- Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) Founder and CEO Dr. Kennedy Odede launched the water pans.
- The water pans are spread across villages in Alego Usonga, Bondo, and Rarieda sub-counties.
Image: HANDOUT
Siaya County residents have a reason to smile after an anon-governmental organisation launched tens of water pans in three sub-counties.
Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) Founder and CEO Dr. Kennedy Odede launched the water pans.
The water pans are spread across villages in Alego Usonga, Bondo, and Rarieda sub-counties.
“As SHOFCO, we’ve invested a lot in water harvesting in Siaya County. I’m glad that our well and water pans rehabilitation program has greatly helped the residents of this county who were struggling to get water consistently throughout the year,” Odede said.
Residents living close to water pans are now practicing smart agriculture which is expected to improve food production and provide livelihoods for the residents.
“Embracing agroecology, fish farming and sustainable farming practices is not just about feeding families today, it's about securing a resilient future for future generations.
“I was impressed to see farmers practising irrigation agriculture, hence making use of drylands that were initially unproductive,” he added.
This week alone, the SHOFCO boss launched 28 water pans in the county.
He launched 12 others earlier in the year.
“Reaching 40 water pans in Siaya County is a powerful indication of what we can achieve when communities lead the way.
“As we face the challenges of climate change, we must work hand-in-hand with local communities to develop sustainable solutions,” Odede stated.
Jennifer Akoth from Papote village in East Asembo, Rarieda Constituency thanked SHOFCO for rehabilitating the water pan in her area which she said had been abandoned.
“We used to experience flooding in this village because we didn’t have a water pan to collect rainwater. SHOFCO has really helped us in collecting flood waters for our use during the dry season,” Akoth said.
She further said the water has also enabled farmers in the village to do smart agriculture and avoid relying on rain to plant vegetables.
Image: HANDOUT
“Right now, we can plant vegetables such as cabbages, Sukuma wiki and tomatoes without necessary waiting for the rain to come. We have enough water to do irrigation,” she said.
Another beneficiary Leonard Obado from Nyakondo village in North Ramba Ward said they used to walk for kilometres to fetch water for domestic use.
“We used to have water challenges in this village. With the rehabilitation of this water pan, we can now access water easily.
“The pan is now full due to April-May rains. We used to experience flooding and within a short time, water would be gone and we continue experiencing water shortage. That is no longer the case now,” Obado said.
During his development tour of the county, Dr. Odede also launched a new 3-storey community centre in Bondo constituency on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
The new centre hosts a community hall, a school library and women empowerment activities such as tailoring and beads making.
“We have 168,000 Shofco Urban Network (SUN) members in this county and they are the ones who tell us what needs to be given priority.
“Our programs are community-led and that’s what has enabled us to focus on projects that touch the lives of the people,” he said during the launch of the centre.
In June this year, the SHOFCO founder also launched another 3-storey community resource centre in Siaya town.
Last year, SHOFCO distributed maize seeds to over 10,000 residents of Siaya County and sponsored 300 youths to join TVET institutions to pursue technical courses.
The organization has also been organizing youth tournaments in the county.