Mwingi NGO helping fight illiteracy, poverty

The failure of short rains and long rains in Kitui county has left many residents on the brink of starvation.

Many other families are without a means of eking out a living due to Covid-19 restrictions which have rendered them jobless.

Vision Together Foundation, an NGO operating in Kitui county is providing some support. 

The NGO has chipped in to help pay school fees for needy learners and supply their guardians with essential food commodities.  

In addition, the NGO has been supplying needy families with goats and cattle to boost their financial security through livestock farming.

The NGO took its services to Kamusiliu area in Kyuso, where vulnerable families were supplied with food and goats.

Patrick Mwendwa, the CEO of  Vision Together Foundation, said that his NGO is targeting to sponsor over 25,000 pupils in Kitui, Taita Taveta, Makueni, Embu and Tharaka Nithi counties. 

Mwendwa said the objective is to alleviate poverty and illiteracy in the community by giving hope to learners from vulnerable backgrounds.

"This is a pilot programme being conducted in five counties and once we achieve our target of sponsoring 25,000 children in the five countries, we will expand to other countries," he said. 

Mwendwa who hails from Kitui says that having been brought up in the county, he understands the state of poverty there. He is determined to ensure that the state of affairs changes for good.

Lydia Munyambu, one of the beneficiaries, lauded the NGO for its operations in the area and called for more support.

The Covid-19 pandemic has hugely affected the sources of livelihood in Mwingi, she said. 

Geoffrey Muimi, a resident of Kamusiliu in Kyuso, said that the little they are getting was very crucial in improving their lives as many learners from the area have been offered sponsorship by the organisation.

Koli Muthui said she will rear the goat to produce more and help her educate her children. Only education will save them as rainfall has proved unreliable and can no longer rely on farming, she said.

Kitui County Parents’ Association chair Muyanga Kinyangu lauded the NGO for seeing the needs of Kitui residents and coming to their rescue.

He requested area residents to accord the NGO maximum support so that it may deliver to its mandate.