SWECF Kenya 2021 Challenge

With your support, we can make a valuable and lasting impact to the lives of people in Kenya.

After a very successful 2020, we at Soil, Water & Environmental Conservation Foundation (SWECF Kenya) are now attempting to deliver our most ambitious programme yet. 2021 brings us many opportunities to deliver small-scale, low-cost water development and environmental conservation projects to support life and prosperity of rural communities.

The 2021 Challenge brings together three key areas of focus for our activities in 2021. At SWECF are an NGO aiming to reduce poverty and promote sustainable development through the use of local resources and community engagement. Our projects are undertaken across Kitui County and Northern Kenya in collaboration with self help groups and community partners. We are here to actually deliver what communities in arid and semi-arid areas need! Whether it be access to improved water supplies or planting trees to combat regional climate change, we work directly with our communities many of whom voluntarily participate in our projects.

Our Vision and Purpose

“SWECF creates foundations for self-confident and prosperous people and communities”

Our Mission

"To improve the lives of rural communities whilst harnessing the services of the natural environment"

Our mission is to support local communities, particularly the rural communities of Northern and Eastern Kenya. To deliver localised environmental projects which utilise the knowledge and skills of our staff and communities. To encourage community participation throughout the project lifecycle and to deliver our ambitious afforestation programme and sand dam projects.

2021 Challenge projects:

Sand Dams

Building a sand dam could provide local water sources to up to 1,500 people. These sand dams will provide a cleaner supply for domestic and agricultural uses. Sand dams are a simple, low-cost/low-maintenance rainwater harvesting technique and a great solution to water scarcity issues in arid dryland environments. Not only do the dams provide direct benefits for human use but they also generate wider ecological benefits due to increased water tables that can improve soils and surrounding riparian zones.

1. Mwitasyano Community

We and the Mwitasyano community are proposing a sand dam project and accompanying shallow well to provide a more accessible water source for the community. The project will be based in Machakos County and will be delivered by ourselves, local self help group and community partners. The total cost to deliver this sand dam is estimated to be £1,108.92. Breakdown of costs is seen below:

2. Ikuuni Community

We and the Ikuuni community are proposing a sand dam project and accompanying shallow well to provide a more accessible water source for the community. The project will be based in Mwingi, Kitui County and will be delivered by ourselves, local self help group and community partners. The total cost to deliver this sand dam is estimated to be £1,672.01. Breakdown of costs is seen below:

School Garden Project (Afforestation Programme) Joint Partnership Project - Seed of Life Foundation

We also undertake an ambitious afforestation and environmental education project in partnership with a charity known as The Seed Of Life Foundation from the USA. This is tailored around providing important education sessions on environmental conservation and local issues such as deforestation and soil erosion. This is targeted at both schools and local community members in order to help educate all generations and provide practical learning for school children. Alongside the teaching sessions we also conduct tree planting at specific schools so that they can put their learning to practice. So far approximately 500 community members have received this training (and have received certificates for doing so) and have planted 11,139 trees. Many of which include local fruit trees that will provide nutritional benefits to school children and local communities.

In order to deliver multiple sessions each and every month of 2021, to procure seedlings and conduct planting sessions we require a total annual budget of £2,861.98. This is based on a monthly budget of 35,000 ksh per month which also includes travel costs, training costs, and materials.

Operational & NGO Establishment/Registration

In 2021 we are planning to officially register SWECF with the Kenyan Governments NGOs Coordination Board. This will mean that SWECF will be licensed nationally with the government. This is a huge milestone in our charity endeavours and will provide many opportunities moving forward. In addition to this, we are also raising funds for our operational costs. This includes our office and equipment supplies which will improve coordination of our projects. The total figure to achieve all of this is approximately £1,315.72.

Our Management Team

We whole-heartedly appreciate any support our donors can provide. There is no middle man and all funds go to project and operational costs of SWECF Kenya. We are a small organisation and have already made a big impact as seen by our successful programmes in 2020 - with your help we can achieve our 2021 Challenge and deliver the most ambitious programme ever. We hope to bring cleaner, more accessible water supplies to rural communities and to help improve environmental conservation in the areas in which we operate.

Our Invitation

If you would like further information/discussion about our work and the proposed projects that we have, please email us at swecf100@gmail.com or contact our chairman at c_hughes1@hotmail.co.uk. We are also encouraging donors to visit the projects in which they donate to, so please let us know if this is something that you would like to do!

Please visit our website at SWECF Kenya Website