regional Qualifier B tournament. The event gets underway from 1st-9th December. They will play against Regional final alongside Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The top two teams from the Regional event will proceed to the World Cup which will be hosted by West Indies and the United States.
The Selection panel has appointed a new captain and vice-captain to lead an integrated team of experience and upcoming talent. The team has been in camp for the last two weeks at the Nairobi Gymkhana, in readiness for the task ahead and we are confident that they will put on a good show.
Preparations towards Paris 2024 Olympics has gathered pace as NOC-K came in to boost some of the teams currently preparing to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Olympic body presented a total of Kshs 9 million (nine million) collectively for the Malkia Strikers and 3×3 Basketball ladies’ teams. The Olympic Solidarity grants to each of the women’s teams are intended to complement their preparations and qualification for the Paris 2024.
The NOC-K Elite Performance Commission, which oversees the athletes and teams on sponsorship selected the two teams based on recent performance in Birmingham for the Basketball team and Tokyo 2020 and World Championship for Malkia strikers.
NOCK Secretary General, Francis Mutuku disclosed that The Support Grant by Olympic Solidarity for Paris 2024 marked the second phase of preparations.
“We are delighted to be in the second phase of our preparations, the first phase was handing over scholarships to individual athletes, which we have through the ANOCA and IOC scholarships. We’ve moved to the teams and the two ladies’ teams selected by the Elite Commission will be fortunate enough to qualify for the Olympic Games.”
His sentiments echoed that of the National Olympic Committee’s President, Paul Tergat, who termed the grant particularly special because the two beneficiaries are Kenya’s women teams hence reinforcing the gender parity objective that the IOC advocates for with a target to see to it that the Paris 2024 will have a full gender parity on the field of play, having 50 percent of the quota places for women and the other 50 percent for men.
Beyond funding, the teams will receive technical expert support from the Elite performance team.
Malkia Strikers Team Captain, Mercy Moim expressed their elation at the prospect of having consistent preparations with the incoming support from OS, given previous challenges experienced due to funding gaps. “NOC-K has really come through for us, having sponsored us to the world championship and now receiving this news almost immediately, we are excited, and this funding will help us with early preparations”, noted Moim.
The 2-year USD 45000 each grant runs till qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
NOC-K President Dr. Paul Tergat has flagged off the Kenya Sports Shooting Federation (KSSF), shooting team that will be representing Kenya at the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) World Shoot (Championship) in Pattaya, Thailand starting from the 16th November to 4th December 2022.
The World Shoot is the pinnacle of the IPSC practical shooting discipline featuring over 3000 competitors and officials drawn from over 100 member countries, making it the largest practical shooting event in the world. This growth has earned the Practical Shooting discipline an Observer status at the International Olympic Committee with a view to its future adoption as an Olympic sport.
The athletes are drawn from various shooting clubs across the country, and were competitively selected following a rigorous 2022 IPSC league competition that ran monthly from January to October under the auspices of the Kenya Sports Shooting Federation.
Speaking during the flag-handover, the President spoke on the importance of discipline and focus as they depart.
“Carrying the flag and wearing the National colors will always be an honor to every sportsperson, and the whole country will be cheering you from home. With your head high and your chest out, participating knowing The World title and qualifying for Olympics is at stake.” He spoke.
Kenya Sports Shooting Federation with NOC-K President Dr. Paul Tergat
“The World Shoot provides an opportunity for Kenya’s participants to showcase and benchmark their practical shooting skills against the World’s top elite competitors.”
Those representing Kenya Include Ibrahim Ndungu, Robert Nyamongo, Thomas Kiilu, Sammy Onyango, Issa Issa, Jasmeer Syan, Memba Muriuki, Wilson Kabugi, Geoffrey Pesa, Alykhan Keshavjee, Ashish Sennik, Rizvan Abdul and Abdullahi Buthul and Frank Ambundo
Since inception of the IPSC shooting discipline in Kenya about 4 years ago, the membership has grown in leaps and bounds over the last two years with most shooting clubs in the country including members of the Disciplined forces enthusiastically embracing the Sport.
During this period, competitors have also had the opportunity to gain exposure at various local and international competitions. In recognition of this progress, the IPSC World governing body granted Kenya the privilege to host a regional Level 3 event featuring international participants earlier in the year, and which was graced by the IPSC President himself.
This is the first time Kenya will be represented and the men will be looking to pioneer the continent and post good results as they travel in squads come 15th November 2022.
Kenya Sports Shooting Federation with NOC-K President Dr. Paul Tergat
Alongside this, will be an Annual General Assembly which will see regional directors attend. Kenya will have its first ever representation by Alykhan Keshavjee, KSSF Secretary General. The meeting will also have internal courses which will be exclusively held including the level five course.
Cartels in Migori exploiting farmers by selling Government-subsidised fertiliser at a higher price put on notice.
Speaking when taking over the office, Migori new CEC member for Agriculture, Livestock, Vetenary services, Fisheries and Cooperative Department Lucas Musenda Chacha said unscrupulous people selling the fertilizer to farmers at Ksh. 500 will be brought to book.
The cartels, he said are allegedly working with brokers to repackage the fertiliser for sale to desperate farmers.
Migori new CEC member for Agriculture, Livestock, Vetenary services
President William Ruto during his inauguration speech on 13th September said as part of the government’s intervention to address the high cost of living, he would facilitate availability and affordability of fertiliser and good quality seeds.
Ruto directed that 1.4 million bags of fertiliser be availed to farmers at a subsidised price of Sh3,500 per 50kg bag down from the current price of Sh6,500 per 50 kg bag.
