Makinika and karibu sana, welcome to DESECE!

DESECE - development education services for community empowerment - works since 1993 in Western Kenya in the areas of peace building, human rights, civic education, gender, health, organic agriculture and environment and ecology. We want to thank you for visiting us "on the air" and would like to take you with us on a journey through our last year in pictures:

DESECE would like to  appreciate our facilitators from the Red-Cross team Mr. Idris, Sarah and Catherine for training DESECE team on how to develop an advocacy strategy.

DESECE had the pleasure to welcome Mrs. Caroline Karimi Lintari – Consultant of BrentWellis & Associates send by Horizont3000 Kampala to carry out an external evaluation - in DESECE Organization, Mukuyuni for 2 weeks. During her two weeks she visited beneficiaries from different communities who have benefited from DESECE activities. Furthermore, she held a 2 day workshop in the Conference hall of DESECE to develop a proposal for fundraising of the next two years. We would like to pass our gratitude to Madam Carol for having evaluated our work both at DESECE centre and in the field with our beneficiaries.

DESECE held its annual Peace Tournament in Mitua Primary- Tongaren Sub-county. We would like to thank DESECE Director Madam Sophie Kibuywa for organizing the event, also our sincere gratitudes goes to our Chief Mr.John Juma Okring for hosting the event in his sub-county and all the participants in the various events: dancing competition, volleyball, sack-race, hundred-meter race and football. Lastly, we want to thank our Donors and all the visitors for all their support to make the peace tournament a success.

We are very grateful that more and more institutions, organisations and companies are visiting us and support us in our aim to become self-sufficient from international donors in future. Among our visitors were: 

• Retired teachers Valentine’s retreat meeting on 16th February by 19 people

• Library use on 17th February by 114 pupils

• Library use on 24th February by 24 pupils

• Mrs. Hettie Walters, Fair and Sustainable Advisory Services, Netherlands on 26th February

Thank you very much for your support and we hope to see you again! 

In the middle of February DESECE had the honour of welcoming Mrs. Ulrike Bey from Horizont3000, a developing agency based in Austria. Horizont3000 is a donor of DESECE and has been working closely together with DESECE in the last 10 years in which a lot of goals in different social fields could be achieved. In the beginning Mrs. Bey was taken around at the DESECE centre and had the opportunity to share with DESECE staff on current project interventions. Ulrike Bey, on her side, presented the future project guidelines and focus of Horizont3000 for the upcoming 2 years of co-operation. Mrs Bey got also the chance to meet the board of DESECE while her staying in Kenya and share information and discuss with the board members future projects and guidelines. Finally Mrs. Bey was taken to a group visitation to Kuywa where she got the opportunity to talk to farmer groups, who are one of the beneficiaries of DESECE. Accompanied by a field officer of DESECE Mrs. Bey got an impression of farmers and their family daily work, achievements and also challenges in different areas of life.

On invitation of the Lions Club Kitale District Governor Ann Chubi visited Kitale and in the afternoon she was taken to the DESECE offices. The Govenor Ann Chubi was warmly welcomed by a local Londo women group, showing a procession dance to the dining hall, also  children choir were performing some songs and poems before Governor Ann Chubi was introduced in all the activities of the multi-purpose center. After lunch the event took place in the conference hall of DESECE, where the local community was welcomed by the president of the Lions Club Kitale Madame Eunice Bosibori and could listen to speeches of the Governor, representatives of the parents and also the librarians Mr. Kituyi and Mr. Godfrey. In conclusion the Lions Club Kitale donated books for the library based at the DESECE compound and Governor Ann Chubi planted the tree in the garden of DESECE. 

Dear Hannes, we express our gratitude for time well spent together as a family.  We appreciate your contribution to bring this organization to where it is.  Your invaluable contribution will remain our land mark forever.  We wished to stay with you longer but the demand for your service to humanity is overwhelming.  What we are only left with is to say fare well to you and God bless you in your future endeavors.

The community library situated at DESECE serves community children in the area of Mukuyuni. At this special day the Lions Club members of Kitale were visiting the library and donated books for reading and snacks for children.  At the end a group picture together with the happy children  was taken.

Children of the community are happy about the visit of Lions Club Kitale

Students of Maliki School came to visit DESECE in the end of October. The reason for the visit was the celebration of finishing their secondary education. No wonder that they were all happy and impressed seeing the work of DESECE.

Emmanuel Kizito, the Program Officer of DESECE and Catherine Nyongesa, the Assistant of the Human Rights Officer went to Kampala in Uganda to attend a training and sharing event in capacity development and policy dialogue. The three days in Uganda were very intensive but gave the DESECE members a sound background in the mentioned subjects above, beside this there was enough time to share experience with and learn from others participants.

Participants of the  consortia Policy Dialogue in Kampala, Uganda

Two DESECE staff members Mr. Isaac Wambulwa and Elizabeth Wafula visited St. Joseph's Kitgum Hospital in Uganda to learn more about the use of ecosan toilets.  They were introduced to all the facilities for the hospital’s solid waste disposal, waste water treatment plant and included the bio-hazard medical wastes maintenance units (incinerator, placenta pit and the medical pit).  Thereafter they were able to train the entire staff of DESECE on human waste management.

DESECE staff and beneficiaries attended Kitale National show. Both teams were privileged to learn new technologies in farming business, marketing and processing industries.  Staff members and beneficiaries are putting now into practice the information obtained from the show with different exhibitors.

DESECE in partnership with Tools to Work tool bank programme was giving sewing machines to VTCs (Kitale, Kiminini and Andersen).  The machines will help the students during their practical training and for self-sustainability afterwards. 

Managers, instructors and students are happy to receive the sewing machines

Aktion Regen - an Austrian Organisation which developed a new approach for sexual and reproductive health visited us in October again for a training for rainworkers. Dr. Jutta Reisinger an Austrian medical doctor and Margaret Bachlechner, a Kenyan/Austrian citizen try to inform girls, boys, women and men about their body, menstruation cycle, fertility awareness, family planning, safe motherhood, contraceptives and HIV/Aids prevention to enable them taking their lives in their own hands and assure a healthy family.

Dear Christine Baur and Matthias Danninger - and at home in Austria - dear Ursula Scheiber, Fritz Staudigl, Wolfgang Heindl and Franz Hainzl!

After enjoying your company for the last days it is time for us to say thank you: Your assistance - from the Tyrolean Government, Brother & Sister in Need and the Aktion "SEI SO FREI" from Austria - enables DESECE to build a guesthouse with 18 rooms and 36 beds. Since 3 years we are dreaming of this building to become self-sustainable, and your confidence, efforts and generosity made it possible. This was the step which we couldn't await and we cannot tell you how happy you made us. Travel safely for the next weeks and kindly come back soon - that you can enjoy what you have created.

God bless you!

Welcome Dr. Christine Baur, Minister for Children, Youth, Women and Refugees of the Provincial Government of Tyrol!

Traditional dancers from Western Kenya

Group picture from the study group - with Christine and Matthias

Thank you Sebastian Müller for the beautiful pictures!