Tending a Kitchen Garden: Lessons From a Child Survival Program Mom
What does a kitchen garden have to do with increasing the chance a child lives to see age five?
Kitchen gardens are a part of the “empowerment training” that moms and caregivers receive at the Kawangware Child Survival Program (KEC28), and Caroline is a mom who is benefiting from this training.
Outside of her 10′ x 10′ home, Caroline maintains a kitchen garden, something she learned to do in the Child Survival Program.
The garden provides food for her six-member family and requires tending to make sure bugs don’t destroy the vegetables, along with the hope she and her husband have for something more. When we ended our home visit with Caroline and her family yesterday,
“her husband proudly told us that his wife was working hard and that together they were changing their situation. He thanked us for coming to visit their house that they lived in “for now.” He said “for now” because he told us that he knew that they wouldn’t be there forever. The tools they had and the skills they learned were helping them break free from the poverty that surrounded them.”
Read more of Caroline’s story on Brad Ruggles blog – Learning How to Live.
Support a Child Survival Program for $20 a month and you can help empower moms like Caroline.
Continue Reading ›Empowering Moms With Charcoal Dust and Dirt
One of the ways that the Child Survival Program empowers mothers is by offering literacy and economic training to help them better provide for their families. 
Jackline is a mom at the Kawangware Child Survival Program which is part of the Kawangare Child Development Center.
The economic training she received taught her to make charcoal from charcoal dust and dirt and then use the charcoal to roast corn to sell on the side of the road.
Roasting the corn allows Jackline to make about $1 a day to feed her two children, including 14-month old Flavian.
We visited the Kawangware Child Survival Program today, met Jackline and watched her demonstrate the skill that helps her provide for her children.
We also met Caroline, another mom in the program. She was excited to show us the income generating activity she was taught. You can read Caroline’s story on Brad Ruggles blog – Learning How to Live.
Support a Child Survival Program for $20 a month and you can help empower moms like Jackline and Caroline.
