A team of eight people from Farmers Helping Farmers is now in Kenya where they are working on a number of new and ongoing development projects.
Dr. John van Leeuwen from the Atlantic Veterinary College, along with three fourth- year veterinary students have been helping the dairy farmers in the Wakulima Group as well as the Embu Group to improve the health of dairy cows and calves. They took donated veterinary pharmaceuticals for their work valued at $30,000. Anna Portnoy from Bonshaw, Prince Edward Island, Olivia Harvey, Petitcodiac, New Brunswick and Andrea Dube, Lake Echo, Nova Scotia, are putting into practice their veterinary training. This international rotation gives them experience working in a developing country while they help Kenyan farmers. They are receiving support from the Atlantic Veterinary College, Pfizer, Wyeth, Schering, Intervet as well as Vets Without Borders and the World Vet Congress Foundation.
Danny Bondt from Kingston is visiting all four Farmers Helping Farmers projects. As a semi-retired dairy farmer, he has enjoyed working with the dairy farmers in the Embu project and showing them how to get more milk from the cows by feeding them better.
Ken Mellish from New Perth has been working with the dairy farmers at the Wakluima project to oversee the installation of a heat exchanger at the dairy plant. The exchanger will take the heat from the warm milk as it is cooled, to produce warm water to be used for the washing of milk cans. Clean milk cans contribute to improving the quality of the milk. He has also been working with farmers to install bio-gas digesters which will use manure to produce bio-gas for fuel to cook food.
Mellish has also working with the Muchui women to identify drought-resistant crops which will grow better in the very dry area in which they live.
Teresa Mellish from New Perth has been embarking on a new venture for Farmers Helping Farmers. She has been assessing the health of the members of the Muchui Womens Group. She took with her medical supplies valued at $11,000 to the hospital and Meru clinic. The supplies are donated by Health Partners International of Canada. In addition, she has been working with the Ruuju women to develop a project. These women now support the project at the Ruuju Primary School in Marega where over 400 children are being provided with a school lunch using the vegetables they have grown on the school property with funds provided by Farmers Helping Farmers and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). She has also been visiting the twinned schools and delivering the funds raised through a special promotion to experience Kenya for Christmas.
Heather Angell from Grand Pre, Nova Scotia has been evaluating the projects funded by Farmers Helping Farmers. This is required by CIDA which has matched the funds raised by Farmer Helping Farmers for these projects.
Islanders are invited to follow the activities of the Farmers Helping Farmers team in Kenya by reading their blogs. Members have been posting reports which can be found on the Farmers Helping Farmers website at www.farmershelpingfarmers.ca The report can be found on the website home page by clicking on the Kenya 2007 Journal.