WE Charity is deeply grateful for the incredible partnership we share with the Jordan Family. Thanks to your generous support, together, we are creating remarkable change around the world. We are excited to share an update from Irkaat, one of our partner communities in Kenya so you can continue to see the resilience and sustainable change happening throughout the region. Your generosity not only ensures that children in Irkaat have access to opportunities that their parents did not, but that generations to come will benefit from these young leaders of tomorrow. Thank you for your generous support and helping to make these amazing impacts possible!

The education pillar in Irkaat is growing! We are so excited to report that the fourth new classroom at Irkaat Primary School is now complete. Thanks to support from the community, the foundation was dug and walled in record time. The final touches in construction were completed this past quarter and we are so proud of the growth we have already seen in student attendance as families are keen to send their kids to the new, beautiful primary school classrooms. This classroom will join the other three completed classrooms and will provide generations of students with the chance to learn and build a brighter future for themselves, their families and their entire community.

The new water project in Irkaat is now complete! We are so excited to report that the Irkaat water project was recently completed and community members are already accessing water from the community kiosk and students at the primary school have been taking full advantage of the hand washing station.

Now that the water project is complete and fully functional, the community has recently elected a new Water Management Committee. Members of the Water Management Committee have the important job of overseeing the general operation of the water project as well as to address any project related issues that may emerge. This very important and highly coveted committee, provides the community with ownership over this life changing project. Having community involvement in the maintenance and upkeep of this new water project will ensure its long term success.

WE is delighted with the successful completion of this important water project and of the community’s dedication to its maintenance and upkeep. This marks a major milestone towards Irkaat’s self-sufficiency and they are now one step closer to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Gideon Kiplangat is 11 years old and lives in Irkaat with his parents and many siblings. As the son of subsistence farmers, Gideon has faced much difficulty accessing adequate health care, “since my parents are not well off financially, it is difficult for them to afford to go to the hospital when I or any of my siblings are sick”, Gideon says. In addition to their financial limitations, Gideon’s family lives a great distance from the nearest health facility. Gideon explains, “It takes my family about an hour by motorcycle or more than 2 hours walking to get to the nearest health facility. During the rainy season, when the roads are impassable, we cannot make it to the hospital”.

Thanks to the work of WE in the community, Gideon and his family not only have access to Baraka Health Center a short distance away, but health education workshops throughout the community, have provided the necessary information with which to prevent many ailments that in the past required hospital visits. Gideon explains, “Through the health workshops at my school, I now know the importance of basic hygiene as a way to prevent the spread of disease such as handwashing and regular bathing. In the past I visited Ololulunga District Hospital when I had a serious eye infection. Thanks to WE’s health education program, I now know how to prevent eye infections and live a healthier life with fewer visits.

We are so excited to report that the food pillar is growing in Irkaat. Most recently, Irkaat primary school rented out one acre of farm land from a local farmer on which to grow crops that will support the School Nutrition Program. In the next quarter, the school is looking forward to harvesting maize and beans which will provide much needed nutrition to the students at the primary school.

Because most students are not able to bring food from home, the School Nutrition Program provides them with nutritious meals allowing them to concentrate on what they’re learning instead of being hungry. Since the introduction of this program, the school has realized higher attendance rates compared to previous years as parents are further motivated to encourage their children to attend.

The opportunity pillar in Irkaat is growing! This fall, a new women’s group was formed bringing the community’s total number of opportunity groups to six. As the newest group, Shemee women’s group has 15 members and is proud to have already undergone initial trainings on merry go rounds and group activities. We hope you will share in our excitement for the possibilities that lay ahead for this group of dedicated women.

Shemee Women’s Group, along with the five other community groups recently participated in leadership and agribusiness trainings, presented by WE. From these trainings, two of the women’s groups decided to get involved in farming activities and to date, have planted maize and beans.

The group members are looking forward to harvesting these crops over the coming months. These important crops will provide an excellent source of additional income for the group who can sell these crops in the local market. We are thrilled to see each groups entrepreneurial skills developing and their investments growing!

By empowering women, we empower communities to lift themselves out of poverty and make a better life for themselves and their families. These women and youth groups in Irkaat are examples of the success that comes from women’s empowerment around the world.

To the Jordan Family, we are sincerely and deeply grateful for your continued friendship and support. We are deeply humbled by your commitment and passion to create change around the world. Your support is not only providing access to education, but better health, access to clean water, food security and opportunities for families in Irkaat to have a brighter future. Your support is helping to break the cycle of poverty and increase the standard of living for children and their families in Irkaat and across all of our WE Villages partner communities in Kenya.

Your support is making a meaningful and long-lasting impact in the lives of the children and community members we work with. The projects that you have supported will benefit children and their communities for generations to come and for this we cannot thank you enough.