Feed and Empower Domestic Violence Survivors-Kenya

As the COVID pandemic continues, the leadership and staff at Agatha Amani House (AAH) have been intentional in implementing strict health guidelines within the compound and limiting staff and residents to only essential travel outside in the community. Any workers coming in from the community to assist with projects are also required to abide by these same guidelines. Thus far, Agatha Amani House has remained free from COVID.

 We are once again accepting new survivors to our shelter by providing them a separate quarantine room for 14 days before joining the residents in the main house. To date, the room has been used for 3 new survivors and their babies.

 Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Agatha Amani House is filled with excitement and activity. One reason is the addition of a new underground biogas digester that provides sufficient energy for our cooking and heating needs. Two new cows, along with our existing three, provide the necessary fuel for the larger biogas digester and offer us the opportunity to sell the excess milk in the community. The cattle shed has been expanded to accommodate our new cows, and a “loft” is being built above it for storage.

 Construction is underway on an environmentally-friendly TAKATAKA House on the grounds in order to provide an additional room and office. Non-biodegradable materials such as plastics, glass, and polythene papers are put within the walls for insulation, then covered with a mixture of mud and straw – a process where everyone can help. The completed structure is one in which we all can take pride.                                                                                                   

Most exciting is the news is that Agatha Amani House has purchased an adjoining acre of land after a lengthy process of negotiation, title search and transfer. We will take physical possession as of January 1, 2021. The additional land will provide increased capacity for our permaculture farm, and expanded programs and services for survivors and their children in the future.

 A recent graduate of Agatha Amani House, Neema (not her real name) came to AAH experiencing severe depression and paranoia, which had resulted in her baby being taken from her. AAH helped arrange crucial mental health intervention, while providing psychosocial support and care. With her improvement, AAH accompanied Neema to court where she was successful in regaining custody of her child. She is currently employed and living safely and independently.

 In these difficult times, we are more grateful than ever to those generous donors who support our work to provide healthy futures for survivors of gender-based violence.

Links:

• https://www.empoweringmindsinternational.org

Our work at Agatha Amani House goes on during the three-month  lockdown due to COVID-19. We continue to serve our current residents, but have not taken new survivors into the shelter since the virus outbreak due to risk of infection. We utilize remote screening to advise survivors in the community of the options and resources available to them. 

 AAH is grateful to be approved for a GlobalGiving microgrant to address challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning is underway to build a quarantine room separate from the shelter house where we can house and safely integrate new residents, as well as our furloughed staff members as they return.

 Self-sufficiency is a goal we strive for, and it has been a benefit during these challenging times. Cultivating crops and livestock within the shelter compound have provided for most of our food needs. Through a grant from Urgent Action Fund-Africa, we are constructing a new biogas digester to replace our old one, which will better generate sufficient clean energy for heating and cooking.  The grant also covers the purchase of two additional cows and an expansion of the cowshed.

 In the midst of these challenges, we celebrate the success of one of our graduates. Imani (not her real name) fled an abusive marriage with her child. The fact that she is deaf created an additional barrier to independence, but during her time at Agatha Amani House, she was able to heal and to develop strength and resiliency. She is now self-sufficient, working in a mini-factory which allows her to provide for herself and her child.  

 As AAH strives to adapt to a “new normal”, we are grateful to those donors who support our work to provide healing and hope to the survivors of gender-based violence.

Links:

• https://www.empoweringmindsinternational.org