Fun and games in the field

My name is Dennis Okoth Otieno. I am a founding board member of Happy Villages.

A couple of weeks ago I started a new full time job as an agro-forester. The organization I am working for works only for the benefit of orphans and vulnerable children through their guardians. But it also operates in a holistic way, in a specific geographical area, so in some ways it is similar to Happy Villages.

The work is challenging. I have realized that working in this field it is impossible to forget that we are in the midst of famine. I go out and work with the community to help them learn how to grow their own food and look after their environment. It is very difficult in this area at this time because rainfall has been so low this year. A teenager admitted to me the other day that the reason they didn’t go to school was because there was no food in the house – they had little energy for anything but trying to find something to eat. It’s very sad.

My workmates and I also run a program of psychosocial support for orphans. On Saturdays we meet with about 350 of them to play games, have lunch together and sing. The purpose is to make sure we know the vulnerable children in the area and can try to address any problems they have. I was shocked to realize how many orphans there are in such a small area.

A number of the children try to enjoy the games while also keeping one eye on the food. They are too afraid to move away and play freely because they cannot afford to miss out on that meal of beans and maize.

At the last games day I was so moved when I saw a little girl of about four or five with her baby brother. I had already met her mother, a volunteer cook, and knew that they’d lost her father not too long ago. It was so cute when she clutched her brother’s hand, put a big smile on her face and brought him into the games saying, “Come on, we are here to be happy.” And for a little while they were.

The best experience I have had so far in the job was meeting the community health workers last week. One old grandmother stood up and said, “Since the non-governmental organizations started working here, infant mortality has gone down drastically. The mothers know how to prevent illnesses and know what to do when children get sick. Before these organizations came we were losing our babies.”

I look forward to the day when the mamas from our Happy Village can say something similar.

Here’s to the end of extreme poverty.

Kind regards,
Dennis