Road carnage, highway robbery, defilement, rape, and drowning are some of the common incidents along the stretch between Turbo and Webuye towns on the great north highway as well as Kipkarren and Nzoia Rivers. Highway trading centres like Turbo, Kipkarren, Musembe, Chimoi and Kaburengo have gained popularity partly due to such and other incidents, with both local and international media highlighting some of them. However, the establishment of Nucleus Children’s Trust Fund (NCTF), a community-based organization, has had a steady and positive impact on residents along sections of the highway and rivers plus adjacent
villages.
According to a section of residents of Lugari Sub County in Kakamega
County and neighbouring Uasin Gishu County, the CBO under its founder
and Director, Mr. John Tharabu Kariuki has restored some hope to the
area.
“Consistent lose of human life, especially parents, as a result of
grisly road and river accidents on the busy highway and nearby rivers
prompted formation of Nucleus Children’s Trust Fund, which is situated
at Kaburengo Junction village in Matete, Kakamega county,” said
Kariuki, the Kenya Red Cross Society trained first aider.
“In particular we realised that most of orphaned girls became victims
of defilement and sexual molestation,” noted Kariuki.
Nucleus Children’s Trust Fund, which operates in Lugari constituency
was formed on 2nd April 2004 as a self-help group championing human
rights and prevention of HIV/AIDs.
“By 2010 the group had grown to a full-fledged community-based organisation working with 1,051 households in charge of 3,500 orphaned
and vulnerable children,” said Kariuki.
Besides children orphaned due to accidents, Kariuki’s NCTF has also
co-opted orphans who lost parents to HIV/AIDs scourge as well as those
from extremely poor backgrounds.
The organisation is currently implementing a 10 year Community
Sustainability and Integrated Development Programme with focus on five
key goals, reduction of social economic impact of HIV/AIDs, promotion
of equitable health, capacity building in disaster risk reduction,
promotion of access to justice and promotion of food security and
nutrition.
Unlike some CBOs that largely depend on donor funds for
sustainability, NCTF has focused on two major areas, community-based
volunteerism and generation of income from local resources.
“To reduce operational costs and achieve maximum sustainability, we
depend on services offered community-based volunteers and our income
activities,’ said Kariuki.
The director pointed out though most of the CBO’s caregivers are
HIV/AIDs victims, the organisation has, however, successfully engaged
them in gainful economic activities.
“All our households have engaged in either dairy, poultry, tissue
culture banana or horticultural farming to enable them to meet basic
household needs,” states the director.
The CBO is currently working with 94 volunteers in charge of the households.
Kariuki singled out beekeeping as the economic mainstay for the organization, with
78% of the total local fundraising raised from honey production while
22% is generated from donations.
“We have installed 45 beehives, each with a capacity of producing
12Kgs of honey 3 times per year. 1kilogram sells at Shs.1,000 retail
price,” disclosed the director.
Besides voluntary community-based services, the CBO closely works with
line government departments and other stakeholders for technical
advice and support.
“To professionally and efficiently run our programmes, we have
partnered with a number of local state and county government
departments including departments of children,
health, agriculture, interior coordination and national coordination,
social services, education and the media, ”explained Kariuki.
Other stakeholders who have variously been involved with NCTF’s
activities include AMREF, USAID’s APHIA Plus, US Ambassador’s Self
Help Fund and US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR).
Besides funds from donors, gains made from the CBO’s economic
activities are channelled towards education subsidy, health, nutrition
and social protection initiatives for the OVCs.
“A total of Sh.7, 936,973 grant has been disbursed in support of 653
OVCs in various secondary schools countrywide since 2012 to date,”
revealed the director.
On child sexual abuse offenses, the CBO is currently pushing for
determination of about35 defilement cases which are pending at Butali
resident magistrate’s court.
“Out of the 70 defilement cases we have filed so far, only 35 have
been successfully determined at Eldoret court,” said Kariuki.
While visiting the CBO in April, 2016, World Vision East African
Regional Leader, Mrs. Margaret Schuler lauded the spirit of community
volunteerism, saying it was uniquely to Nucleus Children’s Trust Fund.
“Though you get some boost from outside, however, due to enthusiasm
the organisation has come up with different ways of raising resources
to support children sustainably. I’m impressed,” noted Schuler.
Her sentiments were echoed by National World Vision Country Director,
Dr. Dickens Tunde who challenged other local non profiting making
organizations to heavily emulate NCTF’s economic framework by
investing in self-sustaining projects to end the culture of
over-dependence on donations from international communities.
Nominated Senator Daisy Kanainza expressed her satisfaction over
NCTF’s operations when she early in the year led Kakamega County’s
Mikopo Mashinani Loan officials during the team’s learning tour at the
CBO.
National Gender and Equality Commission Chairperson, Wilfred Lichuma
visited the CBO recently.
The organisation has been host to 75 CBOs from various parts of the
country including
Nyanza, Kitui, Machakos, Mt. Elgon, Busia counties for benchmarking
sessions this year.
Lugari Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD), Mr. Bernard Macharia
has hailed the CBO’s disaster response unit, “which apart from
supporting my department whenever faced by accident causalities, has
been instrumental in helping us retrieve drowned bodies from Kipkarren
and Nzoia rivers,” he added.
According to statistics at the OCPD’s office, NCTF has helped the
police department to remove more than 10 bodies from the two rivers this
year.
To effectively address rampant accidents and drowning cases along the
highway and Kipkarren and Nzoia Rivers, NCTF plans to launch a first
aid training school at its main site in Kaburengo.
“I have already registered the care School of First Aid with relevant
authorities,” revealed Kariuki who before he retired in 2013 had
worked with the Kenya Red Cross Society for 15 years where served as a
member of the society’s national board for 13 years.
Besides several local and international awards, the CBO boasts of the
Head of State Commendation (HSC) award, which it received in 2009
being state recognition for its philanthropic services towards the
community.