I just wanted to send over a brief update on how the KTCT’s generous donation has been used to date. We are really excited by the impact that we expect the project to have on the sustainability of our work. I will send a further update in 3 months time once the project has started to generate income t support our work:
Chance to Grow empowers disadvantaged young people in Kitale, Kenya to improve their own lives and create positive change for future generations.
To achieve this we:
Unlock existing potential – Build local solutions – Create global connections
We work in collaboration with locally run organisations, the children and young people that we support and international charities in order to maximise our reach and tackle locally identified needs. Children are placed at the centre of our decision making process and we regular consult them to assess their needs and the developments they would like to see.
Grant update
Your generous donation of £6,526 made on 13/08/2015 has enabled us to complete the
construction of a two tiered poultry house and run that will eventually house up to 500 chickens and generate significant income to support our work. We have constructed the house on two levels so that when chicks, purchased or hatched out, develop the males not being used for layers can be kept separate and sold for meat when they reach optimum size.
Between the two floors and under the bottom floor we have placed corrugated iron sheets so that manure can easily be collected and used to produce compost for the organic farming demonstration site next to the poultry house.
We have started with 200 chickens initially as we develop the skills of staff. We have also purchased an egg incubator and hatchery, which we expect to arrive in the next few weeks. This will allow us to incubate and hatch out our own eggs to develop our stock and to increase profit from some of the eggs produced.
Income
Our first batch of 200 chickens are now 14 weeks old and we expect the project to begin
generating income to contribute to staff wages by the end of March through the sale of eggs and the sale of excess male chickens for meat. We should also have hatched out our first batch of eggs from our incubator by this stage which will allow us to increase the size of our flock and make use of the second floor of the poultry house. By the end of 2016 we expect the project to be running at full capacity and generating over 1,200,000 KES profit per annum.
Training
Young people from the community are already benefitting from learning to look after the chickens and developing vital skills, and this training will be extended to schools in the areas as the project develops. Once we have our hatchery, layers hens, and birds for meat we will begin delivering training to local farmers in partnership with locally run organisations who are able to offer micro finance so that farmers can replicate our work. The poultry house has been carefully designed so that it can be cheaply replicated by small scale farmers on a smaller scale, while also benefitting other areas of their farm through the capture of manure.
Henry’s story
As mentioned in our application Henry came to Great Mercy when he was 13. Henry had
not been going to school because his family could not afford school fees and as a result Henry could not speak English and was unable to read and write. With our help Great Mercy were able to provide Henry with free education and the one to one support that he needed.
In December 2014 Henry graduated from secondary school and expressed an interest in a career in agriculture. In February 2015 Henry started a 15 month course in a diverse range of farming techniques at Manor House Agriculture Centre, funded by Chance to Grow. On completion of his course Henry will be employed as Great Mercy’s farm manager and will offer training to students and the local community. During construction and initial set up of the poultry project Henry came to us for a placement period so that he could experience the process of setting up the project, vaccinating chicks and looking after them to ensure that he has had practical experience to support the training that he will deliver.
Workshop
Due to an improvement in the exchange rate at the time of transferring funds to our
Kenyan account we were able to increase the impact of your donation and use excess funds for the development of a new temporary structure for a workshop. This workshop was used by staff to cut the materials needed themselves and build the poultry house with limited supervision. The workshop has since been used to develop a tree seedling project on the available farm land and for the construction of 30 new beds for Great Mercy School and home. Students at the school helped to make these beds in order to develop further vital vocational skills.
Thank you
On behalf of all of the young people and families that will benefit from your generous donation, thank you! I look forward to sending a further update in the coming months as the project develops.
