This was an idea sparked by a sermon in a church where the pastor emphasized that nobody is too poor to give. This was during the height of HIV/AID pandemic when many women were widowed and children orphaned. Three ladies started thinking about what they and their friends could do and in 2013, a group of 11 women came together and started the Okoa Ndugu Foundation [ONF]. On 6th August 2014 it was officially registered by the Kenya NGO Co-ordination Board as an International Non-Government Organization [NGO]. The women contribute a minimum of Kenya shillings 500.00 every month towards the activities of the foundation. They also engage in other fund raising activities.
OUR BACKGROUND
OUR THREE-FOLD PILLARS
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1. Entrepreneurship/Economic Empowerment
Mats Making Project
Here we train women to make mats then we supply them with thread and after making them we pay them for the labour. The mats are sold to raise funds for the foundation.
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Blanket Making
We identify the women who will be trained on crochet blanket making, contract the trainees to make blankets, pay them for labour and then identify needy and deserving orphanages and old people to benefit from the blankets.
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Targeted/Individualized Project Support
Identify needy and/or skilled individuals and offer the relevant support. Additionally, we will offer support and training for small projects as deemed necessary.
2. Health
Obstetric Fistula is a devastating pregnancy related condition in which a hole develops between either the rectum and vagina or the bladder and vagina. It can occur during obstructed labor causing tissue damage and a hole. This results in leaking of urine and/or feaces through the woman’s vagina. Usually the baby does not survive. We want to create awareness about the condition and the available treatment through public meetings and door-to-door visits.
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We also want to identify deserving cases for funding and referrals.
One-off Medical Cases requiring immediate attention that need urgent funding. We will identify deserving cases and offer funding and other assistance as needed.
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3. Education
University and middle level colleges
Identify needy and deserving cases through churches, schools and local administration and offer funding as needed.
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Vocational Course training
For those who did not continue with higher education, we identify the needy cases and offer the relevant assistance.
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Development of Libraries
We have realized the importance of inculcating a culture of reading. For this reason, we decided to start equipping orphanages and primary schools with library books.
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