Driving north out of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, you might think you’re in a tropical paradise as you go around lush Mt. Kenya. But then you drop down to the dry, barren plains of the northern bush. And that’s where you find Ola Nagele and a sea of other villages struggling for survival.
Ola Nagele is due east of the town of Isiolo on the dry, dusty road toward Somlia. It’s a larger village with almost 4,000 people. The average family, since polygamy is practiced, can easily be 15 people. And it’s hard to feed that many mouths with only maize and beans that might be available once a day.
The nearest clean water source? It’s currently a pipe that’s 4 kilometers away, where people often wait 3-4 hours in line to fill their water cans. And only slightly more than half of Ola Nagele’s children are in a school, since poverty prevents the parents from affording the small fees for uniforms, books and supplies.
But the leaders of Ola Nagele have urged GHNI to come help them with our method of Transformational Community Development (TCD). They are eager to learn how to organize themselves for development, and they understand that we only work with villages who will devote themselves to their own transformation. As we begin with Ola Nagele, we have high hopes for their future, and we’re eager to invite worldwide partners to join their Extended Village!
