By Andisheh Nouraee, CARE Kenya
Grace Orwa walks into a corn field near the center of Kanyawara, a tiny village in hilly western Kenya, less than an hour by car from Lake Victoria. To a visitor, Kanyawara looks like it’s in full bloom. Sprawling, leafy trees shade a village green of thick grass. Surrounding it are seemingly rich fields of corn and casava. But villagers say something is very wrong in Kanyawara. Because of a rainfall deficit, local crops aren’t growing as fast as they should. With corn stalks barely reaching her waist, Grace raises her arm.
“The corn should be this high now,” she says, holding her hand far above her head. “But the rains came late.”
Farming communities like Kanyawara depend on rainfall for survival. Small harvests squeeze family budgets from both sides; income is reduced and expenses increase as farming families are forced to supplement their poor harvests by purchasing more food at nearby markets.
To survive these tough times, the people of Kanyawara and many neighboring communities rely on savings groups started by CARE since 2008 that provide a vital financial safety net. Because of her savings group, Grace can afford food for her children, and she still has enough money to pay for their school tuition. One of her neighbors, Rujina Orma, uses her access to loans from the group to run a small business buying and selling corn and kasava at a nearby town market. With her income she supports seven people, including her orphaned 10 year-old grandson.
The drought throughout east Africa doesn’t just hurt farmers though. In nearby Nyamira, nurse Veronica Okongo says staple foods like corn and eggs cost roughly 50 percent more today than they did last year. With four children in school, including one daughter in university in Nairobi, school fees are one of her family’s biggest expenses. A lifelong saver, Veronica moved her money from a bank to a CARE-created community savings group to earn more interest.
Unlike banks, CARE’s community savings and loans are owned by their members. Interest earned from repaid loans is shared among group members. The more you save, the more interest you earn from the group. Veronica earns enough from her savings group to pay school fees for her youngest daughter. Food prices have risen so sharply since last year, she says, she would not be able to make ends meet this year if not for her savings group income.
What does it mean for Veronica to not make ends meet? It means she, her husband and her children would have to eat less or less nutritious food. It means she and a family would have to postpone or avoid doctor’s visits. It means one or more of her children would have to stay home from school.
Thanks to the savings groups started by CARE in western Kenya, Veronica doesn’t have to make these choices.
Find out more about our work in Kenya here.