Queenstar Community Organisation (Kenya) – Sahaya International (original) (raw)
Introduction and background:
- Queenstar Community Organization. (QCO) is a registered nonprofit community based organization (CBO) based in Nanyuki, in Laikipia county, Rift valley province, Kenya. It was formed in 2015 and registered on 30/6/2016 with registration number Reg. No NUK/HUDC/009.
- QCO was formed by community members, led by Mrs. Martha Muthoni. The community members decided to join hands to overcome our common needs by pulling our resources and uplifting the living standard through the establishment of income generating activities.
- The most common problem of the community members is poverty as a result of unemployment. Most members are working in quarry, house helps and herding and also most of them are women who are single mothers as a result of broken marriage and as a result of HIV deaths of their partner.
Martha Muthoni - In QCO, we provide education to Orphans and Vulnerable Children, and we support a feeding program in the school. This has been a challenge to us but we are trying our best to make it work through assistance from our local well wishers.
- We also coordinate a support network for people living with HIV. In this group, we provide psychosocial support, we give on advice to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and assist them with engaging in income-generating activities.
- We also operate a group of physically challenged members. We support them in income-generating activities, and linking them to relevant authorities to get further assistance.
Vission Statement:
Building a future community that is productive and self reliant, contributing to the economy growth
Mission Statement:
To empower and uphold the standard of education of Orphans and Vulnerable Children and the living condition of the community by creating investment opportunities’ for its members for capacity building, self-reliance and confidence, while coordinating with relevant authorities for sustainable long term development.
Core areas of Operation.
The core competencies of Queenstar are to excel and create milestones in the following fields, and this was made possible with the pertinent needs, favorable local government bodies and not the least the worthy support members of the organization and donor agencies. The core areas are:
- Women Empowerment
- Literacy
- Community Health
- Environmental and ecological balance
- Food security
- Child Rights and Homes for Orphans
- Social Housing
- Income Generation
- Human Rights
Key thematic issues:
- Education
- Health and nutrition
- Economic development
- Food assistance
- Agriculture for food security and livelihoods for sustainability
Methods:
- Providing basic needs to Orphans and Vulnerable Children, including feeding programs in school.
- Microfinance and income-generating activities for empowerment and self-reliance (for example, poultry, with incubators to provide chicks to other community members for
- Cultural, skill-training and capacity-building of members.
- Improved agricultural methods like irrigation for food security and sustainability.
- Monthly group meetings and home visit to monitor and evaluate progress.
- Community engagement, sports, and trainings
Implementation strategies:
Psychosocial support
To meet the physical, emotional, social and mental well-being, psycho-social support is essential for meaningful and positive human development. It helps the child to deal with trauma, grief and anxiety related to parental illness and death. The project strengthens the capacity of the extended families and communities to care and offer psychological support to OVCs and affected households.
At the family level, caregivers are trained on care, support and counseling of OVCs so the children are made to feel like members of the family.
At the community level, the intervention includes the formation of peer support groups among the youth and the establishment of women and child protection groups. It is hoped that these community groups will be able to offer psychosocial support on a more sustainable basis. Currently we have two special HIV/AIDS groups; one is registered and the other is yet to be registered. Some of the members of the group are trained as caregivers.
Activities under this service are:
- Establishment of an effective referral system.
- Parenting and caregiving support.
- PLWHIV psychosocial monthly meetings.
- Training on adherence counseling.
Education and life skill training
Promotion of education enhances school enrollment, early childhood education, and retention. Our activities include.
- Provision of school uniforms
- Strong partnership with Ministry of Education, Department of Gender, Children and Social Development, and other ministries to share best practices.
- Submission of a monthly report to the ministry of education and attendance at stakeholders meetings.
- Food security and nutrition, including feeding programs in the school
- Training community members on improved agricultural methods and practices, including organic farming
- Nutritional education to OVCs and affected community members.
- Providing chicken to community members.
Health care
To meet the community health needs, the main activities are:
- Health screening of community members.
- Medical support and follow-up for special attention cases.
- De-worming and provision of vitamin A supplement for OVCs.
- Conduct home visits to assess health-related matters
- Providing sanitary towels to adolescent girls
Economic strengthening
This service aims at enhancing the general livelihood of the household by enhancing employment. Activities include:
- Income-generating activities. For example, via an incubator, we can produce enough chicks to be distributed to every community member.
- Skills training
- Organic farming
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How you can help and join hands in our efforts:
You can support any of the programs listed above. Contributions to the Queenstar Community Organisation via Sahaya International are tax-deductible in the USA. But we will also channel donation made from donors outside of the USA to this program. As Sahaya International is volunteer-based, 100% of the funds we receive from you is transferred to the program. If you like to make a contribution, you can do so in different ways:
- To pay by credit card or paypal, go to our donation page. When you make the donation, enter in the “in honor of” or notes section “Queenstar” so we know your donation is earmarked for this project.
- You can mail a check, made payable to “Sahaya International” to us. Add in the notes field “Queenstar Community Organization”.
Sahaya International
1504 Portola Street
Davis, CA 95616
Many thanks for your support!
How to contact Queenstar Community Organization:
Martha Muthoni
PO BOX 991_10400 Nanyuki
Email: martha.gathieki “at” gmail “dot” com
Testimonial from Ellen Nollet (Belgium):
Last year I went to Nanyuki as a volunteer. In our free time we went to Queenstar, a little school for children who need it the most. Apart from education, they give these vulnerable children extra love, extra attention, extra food and most importantly, a home. Working with the means that they have, they try their absolute best to give them a future and the structure they need in life. I have never met people more loving, dedicated and selfless. If anyone deserves your help, it’s them without a doubt.
Testimonial by a volunteer and supporter:
12th July 2021
Dear SIr/Madam
QUEENSTAR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION – NANYUKI, KENYA
I first became aware of Queenstar in early 2019 when I was placed there as a volunteer teacher by Projects Abroad at the school they ran for orphaned and vulnerable children. This was not my first attachment to an organisation in the town and I was impressed by the professionalism of the staff/volunteers there.
Whilst my primary focus was on the children I quickly became aware on the Association’s wider remit ‘to create a caring community’, to quote the words of the Associations manager, by undertaking activities to improve the health and well-being of that community. Even in the short time I spent there this was demonstrated by a project they managed to get off the ground, the installation of an egg incubator unit so that all the children had access to eggs as part of the school meal. For many this was a vital addition as the school meal was the only real meal they had each day. Since then this resource has expanded and is now able to provide eggs for the wider community.
This represents just one aspect of the work carried out by the Association and I am aware that since my time with them they have had to meet greater challenges, {not just COVID) such as finding a new location for the school and rebuilding it. All these challenges have been successful and illustrate the drive and enthusiasm that has been generated within the community to help improve lives in this small part of Nanyuki. Since then I have supported their initiatives and have not been disappointed by their efforts to improve the lives of those they serve.
I have been talking about the past but I know that there are already plans for a new initiative involving the clearing, planting and maintaining of a plot of land on which nutritious vegetables and fruits that will help improve the children’s natural immune systems will be grown. This supplement to their diets is not the only aim of the project. The process of growing and harvesting the produce will form part of the children’s agricultural studies and this will open up other opportunities once they leave school. As in the egg project any surplus produce will be sold to the local community thereby helping many others to improve their health and well-being. It is all part of the process of creating a caring community.
This and other future projects will need continuing financial support if the overall objective is to be achieved.
My one disappointment is that I was unable to return in 2020 and see the progress made due to COVID. I hope that that might be possible at some future date.
Chris Orchin
BA (Hons) BSc Hons (International Development)
UK
Click on each picture to see a larger version (with big thanks to Chris Orchin and Ellen Nollet for having provided many pics).