MAENDELEO HUB (mHUB)

Empowering Women & Youth for Resilient & Sustainable Communities

Mhub

mHub is a community resource center which aims to connect marginalized women and youth who are leaders of grassroots projects and self-help groups  with the resources they need to create sustainable change in their communities in Kisumu, Kenya, East Africa. 

Vision

Empowered women and youth for resilient and sustainable grassroots communities in Kisumu, Kenya

Mission

To accompany  marginalized grassroots visionaries especially women and youth on their journey to build resilient and sustainable communities in Kisumu, Kenya by connecting them with the  networks and resources they need.

ABOUT US

Riley Orton Foundation

Maendeleo Hub is an initiative of ROF, a national kenyan non profit org supporting girls and women through education and job creation. Through Maendeleo Hub, ROF aims to increase its overall impact in the community by helping local women and youth to achieve their visions.

Marginalized  Changemakers

In Kisumu, Kenya, women and youth are the unsung heroes running small high impact projects. They understand the power of strength in unity and  are usually organized in self-help groups which in most cases are the social and economic glue of African communities. Through small income generating projects like car wash, table banking, and motor-bicycle transport,  they allow savings and loans even to those who do not have bank accounts allowing economic development of the family and entire village.  However, because they have low levels of education, do not have computer skills, lack internet access, do not speak English, cannot use social media to share their stories of impact, do not know how to write and submit proposals among other geographical and technological barriers  they are always marginalized from accessing funding to support their work.
In order to achieve greater shared prosperity, we MUST unleash the economic power of women and youth by connecting them with the resources they need to create change in their communities

WHAT WE DO

Computer Training

Many women and youth are marginalized because they do not have requisite computer skills to run their projects. At mHub, we train them on basic computer applications including MS Office, internet and email, social media, web design/website creation etc which they can use to increase their visibility, source for funding and share stories of impact.

Mentorship & Networking

We provide changemakers with in person one on one advising on project management, fundraising and how to make their projects successful.
We also refer them to potential funders including the pollination project org
grants and flow funds, international grants, local mi-crofinance institutions, etc

Training & Consultancy Services

We provide different training and consultancy support tailored to meet the needs of local changemakers. Training include goal setting, strategic planning, budgeting, accessing wider networks and fundraising, proposal writing, business plans & canvasses, monitoring and evaluation, impact reporting etc

Stories Of Change

Make Me Smile Program

Education Scholarships
Marginalized grassroots  changemakers are often voiceless and locked out of the very resources that they need to create sustainable change in their communities.
By giving them a platform to tell their stories of social impact on our blog, we ensure that they have access to a more equitable share of the worlds wealth enabling them to be architects of their own futures.
Many people young and old are faced with various challenges and struggles every day. From older people whose houses are falling apart to the  physically challenged in need of wheelchairs,  we endeavor to put a smile on their faces and make their lives comfortable by putting a roof over their head or giving them walking aid to make life bearable.
Marginalized youth cannot access education because they are unaware of opportunities that exist in terms of scholarships and sponsorship to further their education. We link youths to organizations that can finance their education such as Kapadia Education Foundation  Org

INITIATIVES

Economic Empowerment


We believe that women and youth in the community know how to solve their own problems. However, most of the time they lack the necessary resources and support. Our goal is to help them acquire the skills and resources they need to run successful income generating activities and achieve economic independence allowing them to support their families and community sustainably.
WHAT WE DO:
·  We work with women and youth in self-help groups  as well as individuals to provide training  and mentorship on different economic empowerment areas 
·  We provide and link groups and individuals to seed funding to start income generating activities like selling cereals, posho mill business, table banking and merry go rounds , tailoring and dress making, hairdressing and agribusiness.
·  We provide training on basic computer skills, social media,   proposal writing, fundraising and accessing wider networks, developing business plans, monitoring and evaluation as well as impact reporting.
·  We invite different volunteers to work directly with the community, helping them to conduct participatory needs  assessment and training them on project management and entrepreneurship and strengthening community support systems.
·  We  identify and train self-help group management teams on how to access external funding and grants and ensure long term support and sustainability of their projects. 
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS
1. Number of self-help groups operating at least 1 successful Income Generating  Activity
2. Average profit earned by each group per month
3. Number of individuals improving lives of their families through sustainable businesses 
4. Number of groups trained on secure livelihoods projects
5. Number of group leaders trained on ICT skills and able to access resources for their groups.
HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED
  • Volunteer to train community self help groups on basic computer skills, entrepreneurship, project management, networking and accessing funding/grants, developing business proposals, monitoring and evaluation etc
  • Volunteer to conduct research/needs assessment in the community
  • Help groups to write bylaws, constitutions, theory of change/strategic vision etc
  • Fund or link groups to seed funding to start or scale income generating activities
Contact us for more info at omondidavid@gmail.com

Sustainable Agriculture

Despite the fact that Agriculture provides an important platform for expansion of food security and income generation in Kenya, it has become largely unattractive to young people and women mainly because of low returns on time and input investments, seasonality of incomes, lack of education on modern farming techniques, risks due to unpredictable weather and natural factors such us pests and concentration on staple foods such as maize, beans and millet.

Kanyawegi village is characterized by large and rocky tracks of land which are uncultivated. Many out of school youth having lived in the village for long have experience of the long hours that go into traditional agriculture without a commensurate return. They have therefore flocked the motorcycle transport business where they make quick money and hence consider more rewarding than farming. Whereas the educated youth consider agricultural work to be for "those who have not gone to school," the women who are the main farmers continue to rely on rain-fed agriculture hence a high risk of crop failure due to increased frequency of dry spells and uneven rainfall distribution. Further, Kanyawegi village lacks sustainable water sources. Residents especially women have to trek for long distances to get water for family use. There is hardly any water for farming and irrigation.  The net result is extreme poverty in the village.

WHAT WE DO:
  • We train farmers on regenerative agriculture/bio intensive methods  which make use of limited resources, protect the natural resources and result in production of high yields on small parcels of land
  • We teach children and schools how to grow food in limited spaces in their school compounds
  • We also teach the community members how to reclaim rocky/ neglected land and establish sustainable kitchen gardens where they can grow food using limited amount of water including grey water.
  • we provide seeds and farm tools for the self-help groups to increase food security
  • We support farmers to attend local networking and knowledge exchange events to improve their knowledge and skills
  • By introducing marginalized women and youth to farming practices that make efficient use of limited resources, avoids the use of harmful chemicals and improves soil fertility, we are improving the health and well-being of women and youth in our community, ensuring food security  and reducing hunger to zero
INDICATORS OF SUCCESS
Number of community members trained in agriculture and nutrition
Number of trainees who train others
Number of kitchen gardens and sustainable farms established
Number of children and families accessing adequate nutritious meals
Number of farmers adopting new approaches  to farming

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
You can partner with us to train farmers on regenerative agriculture/permaculture
Connect farmers with financial resources to do farming , purchase water tanks for irrigation and family use,
Develop Maendeleo Eco Farm into a viable demonstration farm supporting communities in Kisumu, Kenya
Drill water wells and establish water points to aid in Irrigation in the village.
Contact Us: omondidavid@gmail.com

We Can Help

Empowering the poor at the community level is the key to developing resilient and sustainable communities. The unfortunate reality for many grassroots changemakers is that they are often marginalized. We can all join hands to ensure that marginalized grassroots communities are allowed to become architects of their own futures. Let us know how you would like to get involved

OUR PARTNERS

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