Since its inception in 1996, BIDCAF has been able to make a positive difference in the lives of rural people. This has been accomplished by promoting education, food and nutrition security, climate change resilience, social and economic empowerment, and health. The organization’s work has resulted in rural people's empowerment, transformation, and sustainability.
Food and
Nutrition Security
Provided advice to 632 smallholder farmers on agronomic practices and techniques that helped them increase crop yields
632 smallholder farmers doubled their yields, achieved a 50% increase in incomes, and produced an annual marketable surplus of 4,16,432 metric tons of cereal equivalents.
71 community leaders were Sensitized on the potential and benefits of sustainable fruit growing &Argo-forestry, and an average of 1,950 community members were inspired with increased knowledge, skills, positive attitude, and enthusiasm to engage in sustainable fruit growing and agroforestry.
1,600 improved and high-yielding fruit tree mangoes seedlings were planted by 400 households.
20 nursery sites were established that provided seedlings to beneficiaries’ and 715,000 tree seedlings (including fruit and multi-purpose trees) were raised and planted.
45 environmental clubs in different schools were established.
Launched a revolving dairy goat rearing scheme in which nine pregnant does and one buck was distributed to malnourished families with pregnant or nursing women. This was done in conjunction with pieces of training on animal husbandry, fodder production, and extensive nutrition education to encourage individuals to consume animal products.
Health
25 peer educators enhanced with skills and knowledge in promoting Positive Prevention at community level by placing PLHIV at the fore front in reducing the transmission risk of HIV/ STIs.
Positive prevention has helped HIV-positive people to be empowered to make decisions about their lives without the burden of feeling guilt or shame as a result of their HIV status.
It has contributed to opening up a frank dialogue among health providers, people living with HIV, community members, local leaders and other stakeholders about the need to promote an environment free from stigma and discrimination;
Family support groups (FSGs) have been a useful, effective, helpful, and supportive intervention for PLWHI. They have helped members cope with stressful events, neutralize stigma, and practice new behaviors. They have also enhanced quality of life, decreased isolation and feelings of shame, improved self-care behaviors, and created mutually empathetic relationships. As an intervention, family support groups have had a large influence on morbidity and care retention, but less of an impact on HIV-positive individuals' death and quality of life. The incorporation of memory work into family support groups has had a significant impact on stigmatization and prejudice.
Education
To date, 749 children have been supported with tuition fees and educational materials (uniforms, books, and mathematical sets) both in primary and secondary levels of education.
Mobilized parents, community members, and other actors to participate in the promotion of children’s quality of learning through contributions towards school feeding, school-initiated development projects, school visitations, checking children's books, and attendance at school meetings.
BIDCAF has committed to providing sanitary pads to female students to help them stay in school during their periods and reduce school absenteeism and dropout due to menstrual effects. During the reproductive health education in schools, students learned more about sexuality and HIV, as well as life skills, and the school administration has heard good things and given their support. This feature has been used to help people understand the project better and get more people in the community to support it for the long term.
- In the bid of supporting children's continuity of learning at home during this lockdown, the project successfully printed and distributed 528 sets of home learning materials for 278 children of whom 174 are girls and 104 boys both in primary and secondary education and donated 504 packets of sanitary pads to 84 girls.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Over the last five years, VSLAs have evolved from a savings vehicle to community-building tools. Groups help people reach goals that might not have anything to do with their finances. That’s why women stay with these groups for a lifetime—often over the course of years. VSLAs are not just a financial service; they’re a platform for change.
So far, 35 BIDCAF Community-Saving Groups have brought together 910 people, with more than 75% of them being women. With a loan repayment rate of 99%, they make over 69,000 financial transactions per year and save millions of shillings.
Established a loan revolving fund to increase access to financial services and loans to VSLAs with attractive interest rates of at least3%.
Linked
the Community-Saving
Groups to non-financial (financial education,
marketing basics, business basics for microenterprises, and agricultural
extension) services.
Resilience and
Adaptation Against Climate Change
Improved 125 households and 40 farmers’groups’ dynamics through Gender
Actions Learning System and male championships.
Increased agricultural
production and incomes of
125 households in agender-transformative manner.
Gender-responsiveSub-Countiescatchment management
planning& development processes strengthened among 295 families.
Upscaled gender-responsiveclimate-smart agricultural enterprises in the project area for improved production and productivity
Degraded rangeland landscapes were restored for ecosystem-based adaptation and sequestration of GHGs.
Sensitized and inspired 2,186 local
people with increased knowledge, skills, positive attitude, and enthusiasm
to engage in sustainable fruit growing and agroforestry.
Increased productivity, diversity, and quality of
agricultural crops leading to increased food availability and balanced diet for
345 households
Provided advice to targeted beneficiaries on sustainable farming practices and techniques that can help increase
crop yields including providing to farmers with technical advice and
information on "Integrated Nutrient Management" and "Integrated
Pest Management.
240,000 tree seedlings (including fruit and
multi-purpose trees) were raised and planted.
400 beneficiaries and 16 volunteers trained including increasing their awareness and understanding of how to use fruit growing and tree planting as a tool to strengthen food security, alleviate poverty, promote sustainable livelihoods, and ameliorate the living environment.
Combating climate change, byConstruction of 234 low-income households to mitigate emissions by switching to improved energy-saving biomass stoves.
126women and youths
trained in biomass-briquette production