Civil servant secures job promotion after gaining ICT skills

By Rhoda Musili

When Regina Musee visited her bank to withdraw her monthly salary on February this year, she thought that she had received a salary increment.Jubilant, she informed her immediate boss of the good news.However,later she learnt the salary increment was as a result of a job promotion.

The 56 year old who works at the Mutomo District Children's Office, was  among the first beneficiaries of the free ICT training that has been ongoing at Mutomo Maarifa Centre since January 2012.

“I was informed of the training by my boss who sits in Mutomo Maarifa Centre Advisory committee and I enrolled immediately , “ says Regina who praises the ICT trainer for a job well done  as he was open to questions and took time to explain issues to the otherwise mixed aged trainees.

She adds that after graduation, her immediate boss forwarded the ICT certificate to the Ministry Headquarters so that she could be considered for a promotion.This bore fruit on February this year when she finally landed the much awaited job promotion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left, Regina Musee at her office;(Right )Regina receives her certificate during a Maarifa Centre ICT graduation ceremony held on July 2012.

Mrs.Musee praises the opportunity and thanks ALIN for a job well done citing that her improved salary status has ensured an improved livelihood status for her and her family.

“Besides the promotion, I can now navigate through Internet comfortably and I am able to download my pay slip without any assistance,” concludes the civil servant.

ICT skills facilitate Pastor’s acquisition of IT equipment

By Rhoda Musili

At his office in the Centre of Mutomo town, Jeremiah Mbithuka is busy typesetting a report on his desktop computer.A few months ago, the 41 year old pastor could not carry out this task and used to handwrite his reports.But  a free ICT training at Mutomo Maarifa Centre changed his office operations.

“My friend who had benefitted from the training informed me of the opportunity and I enrolled immediately,” says Mr.Mbithuka who adds  that he majorly uses word processing, printing, scanning and browsing skills in his daily work.

Mr.Mbithuka is the Coordinator for Children in Christ Self-Help group which trains school going children and teenagers on moral issues and life skills.The Self-Help Group which was started in 2010  has a membership of 50 community trained volunteers .

Acquiring computer skills played a vital role in Mr.Mbithuka getting office equipment from World Vision, Mutomo whom they are collaborating on a project.

“World Vision management  was interested to know if I am able to operate IT equipment before they allocated the IT equipment to the office.On informing them  that I had enrolled for training, they tried and tested me on completion of the training and issued me with with a desktop computer, a printer and a scanner,” says a proud Jeremiah.

Apart from Mr.Mbithuka, four other group members have also benefitted from the ICT training opportunity.

“We realized that teenagers were not involved in church activities and there was no proper curriculum to teach them issues affecting them,” adds Mr.Mbithuka adding that the group also sensitizes these children on HIV/AIDS.

Mr.Mbithuka who is also a regular Maarifa Centre library user  thanks ALIN for this wonderful  opportunity

Women group embrace soap making as an income generating venture

On  April 5th, group members of Meko Ma Aka Self Help Group had something to smile about as they gathered for training on making liquid soap.For some time now, the group members had been yearning to find an income generating activity that will boost their finances.

So when Mutomo Maarifa Centre Field Officer visited the group for an information gaps mapping activity early last year, group members listed commercial liquid soap making as one of the viable activities that they were interested in engaging in but which they lacked technical skills to jumpstart.Therefore,the Field Officer sourced for a resource person who took the group members through the soap making process.

On this particular day, their faces wreathed in smiles of joy,each group member took a turn to participate in every stage of the whole process.

The group has already identified a market for their product and were all enthusiastic about starting the project.Liquid soap has many uses and can be used in schools, hotels, household levels among other uses.

Procedure

The procedure of making this soap is very easy to learn and master

Ingredients needed are; Ungerol( a kind of fatty acid), industrial salt, caustic soda, formalin,colouring, perfumes and water.

• Mix Ungerol with industrial salt until the crystals dissolve
• Add water, colour and perfume to the viscous product.

Soap making technical training photos VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Mutomo Maarifa Centre holds its second ICT graduation ceremony

Jubilation was written all over 85 ICT training beneficiaries who graduated in a ceremony held at Mutomo Missions Hospital’s compound on February 2013.The 85 are the second group of ICT training beneficiaries to be awarded certificates as part of an ongoing ICT training initiative which kicked off on January 2012.The ceremony  was presided over by Mutomo District Agricultural Officer Mr.Toma Ngovu.

During the event trainee after trainee praised the opportunity.Martina David, a primary school teacher narrated how her colleagues were dubious about free ICT training.”They were asking me who would offer such training free of charge,” she said adding that the training played a major role in her securing the post of a Presiding Officer with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in the just concluded general elections .

Of the same sentiments were Mutomo Location Chief, Mr.Robert Kusinga who  said that he was interested to enroll for the training after presiding over the first graduation ceremony which was held on July last year.

“I felt challenged that I was awarding certificates to ICT trainees, yet I had not benefitted from the training myself,” said Mr.Kusinga who enrolled for training sessions immediately after the graduation ceremony

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Mutomo Location Chief,Mr. Robert Kusinga(Right) is awarded an ICT certificate by Mr.Toma Ngovu, the District Agricultural Officer.Looking on is Mutomo Maarifa Centre Field Officer,Rhoda Musili

Mr.Kusinga says that immediately after completing training sessions, he was awarded with an office computer since he now has the skills to work with one.

“I plan to be utilizing the computer to store my locations’ information data,”Says Kusinga who praises the ICT trainer for his flexibility in the training and understanding the diverse needs and understanding levels of the trainees.

Mutomo Maarifa Centre Field Officer Ms.Rhoda Musili encouraged the trainees to exploit available resources at the Maarifa Centre listing e-government services as some of the emerging services in the ICT world that needed the community to be computer literate.She urged the beneficiaries to exploit the skills gained in engaging in meaningful opportunities like distance learning .

Mr. Ngovu  urged the beneficiaries to exploit the available Maarifa Centre resources to search for Agricultural information as well as business and social networking sites for information sharing and dissemination.He however cautioned them on internet fraud .

“I would like to thank ALIN for initiative of empowering our community,” concluded Mr.Ngovu.

The free community training is part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded to ALIN in August 2011 to implement various community activities. The main goal of the community IT training is to enable communities’ access opportunities and resources available globally and to catalyze youth entrepreneurship for livelihoods improvement

ICT graduation photos VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Maarifa Centre information resources have boosted my farming enterprises…says Nurse.

Its early morning in Mutomo District of Eastern Kenya.At Mutomo Mission Hospital,Angela Vincent is busy irrigating her vegetable and tree nursery plantations.After this activity,Mrs.Vincent reports to her work station at  Mutomo Mission Hospital where she is employed as a nurse.

For the past three years, this has been the daily working routine for the 39 year old woman who practices farming on a small piece of land at the hospital compound.

Angela says that she got interested in farming when three years ago a Rotary club introduced a program to train the hospital staff on dry land farming and kitchen gardening.

“During this period, a demonstration farm was established so that members could learn and train community members on the initiative,” Says Angela who says that after the project timeframe was over she approached the hospital management and took over the practice.

At the 1/2 farm, Mrs.Vincent started vegetable, tree nursery  and fruit growing enterprises.This has all been be possible through use of irrigation water from Mutomo Mission Hospital borehole.“ At first, people discouraged me that vegetables could not do well under irrigation with salty water, but my vegetable enterprise has thrived , “Says a proud Angela.

Information needs

Angela understands that information plays a vital role in her projects.By the virtue that Mutomo Maarifa Centre is hosted by Mutomo Mission Hospital, she oftenly visits the Maarifa Centre to access that is relevant to her projects.

Here, she has access to Baobab and Joto Africa publications as well as other library resources that have been a great boost to her as far as information is concerned.

For instance from Baobab issue 62 on Tress and Farming on  ‘All trees need good care to grow well’ , Angela says that she got information on tree spacing which she has put into practice and has witnessed a major difference.

 

“I already have pawpaw seedlings which I am planning to plant during the April rainy season using the technologies learnt, “ Says Angela adding that apart  from reading the publications for new information, she is inspired by reading stories from people who are doing projects under the same climatic conditions as Mutomo.

“I always ask myself, if they have done it, why not me,” quips Mrs.Vincent.

ICT training

Her quest for knowledge has seen her enroll for an ICT training course at Mutomo Maarifa Centre so that she gets the necessary skills to search for online technical  information, funding opportunities as well as marketing opportunities  so that she pushes her enterprises a head.She adds that she plans on buying a laptop for this purpose.

Future plans

Angela says that from the her Agriculture enterprises she has managed to buy a piece of land near a water point where she plans to start practice vegetable and fruit growing for supplying to Mutomo Market vegetable and fruit vendors within the next two years.She adds that from the income boost her children are attending a private school which she could not have afforded otherwise.

Information gaps

Angela says she needs more information on marketing opportunities for her seedlings enterprise , the best pesticides for her vegetable enterprise as well as training on smart farming.She urges other community members to utilize the Maarifa Centre services citing that the agriculture is a viable business as far as its done as a business.

“If all goes well, I will quit my nursing job to concentrate on Agriculture,” concludes Angela.

Mutomo farmer’s Norway visit changes his outlook on climate change.

By Rhoda Musili

As a young child, Mr.Kisilu Musya had dreams to study  hard ,join a good university and get a good job.To his young mind, good education was the key to travelling and discovering the world.But as his parents could barely afford his Secondary School fees,this remained a dream for the 43 year old.

So Mr.Musya could not believe his luck when he got news that he had secured an opportunity to visit Norway on November  last year.”What good education did not do for me, farming did,” says the jubilant father of eight from Kyatune Location of Mutomo District.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I fathom that farming could open such great opportunities in life,” says Mr.Musya a small-scale farmer who practices agro-forestry.It was his efforts in climate change mitigation that Mr.Musya was featured in a documentary, Wind of Change which highlighted a young family’s efforts in adapting to unfavorable climate change

This documentary was filmed by Spire, a Norwegian  youth organization through support with Mutomo Maarifa Centre .Wind of Change featured Mr.Musya’s  family activities on climate change effects, adaptation and mitigation.And on November last year the same organization  funded Mr.Musya to travel  on a 14 day trip to Norway to attend a Globalization conference under a program  called the Norwegian Social Forum (NSF) ,the Norwegian branch of the World Social Forum which organizes a conference called "The Globalization Conference every year where there are debates, workshops,presentations, concerts,movies and thearte.

“During the Globalization conference I gave a speech before a group of more than 600 participants where I presented issues on local community climate change adaptation efforts,community mobilization , information gaps and local community expectations from developed countries,” Says Mr.Kisilu who also adds that he shared issues on local community’s awareness in regards to contributing towards unfavorable climate change.
Mr. Musya adds that during his visit he also met with various other organizations, universities, groups and farmers.” I learnt a lot on poultry keeping, diary cattle farming, bee keeping,apple farming and vegetable growing.” 

Lessons learnt
Prior to his visit Mr.Musya says he always thought that climate change was all about  lack of rainfall and persistent drought.” But I was surprised to learn that there are some countries which receive heavy rainfall amounts often leading to flooding,” he says.

He adds that through sharing, he learnt different adaptation strategies and measures.”But the biggest lesson was the realization that climate change is universal and needs to be seriously addressed,” he quips adding that its important to be focal on coming up with permanent climate change mitigation solutions stressing that climate change is a cross-cutting issue that affects all aspects of livelihoods.

Mr.Musya says that the opportunity equipped him with a lot of insight and made him realize that everyone had a role to play in climate change mitigation.And as part of playing his role, he now has a mission to spread a different kind of gospel back home.“ I visit a different church every Sunday to sensitize the community on climate change issues,” says Mr.Musya adding that the experience widened his perspective and made his farming efforts go global.

ALIN’s role
Kisilu attributes this opportunity to ALIN. He says that before ALIN established a community resource Centre at Mutomo he used to do farming but lacked knowledge to do smart farming.As ALIN’s Focal Group member, Mr.Musya had opportunities to share and interact with other members on smart farming.

“ALIN gave me a platform to gain and share knowledge  with other communities living in arid and semi arid areas and therefore expanded my knowledge base” admits Mr.Musya who has dreams to feature as an exemplary farmer in ALIN’s Baobab Magazine which highlights sustainable agriculture initiatives in arid and semi arid areas within East Africa.

“If I had not been a ALIN’s  Focal Group and Advisory Committee member,then ALIN wouldn’t have known of my enterprises and linked me with Spire,” he quips.


Improved livelihood
In addition to funding his trip, Spire also facilitated Mr.Musya with a laptop, video camera and a digital camera for documenting his progress on climate change adaptation and mitigation  efforts.With the digital camera,Mr.Musya has embarked on a community photography initiative which is boosting his income levels.

About Spire
Spire is a youth organization working for a just and sustainable distribution of the world’s resources which aims to examine the big connections that create injustice. Therefore, Spire  focuses on the environment, food safety and international trade. Spire influences politicians in Norway and internationally to create change.They  work with youth in the South and run information campaigns to inspire Norwegian youth to action. Spire is the Development Fund's youth organization(http://www.spireorg.no/english)
For more information on Mr.Musya’s visit please visit his blog

Internet service boosts e-Government services access

Mutomo Maarifa Centre continues to offer free information services to Mutomo community.The community utilizes the Maarifa Centre in various ways ranging from internet services, library access and ICT trainings.By the virtue that it offers diverse opportunities, internet services remains the most sought after service.These range from online learning, email access to e-Government services.

Recently, the Government of Kenya introduced an online human resource platform known as Government Human Resource Information Service (GHRIS)  under which civil servants access their pay slip and other Human resource services online  upon updating their personal and professional profile.

But this system often poses a challenge to the civil servants who lack computer and internet skills .56 year old Musingila Matuku is one such user.When Mr.Matuku visited his bank to acquire a loan to pay his daughter's school fees, he was informed that among the documents that he was to present were  his current  pay slips.This posed a challenge for him since he had not even updated his profile under this system.

“However,I was advised to visit Mutomo Maarifa Centre to get assistance, “ says Mr. Matuku,a support staff with the Ministry of Water services .Here, he was assisted with updating his profile and downloading four of his pay slips which facilitated the bank loan processing.

“ I was able to secure the much needed loan my daughter’s school fees,” says Mr.Matuku who lauds the Maarifa Centre’s services citing that they are truly uplifting Mutomo Community’s living standards.

Facing a practical difficulty?…try Practical Answers!

Are you a farmer or an extension officer ? Do you face technical problems in your day to day work? Are you seeking for knowledge to bridge this information gap? Well, look no more.Practical Answers is the solution for you!

Practical Answers is an online  technical information service initiated by Practical Action, an NGO which works in over 40 developing countries through use of  technology to challenge poverty. The platform is equipped with appropriate technology resources which range from energy, food and Agriculture,water and sanitation,disaster reduction,Climate Change,Markets,transport,new technologies, waste management,infrastructure, reconstruction and urban poverty.  These information resources are practically tailored to the simple language possible suit the user.They range from posters, newsletters, PDF documents, publications, short videos ,among others.

This works through a Technical Enquiry approach whereby interested users fill in  a form with the contact details and the technical enquiry which is uploaded to the Practical Answers  website.The requested practical information is therefore send to the enquirer via email, SMS or call back.

Visit Practical Action website to read more of Practical Answers.

For technical enquiries, kindly fill the Practical Enquiry Form and send it back to us.


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ICT skills help graduate to secure a job.

When Faith Mbithe Mutangili heard of an ICT training opportunity from a friend, she immediately visited Mutomo Maarifa Centre and enrolled for the course.

Two months down the lane, Faith is grateful for taking advantage of the opportunity; the skills played a big role in her securing a job as a voter registration clerk with Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)

The 23 year old graduate says that the ICT skills acquired are imperative in the day to day work as a registration clerk whose main duty is to type and record voter details.

During the 2 month long training , Miss.Mutangili went through 5 computer packages  which included: Introduction to Computers,MS Word,Ms Excel, Ms PowerPoint and Communication technology.

“ My typing skills have improved, I can now prepare PowerPoint presentation and have improved my internet skills,” says Faith  who is stationed at Mwamba Market polling station.

Faith congratulates ALIN for a job well done and urges them to offer more computer packages in future for diversity.

A man who cycled 60 KM to attend ICT training is rewarded with a job .

When 35 year old George Nzuki Mutuva heard a vacancy announcement on Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission(IEBC) recruitment on registration clerks, he was only too happy to apply for the opportunity.But there was a setback; one of the requirements was that an applicant must be IT compliant.

And although Mr.Mutuva had done a computer course in college, he felt that he lacked the practical skills necessary to be efficient in the job he had applied for.

He therefore visited Mutomo Maarifa Centre and had a discussion with the Field Officer so that he could be attending hourly ICT training every day for a period of two weeks for practical sessions.To attend these sessions, Mr.Mutuva had to cycle 60 KM everyday from his Ndatani  Location home.

However, this was not in vain,Mr.Mutuva successfully acquired the practical skills needed for the job and is now a voter registration clerk based at Ndatani polling station in Kyatune Location.

“I can now comfortably use a computer to register voters and I attribute this to the training I received from the Maarifa Centre,” says George adding that he was very impressed with the Maarifa Centre services and congratulates ALIN for the good work they are doing.

ICT trainee secures a job as a voter registration clerk

At Kongo Primary School polling station, Lillian Malunde Mulei is busy registering voters.Lillian is one of the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) registration clerks recently contracted to implement the voter registration process.

The trained P1 teacher says that she would not have secured this position were it not for a free ICT training she acquired from Mutomo Maarifa Centre.Mrs.Mulei was among the first community members to benefit from the opportunity at its inception on January this year.Her testimony had been compiled before as she was attending with her 63 year old father (http://mutomomaarifa.blogspot.com/2012/02/father-and-daughter-in-class.html)

   “ I am now computer literate and can access information online.These skills enabled me apply for the IEBC job online though the free internet services at the Maarifa Centre,” says Lillian who adds that she travelled 15 Kilometers each day to attend training sessions.

Mrs.Mulei’s duty as a registering clerk is majorly registering voters using the Bio Metric Voter Registration(BVR ) kit.

Lillian adds that she is grateful that the ICT training opportunity has helped her secure a job and applauds ALIN’s services for  uplifting  Mutomo community’s living  standards.

Youth demonstrates that disability is not inability

Josephine Mwende Kamene has a noble dream in life; to study hard, earn money and start a children’s home!The 19 year old physically challenged youth who wants to pursue a career in accounting has enrolled for a free ICT  training training opportunity at Mutomo Maarifa Centre  to make this dream a reality.

But what sets this enthusiastic youth apart from the other trainees is her determination to acquire this knowledge despite odds.Josephine has a mental condition known as Spastic Cerebral Palsy,a condition which has affected her speech and hand movement.

Because of her condition,Josephine cannot exploit computer applications normally and therefore holds a pen with her mouth to navigate the keyboard.

“I enrolled for this opportunity because I wanted to acquire further knowledge,” says Josephine who is a living proof to the saying that’ disability is not inability’

Library services improves pupils’ literacy levels

Peter Muthami is a Standard Seven pupil at Mutomo Primary School. Next year , the 14 year old boy will be sitting for his Kenya Primary of Primary Education (KCPE ) exams.As such, the pupil is on the look out to gain new ideas that will make him do well in his primary school studies.So when his English language teacher brought new storybooks for the class,Peter was only too happy to gain more knowledge.

Sister.Jeniffer Kiuni,his English teacher who is a regular Maarifa Centre user spotted  the story books  during an internet browsing session and enquired if she could borrow for her class.She borrowed 30 story books which the pupils read in turns.

“More than 72 pupils benefited from  the storybooks with one of them reading a total of 12 different storybooks ,” says Sr.Jennifer adding that after every reading session, the pupils would retell the skills gained through discussions. “I have seen great improvement in pronunciation and composition writing,”says Sr.Jennifer.

Her sentiments are echoed by the pupils,Peter says that his grammar skills as well as his composition writing skills have improved tremendously. “I have learnt new words and my spelling skills are also good.” He says.

Munii Mbeti also feels the same.She says that she has gained pronunciation skills,new words,spelling and she also learnt new words. “Every time I came across a new word, I would always look it up in the Dictionary thus expanding my word  vocabulary,” says the 14 year old girl.On the other hand,Halima Samuel says that story books have given her good sentence construction.

 Sr.Kiuni applauds the library resource and says that she intends to continue borrowing in future.

Mutomo Community perspectives on cassava production

Mutomo District is one of the driest areas in Eastern province. It is marginal and semi-arid and falls within the millet livestock zone. The area receives a bimodal type of rainfall between the months of October -November and March - April. The rest of the period is usually dry. The rainfall received in the area is usually unreliable, erratic and poorly distributed. The district experiences crop failure and water shortage in most years with a reasonable harvest being realized once in six years.

As such, residents usually experience food shortages and mostly rely on relief food for sustenance. Crops that do well here are those that need little amounts of rainfall like millet, sorghum, cowpeas etc. However, the community is still stuck on the belief that maize is the crop to grow. Extensive sensitization is needed to remove the community from this maize syndrome era.

However, a small number of farmers have seen the light and have resorted to growing traditional crops like cassava, sorghum, millet, cowpeas, green grams and cassava.

Wikwatyo wa Kandae Self-Help group is among the farmer groups that have embraced growing of cassava as a way of adapting to climate change and achieving food security. With cassava cuttings from Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the group embraced cassava production in the year 2010.

On November 13th 2012, the group members were privileged to have a community exchange forum hosted by ALIN at Mutomo Mission Hospital hall. During this forum community members viewed a locally produced cassava value chain photo-audio story showing cassava farming as one of the climate adaptation strategies in Mutomo.

Farmers also had an opportunity to interact with Dr. Cyrus Githunguri (PhD), an Agronomist and Crop Physiologist with KARI for a Q and A session where farmers sought knowledge on disease management and cassava market options.

In the pictures from Left-Right; community members watch a photo-audio story on cassava value chain,Faith Musembi is happy to see her picture on the screen,community members during group discussions,Benson Nyamai presents his group discussion notes.

The farmers also had group discussions where they applauded photo-audio storytelling as one of the best mediums of communicating research uptake information by farmers and suggested that extensive extension was needed to sensitize the community on cassava value chain.

Speaking to the farmers during the occasion, Mutomo District Agricultural Officer Mr.Toma Ngovu promised that his department will increase community trainings on cassava utilization.

“The District Agricultural Office also promotes Traditional High Value Crops (THVC) as the type of crops that do well in the harsh climatic conditions. Cassava is named among one of the THVCs.” He pointed out

Agribusiness is the key to economic stability…community told

Residents of Mutomo have been asked to practice agri business as a means of achieving food security and economic stability.

Speaking during a National Field Day celebrations at Mwala Sub-Location of Mutomo District, Engineer Nicodemus Kyalo Mwonga from the Ministry of Agriculture also stressed for the need for farmers to embrace water harvesting.

“On farm as well as roof catchment water harvesting techniques are the best water harvesting techniques that can do well in our local situation” said Engineer Mwonga

The guest of honor,Eng.Mwongo gives his speech

Mr. Mwonga also pointed out the need to for the community to form groups so they could write proposals and benefit from government grants like Njaa Marufuku Kenya.

Partners and stakeholders who participated in the Field Day included other government departments, ALIN, Catholic Diocese of Kitui, Swedish Mutomo Group (SMG) and KREP.

                                                                                                           
National Field Days are thematic learning fields which give farmers and the community an opportunity to learn different technologies .This year’s theme was ‘Enterprise diversification, early land preparation, on farm water harvesting for improved production’

Community told to embrace cooperatives as key to food security.

Residents of Mutomo District have been told to form co-operatives as a way of poverty eradication towards achieving Millennium Development Goals.

Speaking during a World Food Day held at Kyamuthwa Primary School in Kyatune Location of Mutomo District, Professor Reuben Muasya urged the community to embrace farming as a business as a way of achieving food security.

“It is time farmers embraced farming as a business to for economic stability,” said the Professor of Agronomy and Seed Science who is a lecturer at South Eastern University College (SEUCO ).

Professor Reuben Muasya  (right) speaks during the event.Left,Mr.Toma Ngovu,Mutomo District  Agricultural Officer.

During the event, Mutomo District Agricultural Officer Mr.Toma Ngovu appealed to the community to take advantage of agricultural extension officers available for extension services.

“Extension is demand driven and the community should visit our office to request for the same,” said Mr.Ngovu urging the community to start early land preparation and plant drought resistant crops as well as planting certified seed which could do well in the area’s climate conditions.

Above,Mutomo Maarifa Centre stand.(Centre),the guest of Honor,Professor Reuben Muasya visits the Min.Of Agriculture stand.Right,Community members sample library resources displayed at Mutomo Maarifa Centre’s stand.

During the event different community groups, government departments and stakeholders displayed indigenous knowledge, services offered and diverse technologies to the farmers.

World Food Day (WFD) was established by FAO's Member Countries at the Organization's 20th General Conference in November 1945. It has since been observed every year in more than 150 countries, raising awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger.Since 1981, World Food Day has adopted a different theme each year, in order to highlight areas needed for action and provide a common focus.This year’s World Food Day theme was ‘Agricultural Co-operatives-Key to Feeding the World’

ICT skills change barber's career

When Barnabas Kisyungu visited Mutomo Mission Hospital and saw a community knowledge Centre within, he was curious to find out what happens in the Maarifa Centre.

On visiting the Centre, Mr.Kisyungu was happy to hear about the free services offered. However of interest to him was news about a free computer training opportunity which he enrolled immediately.

This prompted him to move from his home in Kanziko Location, 37 KM away and rent a house in Mutomo town to attend the training sessions. “I secured a barber ship job cater for rent costs during the training period,” says Mr.Kisyungu

After going through the ICT training for 1 and half months, Mr.Kisyungu heard of a job opportunity at Simba Telecom Kenya, a telecommunication business based in Nairobi but which has a branch in Mutomo town.

“Part of the interview was written whereby we were each given a laptop required to type the company’s profile and its services and save it as a word document’’, says Mr.Kinyungu adding that his ICT skills helped him carry out this task and secure a job as a mobile phone airtime marketing agent with the company.

Kinyungu attributes his job to ALIN and the computer skills he acquired. He thanks the organization for training all the community members regardless of education background and social status.

“People tend to shy off about free offers but I am happy to say that the Maarifa Centre is creating opportunities for the Mutomo community,” he quips.

A youth's determination to suceed despite odds

Esther Musekele completed her high school studies last year. But the 19 year old youth who scored a B (minus) in her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Exams (KCSE) cannot get her certificate for she has not cleared her school fees with the school.

However, now Esther has a new mission in life, to work hard and save enough money to clear  the Kshs.18, 000 fees balance that she owes the school and finally get her certificate.

Ms.Musekele attributes all this to a free ICT training she received through Mutomo Maarifa Centre.

“When my mother was told of the training through an Advisory Committee member, she registered me for the training,” says Esther.

Ms.Musekele, who is physically disabled, says that she drew strength from a well-wisher who would encourage her as she walked 7 KM from her Itumba home to attend training sessions.

“This shopkeeper would tell me to put more effort as she will give me a job when I completed the training,” says Esther.
 
In keeping up with the promise, the proprietor of Franco Computer Enterprises gave her a one month’s attachment opportunity in August this year. Later she was employed at the enterprise.Her duties at work include typesetting and providing internet services to clients.

“This is my first job and I am very excited,” says the happy girl adding that she is grateful for the ICT trainer for a job well done.She thanks ALIN for the opportunity and the spirit of serving the community.

Woman acquires further studies after 16 years.

Six months ago, Beatrice Mutie was a housewife. But when her friends informed her of an ICT training opportunity at Mutomo Maarifa Centre, she was quick to enroll for the opportunity. Today, the 32 year old mother of two is employed.

The 32 year old widow from Kibwea Location in Mutomo Location says since she finished high school in 1994 she has been hoping to further her studies.

“However, I could not afford to achieve this since I had two children to take care of and I had no stable income, “says Mrs.Mutie adding that she had to rely on casual jobs to provide for her family.

Immediately after completing the training, Mrs.Mutie secured a one month’s attachment opportunity at Evatex Computers, a Computer services and printing service provider within Mutomo town. Later, she was employed at the enterprise. Her work at Evatex included typing and printing documents for clients.

“Currently, I am working with online technologies where my duties include typesetting clients’ research assignments” says Beatrice.

Improved livelihood

Mrs Mutie says that the training opportunity has opened doors for her and she sees a bright future for her family.

Am saving for my education…Says an ICT beneficiary.

Christine Kithinis’s dream in life is to become an accountant. However, since her parents could not afford to take her through the course, the 20 year old has vowed to work her way to college.

A free ICT training offered at Mutomo Maarifa Centre has given Ms. Kithini a leeway to pursue her career dreams.

“I heard of the ICT opportunity from my cousin who had also undergone the training at the initial phase,” says Christine adding that she had to move in with a relative in Mutomo town to take advantage of the offer.

She enrolled for the July intake where she underwent training in five (5) computer packages namely; introduction to computers, MS Word, Ms Excel, MS PowerPoint, Internet and Email support.

Weeks after the training, Ms Kithini has secured an employment opportunity at  Inter Services Enterprises, a computer services business within Mutomo town. As an employee at the enterprise, Christine’s duties include typesetting and printing documents.

                                                                                                Future plans

“This job has given me a source of income. I am now independent and I live in my own house,” Christine says happily.

She adds that her future plan is to save money to pursue a her career job and thanks ALIN for the opportunity quoting that were it not for the free opportunity, she would not have been able to afford the training.