KANPE on the Ground in Recent Months
Since the beginning of the year, work has been underway on the ground. KANPE and its partners have laid a foundation of concrete tools for the families of Baille Tourible. The program’s participants have been saving up in their accounts opened with Fonkoze, allowing them to pursue other income-generating activities. Practices are already changing: people who previously had to borrow seeds are now able to buy them with their own savings and benefit from their yields.
Additionally, KANPE oversaw the construction of more sanitary homes and latrines and provided training sessions in agriculture, and in the deworming of goats. Here are some pictures of the work that has been done since January 2012.
A new building for the Arche de Noé school
On March 26th, KANPE began building a new home for one of Baille Tourible’s four schools. The Arche de Noé school’s previous location was in a deplorable state, having been built in October 1985 out of rudimentary materials, with sheet metal and plastic. This meant that the building where 95 students came to learn often overheated. Construction work creates jobs for local residents, like its masons who have built the foundation for the new school.
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- In one week, workers completed the new building’s foundation.
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- Week 2: The structure is erected.
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- Week 2: The structure is erected.
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- After two weeks of work, the Arche de Noé school’s new home is in progress. The work has produced a more solid roof, a cement floor, and a more open and ventilated space for students.
The school’s new location takes shape. Work was completed by the end of May.
The rainy season and the challenge of accessing Baille Tourible
The rainy season, which began in March, brought its share of challenges on the field. Only one road provides access to Baille Tourible and water accumulation prevented the movement of vehicles in the area. In April, KANPE’s coordinator, Fritz Louis, worked with the local associations and residents to find a solution to this problem.
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- All construction materials, whether for the construction of Arche de Noé’s new location, the renovations for the clinic, or the construction or repairs to program participants’ homes, must all arrive in Baille Tourible through this road.
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- Facing this problem, members of local organizations met in Corail (near Baille Tourible) to build a new road that bypasses the old route, which from Corail to Baille Tourible, has been reduced to mud. This team work, called « Kombit » in Creole, demonstrated the community’s ability to collaborate in order to come up with its own solutions to its problems.
Since the beginning of this year, KANPE has constructed 164 additional sanitary homes and 151 more are under construction:
Counselors like Sherley get their hands dirty transporting the cement that will be used for building the numerous homes that are currently under construction:
The Guiding involved in the management of agricultural micro-businesses
Last year, close to 700 goats were distributed to participants in the comprehensive program as part of an effort to help them launch their agricultural micro-businesses. Since the beginning of 2012, participants cared for their animals and witnessed the birth of about 140 goats. In total, 40 pigs and more than 500 chickens were also distributed during this time.
In an effort to increase participants’ knowledge regarding animal care, our partner, Fonkoze, along with our guides, held workshops in goat deworming.