International projects
WOI International Programmes
WOI’s current international projects are mainly in Kenya, where we work with the local community-based organisations. We are currently working with OMEGA foundation and 40 local widows and orphans groups, Port Florence Community Hospital, Kochogo High School, Kadinda Health Centre, and HOVIC Self Help Group.
The Activities
1. Home Based Care and HIV Services
provide direct support for 2,500 People Living with HIV/AIDS. Under the same programme the organisation has been very successful in lobbying for ARV for it clients. WOI currently supports Omega to run a very well established Home Based
Care Programme for PLWA. The programme works with 120 Community Health Workers who were trained in providing nursing, counselling and opportunistic medication support.
2. Voluntary Counselling & Testing Services (VCT)
The project uses VCT centres as the main entry points for the Home Based Care and orphans support programmes. Over this period, The VCT project offered counselling services to an average of 300 clients per month. This is the only project that
offers these services in the District and the demand has steadily increased.
The existence of VCT as an entry point for individual and group support has enabled the organisation to establish support groups for PLWA and those who
are recently diagnosed with HIV. The Patient Support Centre (PSC) established by Ministry of Health and CDC at Ahero health centre has increased the number of our clients who are now accessing Anti Retroviral (ARVs) drugs freely.
3. OVC Support (Orphans & Vulnerable Children)
The partnership between Omega Foundation, WOI and HOVIC, currently supports orphans in primary schools, secondary schools and village polytechnics. The Orphans support programme includes a feeding centre which caters for total orphans (this includes food, uniforms and school fees). This has prevented destitute and vulnerable children from
becoming street children and spares them the exploitation and abuse resulting from child labour. During the review period, WOI and its partner organisations supported orphans in primary and secondary schools. This support included the provision of uniforms, school fees, books, pens and food for the most vulnerable and others where necessary. In partnership with Omega Foundation we also supported a programme to feed orphans mainly of primary school age with breakfast, lunch
supper.
5. Income Generating Activities
WOI over the period in review has supported various Income Generation Activities for PLWA, Orphans, Widows and Foster parents. The activities include: Posho Mills, Poultry Farming, small scale irrigation schemes, small scale businesses supported
through the seed funding, maize and other seeds selling schemes, tailoring shops and welding workshops for orphans. WOI has a well-established training programme on micro-credit, provision of income generating activities, loans and running
small-scale businesses. The programme was designed to support the beneficiaries to manage their projects in a sustainable way.
A. Tailoring
WOI in partnership with Omega Foundation has continued to support this project which is benefiting widows and foster parents. WOI collects from the UK, ships and distributes sewing machines and seed money that the beneficiaries use to rent
tailoring shops for the first three months and start up materials for the project. The women have started generating enough money to hire the shops on their
own and buy project materials. In addition, they have been able to support their children by providing also been able to improve the children’s diet.
B. The posho mill
WOI supported three of its partner groups to secure and install grinding mills and offered training support to members in book keeping and to over see the management of the project. The women are now able to raise enough money to cater for the needs of the children and themselves. They have an account which caters for repairs and maintenance of the machine.
C. Carpentry Workshop
The older orphans are trained at this workshop to produce quality furniture of various kinds. The furniture produced is sold to generate funds that are reinvested to boost the workshop. The first eight students graduate in 2005 with trade test certificates.
D. The Poultry Project
WOI supported women groups with training in poultry management including chicken health, vaccination, egg handling, chicks brooding development, feeding plan and marketing. The training was conducted by Partial Foods International,
an NGO in the Western Kenya. The women groups involved in poultry keeping greatly improved their skills. The poultry project currently benefits 3 widows
groups including one group for PLWA.
E. Computers and Equipment Programme:
WOI collects used computers and other school equipment from the UK and sends them to Omega Foundation who in turn donate them to schools for the establishment of computer laboratories. The income generated from the programme is used to
run other support programmes for Omega Foundation and its partner organisations.
WOI donated full sets of school laboratory equipment to four (2) secondary schools in Bondo District, 2 in Kisumu district and 4 in Nyando districts all from Nyanza province. In addition some schools have benefited from both the lab equipments donation as well as several science books. We also donated computers to 5 schools in Nyando District.
6. Port Florence Hospital
WOI, partners, medical students from UK and community members have worked together to build and equip, the successfully running 50 bed Port Florence Community Hospital based in Kisumu City in Kenya.
The hospital is fully equipped with medical resources equipment donated by the British public and private hospitals, which have been donated to us and then shipped to Kenya.