We recently started a NGO.with the aim of helping to empower the poor but we still don`t have the resources MIGORI DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION Migori development and community empowerment organization (midace) is an independent non profit making organization whose goal is sustainable and equitable development for the most disadvantaged population in Kenya. MIDACE with its head office in Migori,Kenya,was founded in 2010 and registered in 2011 as an NGO and is one of the national non governmental organization based in Kenya. The organization plan to establish satellite offices in Rongo Kuria uriri Nyatike and Suba districts in Migori County Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ we target the vulnerable groups such as women, children, youths, the disables, the old and the poor in rural as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people. MIDACE activities are base on five thematic areas which focuses on, health, education, agriculture, micro finance, Environment and natural resource management We believe that an empowered community is able to independently address challenges and constrains facing them with a view of enjoying a dignified living, economic independence and political participation thus making the world a better place to live in. MIDACE approach lays emphasis on developing, implementing and evaluating methodologies and systems that are appropriate, relevant, affordable and effective. Key to the organizations philosophy is accessibility and economical use of the available resources Vision Responsible citizens’ enjoying quality life and equitable development in a clean and secure environment. Mission To enable the citizens to live a life of dignity by strengthening individuals and organizations to effective agent of change and development Governance MIDACE is supervised by a group of five board members, who are carefully selected in their professional and personal capacity. This team is responsible for defining the programmes which are then implemented by the project coordinators while the finance and administration committee approves all the budgets and major expenditures. Situation analysis Since 2003, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Kenya has expanded steadily each year after more than a decade of contraction. The framework for expansion has been the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERWEC), which has focused on rapid growth with macroeconomic stability, rehabilitation and expansion of infrastructure, investment in human capital, strengthening institutions of governance and revitalizing productive sectors. ERWEC was designed by taking full cognizance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The real GDP expansion in 2007 was at 6 per cent, with a projection to climb to 10 per cent annually by 2012, as stipulated in the Government plan Vision 2030. Unfortunately, the economic disruption caused by deep economic inequalities between classes and ethnic groups, the regional economic imbalances and the growing youth unemployment, have certainly lead to a downward trend. Governance The decline in poverty from 56 per cent in 2000 to 45.9 per cent in 2006 is attributable to Improved governance, management of public resources and implementation of key reforms in various sectors of the economy. These reforms to democratic institutions in the country aimed to strengthen checks and balances; address unresolved historical grievances and inequality, decentralize power and resources, enhance accountability and improve service delivery. Empowering the people and reducing poverty . Even with impressive economic growth for over five years and a 10 per cent fall in the number of people living below the poverty line, class, inter-ethnic and cross regional inequalities remain deep, with the densely populated regions of Nyanza provinces being the poorest. In addition, the region’s burgeoning youth population has migrated in large numbers into urban areas, deepening urban poverty and seeding the explosion of large informal settlements without access to water, security and roads. The growing pool of the unemployed youths merely amplifies the existing class and inter-ethnic inequalities and exacerbates exclusion and social stress. Sustainable and equitable economic growth for poverty and hunger reduction Though there have been overall reductions in the number of people living below the poverty line, livelihoods are still vulnerable. The challenge lies, at least in part, in the fact that sectors crucial to improving livelihoods and reducing poverty - such as agriculture – have not performed as well as anticipated. Another major concern is the current rise in prices for basic food items(e.g. maize, potatoes, cooking oil) as well as general inflation, . Food security is further threatened by rural-urban migration, owing to the transformation of rural settlements into urban areas and to urban population growth, compounding food insecurity with urbanization of poverty. The impact of HIV/AIDS threatens the survival of already impoverished households. Increasing numbers of families and communities affected by AIDS face hunger and destitution as a result of a vicious cycle: adults with AIDS become less and less productive and other family members must care for them instead of working. Households are thus increasingly incapable of growing food for their own consumption or of generating income. Proposed programme MIDACE has developed a programme that responds to the challenges cited above and is aligned to the three key pillars – economic, social and political – of the Government plan, Vision 2030. It is embedded in the values of the Millennium Declaration and is consciously attuned to the MDGs, the attainment of which remains a pressing challenge to Kenya. It also reinforces the collaborative framework and built on complementarities and mutually reinforcing partnerships between donors, the Government and non-State actors. MIDACE will ensure adequate attention to regional capacity-building, given the Africa Bureau’s strategic focus on capacity development for pro-poor growth and accountability through capacity diagnostics and development programmes. MIDACE will support the region to enhance management of the development process through provision of advisory services, capacity building and strengthening coherence in public service performance, efficiency and effectiveness. The programmatic focus addresses; multi-sectoral challenges of poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery including environment and sustainable development. These underpinthe midace Kenya role in leadership in championing achievement of MDG goals. MIDACE will support the three priority areas below and contribute to five outcomes. Within the context of “delivering as one” MIDACE will maximize synergies and work with other agencies for increased impact through joint programming and joint programmes. Common to all five MIDACE outcomes are five cross-cutting challenges relating to: (a) gender equality; (b) human rights; (c) HIV/AIDS; (d) migration and displacement; (e) environment and climate change.Each provides a focus for MIDACE policy advice and advocacy, as MIDACE constantly looks for entry points in national and local development agendas so as to pursue these cross-cutting challenges. Empowering the poor and reducing disparities and vulnerabilities MIDACE support will focus on: • Empowering communities through provision of entrepreneurial skills, access to credit and other business services to the community • mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS, especially on orphans, widows and internally displaced persons; • development of livelihood support systems for the vulnerable groups through assistance to youth and women and vulnerable groups to acquire quality and marketable vocational and entrepreneurship skills; • Improvement in productivity and value addition of agricultural produce. Indicative support includes strengthening youth polytechnics; developing business solution centres for youth and women-managed micro, small and medium enterprises and conduct studies for improvement of performance of MDG-based poverty-reduction strategies. • integration of environmental issues in poverty reduction and national development plans; • support to enforcement and compliance with national environmental laws and guidelines; • Support to the design of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. Programme strategy: The MIDACE strategic plan was developed from a stakeholder’s forum which generated the ideas which were the written into a document which was referred to as “the Nyanza strategy for empowerment and sustainable development” Programmes: Health Education Agriculture Micro finance Environment and natural resource management EDUCATION The education of children, youth, and adults is at the heart of sustainable development. Consequently, MIDACE will invests more in its education programs than any other sector, focusing on increasing access to quality learning opportunities for all children, especially children from disadvantaged backgrounds.MIDACE ’s goal is for children to attain functional literacy and numeracy and develop essential life skills by: Increasing children`s access to equitable and quality early childhood education and primary education, with special attention to girls. Strengthening community involvement in education. Fostering an enabling environment for learning through partnerships and advocacy with communities, governments, universities, donors, and non-governmental organizations. MIDACE Education project will also seeks to build the capabilities of disabled people`s organizations (DPOs) to promote the participation of children with disabilities and others who are normally excluded from education. The inclusion of children with disabilities presents a challenge for many schools, especially in villages and communities where there are still many children with disabilities of whom local administrations and schools are unaware. MIDACE will help children with disabilities receive access to quality basic educational services, strengthened the capacity of DPOs to engage the local community on the importance of education for children with special education needs, and encouraged community participation in these efforts. Educating the world`s children, youth, and adults helps to break generational cycles of illiteracy and poverty.MIDACE will offers two types of learning opportunities in its education projects: formal and non-formal. Formal education would takes place in a school setting and provides a curriculum-based learning environment for children at all levels of instruction. Non-formal education is community-based and may include adult learning programs, children and youth life skills development, and other learning experiences that integrate topics such as HIV awareness and health education. HEALTH: Conditions of widespread poverty and insecurity, coupled with a lack of health facilities and basic medicines, continue to exact a heavy toll on the health of children across Africa. Governments, businesses and civil society share the responsibilities of improving health care systems, and ensuring greater public access and more affordable care and medicines for children and their parents. MIDACE would works to ensure that governments are implementing needed measures to enhance health care delivery in rural areas of kenya. We would help to construct and service health care facilities, equip existing ones, and provide and support medical personnel, including traditional birth attendants. MIDACE would also engages in the formation of community-based abuse prevention activities, along with day care centres for children of working parents, and psychological, legal and social support to both families and orphaned children. In addition, MIDACE would launch a regional health campaign which is focused in part on ensuring that government policies tackle the gravest threats to child health, including malnutrition and preventable diseases. Agriculture Food security in Africa is under constant threat and there is need to address the needs of African farmers through access to knowledge, technology and innovations that boost productivity at small holder level. MIDACE would help to build the capacity of famers’ especially small holder and marginalized communities in sustainable agriculture principles and practices through training and advocacy for food, nutrition and agro-income security.