Josephine Chavaseki, fearless facilitator

Since The 1010 Project began its work in Kenya about 6 years ago a great deal has been done. This is evident because there are now about 20 community-based organizations (CBOs) who are partners with The 1010 Project. The CBOs are located in different places in Kenya, with a big percentage in the city slums of Nairobi (Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho, Kayole, and Mukuru kwa Njenga). More programs and people are joining the story of The 1010 Project to break the poverty cycle.

Some achievements:

• Establishment of a network of Kenyan CBOs and FBOs (faith-based organizations)
• Establishment of long-lasting relationships built on friendship
• Partners monthly meetings (sharing of experiences and ideas has allowed us to learn from each other)
• Support from The 1010 Project international office (Denver)
• Annual visits by staff and interns from the international office
• Willful support and participation by the community

The Global Entrepreneur Academy has brought a new perception of The 1010 Project. The new outlook is very educational and people are very willing to get the knowledge on how to break the poverty cycle through social entrepreneurship.

The beauty of the GEA is that it empowers the people and mitigates the “dependency syndrome” that can accompany international development. The training module is well designed and we look forward to a time when the people shall not need any support from The 1010 Project because they shall be able to meet their own personal needs.

Since we began the GEA in October 2010, at least 15 people have been trained and they are in turn going to disseminate the entrepreneurial skills to the members of their individual CBOs. It is very encouraging to see the business ideas they have and also the passion for breaking the poverty cycle.

Our vision for 2011 is to see that we train at least 50 CBO and FBO leaders and we look forward to training at least 100 members of the community on income-generating activities. This will include business planning, marketing, booking and savings.

Thank you. Join the story. Break the poverty cycle.

-Josephine Chavaseki

Community Leaders in Western Kenya & 1010 Team - Dec 2010 (Jeff at far right)

Jeff Messer, Trustee for our Board of Directors, just returned from Kenya and wrote this article about the experience. He is also matching donations through Dec. 31 up to $1000 through his coaching business, The Entrepreneur’s Source. Invest today!

The mantra we heard continually as we spoke to partners and prospective partners alike was that they needed training. Many of the leaders of these CBOs (Community Based Organizations) are individuals with little or no business training. They have been called to the ministries they currently run and often lack the skills and basic business education needed to deal with these operations. I was constantly surprised by their ingenuity and resourcefulness given their circumstances but we heard time and time again, “if we just had training we could do so much more.” This theme was summarized by the comment of one leader: “Ours is not a poverty of resources but a poverty of information”…

That theme continued as we traveled up to the rural areas around Lake Victoria. There was probably no more impactful experience than the day we sat in a small rural church built from sticks, mud and manure, in front of about 80 men and women representing two community self help groups. Both had already begun their own micro-finance operations. We listened as they begged us to assist them to “drive away ignorance” with education and then provide them with resources to break the cycle of their poverty. Here were a group of women and men with the drive, ambition and desire to change their circumstance. They were not waiting on us. They had already taken steps to move beyond their situation. But they were boldly asking for the proverbial “hand up” not just a hand out. It was humbling and inspiring.

This season don’t give a gift, make an investment in ending the poverty of information.