Thriving in Kenya

In August, founders of Thrive Life and Thriving Nations Jason and Lindsay Budge and Steven and Amy Palmer visited our SRA project sites in Kenya.  Despite the challenging conditions they observed, they could not help but feel the joyful spirit of the Kenyan farm families they met.

 One such family is the Mwadupha Family, consisting of husband Tsuma, wife Dzame, and their four children, who are healthier and eating better thanks to SRA and the support of Thriving Nations.

Like so many in his village, Mr. Mwakupha has never had a consistent income but has done his best to pick up odd jobs, using the meager pay to buy food for his children. Ten months ago when Mr. Mwakupha and his family visited SRA’s demonstration plots, the nutritionist there found out that the children were underweight and likely suffering from malnutrition.

SRA helped the Mwakupha family improve their nutritional and economic situation by sending our nutritionist, agronomist, and animal scientist to visit the family at least once a week, teaching them how plant a high-yield vegetable garden and produce vegetables like kale, spinach, cowpeas, okra and carrots. These vegetables are well suited to the Kenyan climate and are rich in a variety of vitamins and minerals.

“My family is so much healthier and doesn’t get sick as often as they used to now that we are eating balanced meals,” said Mrs. Mwakupha

SRA focuses on teaching villagers like the Mwakuphas to be self-sufficient.   After families are able to raise vegetables and grains to feed themselves, a small animal component is introduced.  In Kenya, farm families are taught how to raise chickens more effectively. While many Kenyan farm families already have experience raising chickens, SRA teaches them better management practices and housing techniques that improve the quality of their stock.

 On his recent visit, Jason Budge, co-founder of Thriving Nations noticed that through the efforts of SRA, “We’re seeing chicken coops that had very few small malnourished chickens now full of thirty, forty or fifty healthy strong chickens producing eggs for protein and being used for personal consumption.”

In a region where 70-80% of the population lives below the poverty line, improved sustainable farming outcomes can be the difference between life and death.

 “It’s amazing what SRA does to help these people get on their own feet and help themselves to live a better lifestyle,” said Mr. Budge and Mrs. Mwakupha agrees.

“It was wonderful to finally have eggs and chicken meat for my family,” said Mrs. Mwakupha. “We could not afford to eat like this before because of the little money we earn, but thanks to SRA my family can now enjoy meals made from my garden and chickens.”

The Mwakuphas are just one of the 115 smallholder farm families in the region that SRA has helped become self-sufficient this year.

Read more about our success in Peru, Ecuador and Kenya. Get involved through donations and volunteer opportunities or find out how your company can make SRA it’s charity of choice. You can get information about Thriving Nations HERE or click HERE for ways you can support our mission.