AGAINST ALL ODDS
REACH UP! HELPS POST ELECTION VIOLENCE VICTIM PICK UP PIECES
It is not everyday that you meet people who are determined to make it in life no matter what is thrown at them. Many people tend to give up when they face a series of endless problems. Meet Nashon Okwemba, a 31 year old who is not about to give up no matter what.
For Nashon, life has not been all rosy. It all started in August 2007 when he was involved in a greasily road accident that led to fracturing of some of his bones. For a man whose passion was farming, this was a major blow as it meant he had to be paralyzed for some time and thus was not able to do his farm work.
They say calamity never strikes singly and when it rains, it pours and for Nashon the accident was just a tip of the iceberg. Even before his wounds had healed, things took an uglier turn. In December 2007 violence broke out in Kenya following a dispute over Presidential election results. Tribes turned against each other, killing and burning property of people from “enemy” tribes. At the time, Nashon was an established farmer in Eldoret, Rift Valley Kenya. Being of a different tribe, he was not spared. He watched as rowdy youth reduced his farm and property to ashes. All he had ever invested in was gone and he was back to square one.
With nothing left in the world, Nashon returned to his maternal village in rural western Kenya. He was now fully dependant on his mother, whose meager earnings from a small business was not enough. He tried to do kazi ya mjengo(manual work) but that wasn’t easy for him.
It was while trying to pick up his pieces that Nashon got wind of the Reach Up! program from the local District Youth Officer Mrs. Joan Olachi. Not one to let chances pass by, Nashon enrolled for December 2010 classes. Things were beginning to look good for Nashon as at around the same time he received compensation from the Government for his loss during the post election violence.
“Having been a farmer before, I decided to invest part of the money in pig farming”, he says in a pensive tone.
Mealtime: Nashon feeds one of his pigs
The returns from the pigs were good as within five months one had already given birth and he sold these at the local market. Being the hard worker that he is, Nashon did not stop there. He decided to diversify his farming activities. He teamed up with one of his former Reach Up! classmates Michael Okwemba, and together they started a tree planting project. Today, Nashon boasts of over 500 seedlings in his nursery that he plans to transplant in a month’s time.
The nursery that Nashon and his classmate Michael begun thanks to Reach up!
Walking around the neatly fenced small farm, I notice several projects which he says are as a result of good enterpreunishp knowledge he got from the Reach Up! programme.
“I also have a poultry project that I started recently”, he says as he leads me to a shed that currently houses seven healthy looking chicken.
An entrepreneur at heart: Nashon in his poultry shed.
And just when I think he is done, Nashon leads me to his banana plantation.
Jack of all trades: Nashon poses beside his banana plantation
“These are rare species of bananas I got from the local MP and decided to try them out ,”he points out. Once mature and ripe the bananas fetch him an average ksh 600 per sucker.
Nashon is thankful to the DOT Kenya team for having helped him pick up his life. He particularly cites the life skills modules such as self-esteem for having helped him realize that his many troubles were not the end of the world.
Like the writing on his yellow t-shirt says Nashon truly is someone special.
When deployed to the field as interns, we are to teach community participants. Nashon’s case however has made me realize that interns in the field can also learn from their participants.
REACH UP! HELPS POST ELECTION VIOLENCE VICTIM PICK UP PIECES
It is not everyday that you meet people who are determined to make it in life no matter what is thrown at them. Many people tend to give up when they face a series of endless problems. Meet Nashon Okwemba, a 31 year old who is not about to give up no matter what.
For Nashon, life has not been all rosy. It all started in August 2007 when he was involved in a greasily road accident that led to fracturing of some of his bones. For a man whose passion was farming, this was a major blow as it meant he had to be paralyzed for some time and thus was not able to do his farm work.
They say calamity never strikes singly and when it rains, it pours and for Nashon the accident was just a tip of the iceberg. Even before his wounds had healed, things took an uglier turn. In December 2007 violence broke out in Kenya following a dispute over Presidential election results. Tribes turned against each other, killing and burning property of people from “enemy” tribes. At the time, Nashon was an established farmer in Eldoret, Rift Valley Kenya. Being of a different tribe, he was not spared. He watched as rowdy youth reduced his farm and property to ashes. All he had ever invested in was gone and he was back to square one.
With nothing left in the world, Nashon returned to his maternal village in rural western Kenya. He was now fully dependant on his mother, whose meager earnings from a small business was not enough. He tried to do kazi ya mjengo(manual work) but that wasn’t easy for him.
It was while trying to pick up his pieces that Nashon got wind of the Reach Up! program from the local District Youth Officer Mrs. Joan Olachi. Not one to let chances pass by, Nashon enrolled for December 2010 classes. Things were beginning to look good for Nashon as at around the same time he received compensation from the Government for his loss during the post election violence.
“Having been a farmer before, I decided to invest part of the money in pig farming”, he says in a pensive tone.
Mealtime: Nashon feeds one of his pigs
The returns from the pigs were good as within five months one had already given birth and he sold these at the local market. Being the hard worker that he is, Nashon did not stop there. He decided to diversify his farming activities. He teamed up with one of his former Reach Up! classmates Michael Okwemba, and together they started a tree planting project. Today, Nashon boasts of over 500 seedlings in his nursery that he plans to transplant in a month’s time.
The nursery that Nashon and his classmate Michael begun thanks to Reach up!
Walking around the neatly fenced small farm, I notice several projects which he says are as a result of good enterpreunishp knowledge he got from the Reach Up! programme.
“I also have a poultry project that I started recently”, he says as he leads me to a shed that currently houses seven healthy looking chicken.
An entrepreneur at heart: Nashon in his poultry shed.
And just when I think he is done, Nashon leads me to his banana plantation.
Jack of all trades: Nashon poses beside his banana plantation
“These are rare species of bananas I got from the local MP and decided to try them out ,”he points out. Once mature and ripe the bananas fetch him an average ksh 600 per sucker.
Nashon is thankful to the DOT Kenya team for having helped him pick up his life. He particularly cites the life skills modules such as self-esteem for having helped him realize that his many troubles were not the end of the world.
Like the writing on his yellow t-shirt says Nashon truly is someone special.
When deployed to the field as interns, we are to teach community participants. Nashon’s case however has made me realize that interns in the field can also learn from their participants.
Comments
Post a Comment