Chwele Community Development Project Summary

(Chwele Health Clinic & Namwela Sister School)

Chwele, Kenya

Introduction

Grace Kuto, co-founder and Vice President of the Harambee Centre, was born and raised in Chwele, Kenya.  Situated in western Kenya near the Ugandan border, Chwele is a rural village with a local market where people come from other regions and ethnic groups to buy and sell goods on market days.  There are approximately 57,000 people living in the surrounding Chwele area.  Residents in the area suffer from poverty and food insecurity due to ineffective agricultural management systems, malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other education and economic factors.  Since 1994, Grace, her husband Paul, and their daughters have been working with the Chwele community to expand health and educational opportunities in the area.  The Harambee Centre continues their work to help the community realize improved health and educational facilities.

History

In 1994, Grace and Paul Kuto traveled to Chwele to listen to the needs of the community.  The community identified better health services as their most critical priority.  At the time the community was served by a one-room, out-dated health clinic built in 1948 by Quaker missionaries.  After returning to Portland, OR Grace finished and published Harambee! African Family Circle Cookbook.  Proceeds from the sale of the book were donated to Chwele for the construction of a new health clinic.  In 1998, Grace met Jackie Goldrick who had lived in Kenya and worked as the U.S. Ambassador’s self-help development coordinator.  Together, they raised money to make the new Chwele Health Clinic a reality.  In 2000, the new eight room clinic was completed and dedicated, and began providing primary and basic preventative healthcare services to the community. 

Today, the clinic is a certified center for HIV/AIDS testing, counseling, and free drug dispensing with in-home follow-ups.  In addition, it responds to a wide range of community health care needs, including childhood immunization, malaria prevention and treatment, water-born disease

prevention and treatment, nutrition education, and family planning services.  It is a major preventative healthcare education center for schools, churches, and other community groups.  During the clinic’s first year of operations, 284 patients were treated each month.  Today, approximately 1000 patients each month receive some type of healthcare service.  As a result of the clinic’s malaria prevention and treatment program, the prevalence of malaria has been reduced by 40% in the community.  The clinic is now staffed by two registered nurses, a part-time Clinical Officer, two part-time attendants, and a lab technician.                                                                                                        

Current Work                                                                                             

The Harambee Centre is beginning a third phase of work at Chwele that includes the construction and establishment of a community center and a micro-credit program.  The cost of the center is estimated at $150,000 (US$).  Harambee has received a $50,000 matching challenge grant from an anonymous donor for the center.  The center will provide facilities for healthcare education, business and vocational services, and housing for health clinic staff, international volunteers and visitors.  Harambee has partnered with World Vision to establish the micro-credit program.  Both organizations are currently raising the $82,000 necessary to establish the World Vision program.  This program will provide much needed training and capital to start income-generating businesses and stimulate the growth of the local economy.

In 2006, Harambee began working with Namwela Senior Secondary School in Chwele to improve the quality of education for its students.  Namwela is part of Harambee’s Sister School Program and has a sister school relationship with West Linn High School in West Linn, OR.  Through this program, Harambee supports infrastructure development that will result in improved quality of education and students’ performance at Namwela.

Grace Kuto also continues her love of cooking and development work through inspirational African cultural dinner presentations.