We know that our consultants impact our clients, but they are also busy impacting our global
community!
Last month, KellyMitchell consultant, Sherry Muth, visited Ngaamba, Kenya, putting her project management skills to work in a community service capacity. Through her service trip, Sherry’s team provided resources to help the community of Ngaamba West that sustain education in the region.
“The Ngaamba community is a semi-arid, hilly area with a population of around 10,000 people,” Sherry describes. “Ngaamba West (where we visited) is a very isolated and poor section of Ngaamba. It is bordered on one side by the railroad and on the other by a series of deep gullies formed when heavy rains wash through the area. These gullies make access very difficult.”
The main goal of the service trip was to construct a multi-purpose greenhouse. The greenhouse provides an opportunity for school children to learn agriculture, produces free school lunches, creates economic opportunity, and sustains education.
“Many children come to school without lunch, making it difficult for them to focus and learn in the afternoons,” Sherry says. “What is not used to feed the children will be sold and the money used for school supplies.”
Because parents have to pay for their children to attend school, not everyone can afford to attend. By selling produce through the greenhouse, parents will no longer have to pay for their children to attend school, allowing more children to receive an education.
Sherry’s background as a project manager played a role in leading the Rejoice Project, focusing on teaching the school children of West Ngaamba the “virtue of the month” through group activities.
“I was in charge of the Rejoice Project and had to facilitate the group to determine the project goal and activities, then break it down into tasks and assign roles,” Sherry says. “My organization and facilitation skills assisted greatly in this project.”
Though Ngaamba West is a very poor community, what surprised Sherry most about the trip was the positive attitude surrounding the school.
“What surprised me most about this trip is how happy and grateful everyone is, especially the children. The kids don’t have much but they make do with what they have. They make a ball out of string and play soccer or basketball. There was a child born without legs and the community made him a wheelchair. At school, it was the children who pushed him around and made sure he was included in everything – the adults didn’t have to look out for him at all.”
Sherry had a great experience in Kenya, and is hoping to embark on a medical service trip next year.
Thanks so much to Sherry for sharing her story with us!