WIFIP's Core Activities
WIFIP's core activities include:
- Design, development and production of non-formal distance learning, education and training models.
- Design, development, production and dissemination of pre-packaged radio/audio print materials for non-formal education and training
- Facilitate community education and training
- Provide desired support to target learners
- Monitor and evaluate progress of programme implementation
- Document and disseminate progress reports and lessons learnt
WIFIP's Scope of Programmes
WIFIP in collaboration with other partners facilitate and train their target groups on the following programmatic areas:
- Small Business Management Skills including Savings and Credit
- Health/ HIV and AIDS Issues
- Environmental Health - Sanitation
- Gender Development including other women, child and other human rights
- Kitchen Gardening & Nutrition
- Environmental Conservation & Bio-diversity
- Aquaculture
- Leadership
- Commercial handicrafts
WIFIP's Major Activities:
Educational Community Theatre Performances - A theater group has been established and trained in conducting, facilitating and monitoring the behavior patterns influenced by the community theater. 6 Theater performances have been held with focus on Gender Based Violence and HIV & AIDS in different areas including Kibwayi Primary and Ongalo Mixed Secondary Schools.
Educational Video Shows - 8 video shows have been held and discussions facilitated on the same to educate the community and the school population on the effect of GBV and HIV & AIDS
Community Discussions/Dialogue sessions-The area Provincial Administration mobilized the community in their Baraza for 8 dialogue sessions that focused on mitigating against GBV acts such as rape, domestic violence among others have been held.
School Debates on GBV and HIV & AIDS - 6 debate sessions have been held to help students discuss salient issues in regard to HIV & AIDS, GBV and sexuality
Voluntary Counseling and Testing, VCT - we have held four mobile VCT services with technical support from FHOK and Liverpool VCT, Kisumu
IEC Materials - WIFIP acquired and distributed posters and fliers on VCT uptake, human rights, rape and positive living
Partnership & Networking- We have liaised with Ministry of Health, FIDA, C-MEDA and KEFEADO to develop curriculum and access IEC materials for distribution to community and schools. Linked Kisian Theater Group to Ongalo Secondary School for continued collaboration in theater performances
Thematic Sports Day - We held one thematic sports event at Ongalo Secondary School
Health
We educate for access to quality information and facilitate and mitigate for better health services.
HIV/AIDS is a major health, social and development problem in Kenya. Since the diagnosis of the first AIDS case in the country in the mid- 1980s, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of people infected by the HIV virus. The national HIV prevalence rate doubled from 5.1 to 10.4 per cent between 1990 and 1995 and peaked at 13.4 percent in 2000 declining to 10.6 % in 2002 and 6% in 2006. However, socio-economic impacts of the scourge have far reaching consequences that is further tearing down the already weakened community support structure.
Children under 5 years of age and expectant Women (Mothers) are most vulnerable in society. Most of the children in Kenya die from diseases that are preventable such as Pneumonia, Malaria, Measles, Diarrhoea and Malnutrition while most of the women in the child bearing age die due to problems and condition related to pregnancy.
The WIFIP Project focusing on the General Good Health of the women in the fishing industry, their families to include their children and the community at large trained the above women groups on maternal child health.
The main objective is to ensure safe delivery by learning, and understanding the importance of attending antenatal and postnatal care and also the benefits of seeking an antenatal and postnatal care. To ensure good health to children less than five years of age by taking their children for immunization, recognize common ailments and other ailments in children along side giving first aid to the infected. The trainings are carried out to empower the women on the objectives. This will enable them to promote safe delivery and good health for children.
The participants have been members of the above women groups within Kisumu city and Peri-Urban of Obunga, Manyatta A & S. W. Kisumu who are in the Fishing Industry. The training took place in their respective stations in their preferred sites.
The topics covered are as follows: Importance of Antenatal and Postnatal care, Immunization and its importance, Primary vaccination, Common ailments i.e. Malaria: mode of transmission, signs and symptoms, prevention, first line treatment. Skin diseases: Types of skin diseases, causes, prevention and treatment. Acute Respiratory Infection: Causes, signs and symptoms, Danger signs. Diarrhoeal diseases in children, measles, worm infestation, kwashiorkor and anaemia. First aid: Burns, Vomiting, Nose bleeding, Fever.
Methodology: Brainstorming, Group discussion, Lecturing, self-discovery.
Health and Education Days
In collaboration with various partners in the health sector we organize a free health and education day on an annual basis in order to enhance access to basic health services, information dissemination and exchange, edutainment and recreational activities..
Some of the main activities carried out during this event include free medical services for basic ailments administered by volunteer doctors, clinical officers, nurses and pharmacists, Voluntary Counselling and Testing, Health talks, performing arts and exhibitions.
In recognition of the role you play in the health sector and the community in general, we wish to request you to donate drugs of your choice in type and quantity towards this course, or any other service you may be able to provide.
- Support a Needy Girl
- Donate Sanitary Pads towards this course. We support over 500 girls through donations from well wishers
Social and Community Service
The girl child continues to be faced with difficult circumstances that deny them very basic humanitarian needs. This exposes them to various forms of exploitation which are injurious to them physically, emotionally, socially and educationally. WIFIP has initiated an intervention programme to "support a needy girl" by mobilising and providing the basic needs necessary to keep a girl comfortable during her menses both in and out of school.
Enterprise Development Program
Women In The Fishing Industry Program has several enterprise development programs for women, youth and other vulnerable groups. The program has developmental enterprise projects like: catfish fingerlings production/aquaculture, horticulture, poultry production, production of ornamentals and furniture from water hyacinth, Small Business Management skills where we have a program on Revolving loan fund.
Under the revolving loan fund, WIFIP gives loans to women in the fishing industry and other marginalized members in the groups so that they can be able to boost their businesses and earn more profits hence be able to live more decent lives.
At the moment, WIFIP works with more than fifteen groups along the western shoreline of Lake Victoria, in the following districts; Bondo, Kisumu and Nyando in the revolving loan fund scheme. To be able to access the funds, the members must be in a registered group, be able to save and possess an on going income generating activity as this will ensure that the member is able to repay the loan.
WIFIP realized that most women did not have ready cash to buy fish and for those who had they had very limited capital hence, were not able to increase their businesses. With the revolving loan fund, most of the group members are now able to purchase fish on cash basis and have increased their business levels due to the increase in capital hence are able to live more decent lives.
Women and Poverty
Since time in memorial women have not been able to own land title deeds and property. In the fishing industry most women are involved in doing the menial jobs like washing and scaling the fish, airing dagaa and other menial jobs that earn them less than a dollar per day which they use to feed their families.
Women are also charged with both domestic and reproductive duties which leave them with very limited time to be involved in cash crop production to increase their income, hence when their male counterparts are in huge businesses which can alleviate them from poverty, women continue to languish in poverty because they do not have collaterals to access financial services from banks and other Micro-Finance Institutions to eradicate poverty. WIFIP therefore, under its revolving loan fund does not ask for collaterals from the women but only require the members to save and guarantee one another.
Most of the groups that WIFIP work with is normally comprised of illiterate and semi-literate members hence, due to their limited educational levels they are more often not exposed to their rights in terms of property ownership in cases of their partners death, women have continued to be poor because of this, as in such cases most of the family members take the property of the deceased and leave the women without any inheritance to support their families.
Education and Development
Using non-formal and distance education as a strategy for socio-economic empowerment, the organization produces high quality radio and audio programmes for community based learning and action. These materials have been successfully used to transform the lives of more than three thousand families in the last five years.
WIFIP trains learning group leaders on principles of adult learning, facilitation skills. group learning dynamics, leadership, use of audio equipment and materials. These trained individuals then impart this knowledge to the community. With support and guidance from the organization the group leaders train/educate their group members.
In group learning which is facilitated by the trained group leaders, the participants listen to already designed and developed audio material through interactive radio programmes which is also complimented by print media. To bridge the language barrier the training can be translated to local languages. Community resource persons are also invited to ensure an efficient learning process. Better still, community theatre performances makie the learning process easy and interesting.
