Naisoya
Naisoya sub location is located in Nkareta location, of Narok North Subcounty in Narok county, Kenya. It has 11 villages with approximately 1500 households. The area is characterized by forest, wheat and maize farms. The forest areas are threatened by agriculture and settlement as evident by tree cutting and farms as the population continues to increase. The main economic activity is small scale farming and livestock rearing since the residents of the area are pastoralists. The area is also characterized by harmful cultural practices such as FGM and early marriages. The value of education in the area is therefore not given much significance especially for young girls who are married off at a very tender age of about 15 years old.T his justifies the need for the educational program in the area
Naisoya Educational Program
Yatima Outreach begun it’s operations in Naisoya Narok County in late 2020. The main goal for the Naisoya program is to expand access to education through holistic educational interventions. The idea of this program was perceived through the archbishop of the Anglican church of Kenya and Yatima Outreach Organization with the aim of supporting orphans and vulnerable children in his home village who will otherwise lack an opportunity to reach their full potential, due to the existing circumstances such as the predominant practice of harmful cultural practices e.g FGM, early marriages, extreme poverty among other challenges.
A feasibility study was done to assess the educational needs of OVC’s in the area. The feasibility study report is what informed the interventions that are carried out in Naisoya area. The initial plan was to initiate the program in early 2020. However, due to Covid -19 outbreak, the program delayed and only Covid -19 response interventions were carried out as a response mechanism to address the need at that time. The education program officially began in early 2021 due to the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic.
Our Interventions In Naisoya, Narok County
This year (2021), we intend to support 30 OVC’s in the area through; food and nutrition, psycho-social and spiritual support, as well as provision of learning materials is a new program where the educational component begun this year. In 2020 however, the program supported over 100 vulnerable households through direct food relief to cushion directly affected families from hunger and malnutrition occasioned by loss of jobs due to Covid 19 pandemic. This program will ensure ongoing counselling sessions for OVC’s at the household level, provision of school learning materials for OVC’s to enhance quality education, provision of relief food to ensure nutritious meals for improved health and nutritional well being of the children and their their families.
Food & Nutrition
The overall goal of this intervention is to improve nuitritional status of 30 OVC’s in Naisoya Village. This will be actualised through general wellness monitoring, quarterly deworming services adn nutritional counselling, among others, will be offered at the household level. Children who will be found to have nutritional challenges will be suppoerted through Nutritional gealth services. They will also be provided with nutritious meals through relief food that will be supplied at the household level on a monthly basis.
Psycho-Social Support
Due to the overwhelming social challenges faced by the children and their families, psycho0-social intervention will be carried out to improve the social, emotional and spiritual well being of children and their families. This will be geared towards improving school retention rate as well as reduce incidences of school dropouts through the support of the social manger and social workers
Educational Support
The actual educational program is still a plan ahead, however, we intend to partner with schools in Naisoya and support children through provision of school learning materials such as school uniform, stationaries, among others, that will otherwise make the children not to be retained in school due to lack of funds to cater for such school needs
