Thanks to a group of supporters in Denver and a grant from Project Redwood, Steve Eggers joined DIG as our newest program intern in October 2013. Of course DIG immediately liked him because of our fond affection for ‘Steves’…but beyond that he impressed us with his thoughtful questions about our work, his agriculture experience, and his general attitude towards life and development. Steve spent two months with the DIG Kenya Team learning about the program and agriculture in Western Kenya. He quickly picked up the local language and made strong relationships with the staff and community members, which is the best way to integrate and get good work done (ask any Returned Peace Corps Volunteer about that).
Now, he is in Uganda working independently with three new DIG projects using our recently developed Resource Toolkit made up of DIG’s Garden Manuals, Nutrition Manual, and Project Protocol. We are really excited about Steve’s work and training as well as the new projects and the impact they are already having on the participants. Here is a brief description of the new projects with photos:
Wakisa Ministries: DIG was introduced to Wakisa Ministires by WorldShare. The Ministry is run by an amazing Ugandan woman, Vivian Kityo, and is a training and counseling facility for girls faced with unwanted pregnancies. Many of the young women have been raped and abandoned so livelihood development is critical to this group of young women. Steve is working with the girls, Vivian and Wakisa’s Urban Agriculture Teacher to train the girls in sustainable agriculture that is applicable to their lives and environment. At the same time they are actively transforming an area next to the facility into a productive garden for the ministry and the young women.
Alive Medical Services: AMS is an HIV Hospital supported by NYC based non profit Keep A Child Alive. AMS has a strong nutritional support and feeding program and was interested in adding a sustainable agriculture component to it. Steve is working with two separate HIV Support Groups, Kaapeka and Tweyambe. The members are very hard working which is good as it will take some effort to overcome some real water and land challenges!
- Mentor Coach Empower Uganda: M.C.E. Uganda works to empower youth groups in various ways. Steve is training 14 young people in Mukono, Uganda to grow for production and marketing. We are excited to see this and the other sites evolve and thrive in the weeks and months ahead.
