Common Ground Program

Common Ground Program (CGP) is a registered Kenyan non-governmental community-based organization with its headquarters in Kitale, Kenya. CGP's mission is to help mitigate poverty, the single largest threat to human well-being and social stability in Kenya. Poverty breeds hunger, disease, illiteracy and environmental degradation. It also sharpens civil conflicts. To this end, CGP strives to reduce poverty while conserving the Earth's natural heritage and biodiversity, and to demonstrate in a concrete, observable way that modern human societies can live sustainably and comfortably in harmony with nature.

CGP founded and operates a primary school (Pathfinder Academy) with grades 1-8, with over 360 students, mainly orphans and vulnerable children. Each year students and faculty go out to groups such as AIDS widows groups to teach them Biointensive growing methods in order to help them become self-reliant and attain food security. As a result of its community service, the school has received awards from the Ministry of Education for four consecutive years for being the best school in reaching out to communities. Experiences gained at Pathfinder Academy have been shared with many others through local media and international forums, which are being replicated in Tanzania, Zambia, Nepal and UK.

CGP works with communities to use and adapt their existing technologies and resources; helps strengthen local institutions; uses participatory methodologies; brings in expertise to focus on the needs of the community; is gender sensitive; promotes income generation; promotes environmental protection; and implements childhood education and protection programs.



Projects

What we have achieved (1995-2007)

Five Year Goals (2008-2012)

Biointensive (Organic) Agriculture

· Trained 37, 600 farmers

· Serve 19 primary schools' 4K clubs

· Catalyst 2-3 meals a day

· Develop a 10-acre training and research farm

· Train 16,000 additional families

· Catalyst Biointensive farming in Africa and Asia

Education

· Establishment of a primary school

· 292 orphan/needy primary pupils

· Sponsored 13 orphan/needy students in secondary school and 1 in a medical college.

· Make Pathfinder Academy self-sustaining school

· Construct 2 dormitories for 160 students, 7 classrooms, library, kitchen and a dining hall.

· Provide vocational and computer training

· Primary orphan/needy children sponsorship

· Continue school-community service programme

· Provide secondary education to needy students through sponsorship or partnering in establishing a secondary school.

Economic Development and Women's empowerment

· Empowered 64 women with business skills and loans

· Assisted 2 women to legally inherit their late husband's properties.

· Established a stable micro-finance institution in Kenya with over 3000 clients operating small businesses from the current 64 clients.

· Promote women rights to property inheritance

· Launch income generating projects for orphans and vulnerable children e.g. poultry and dairy at school and in villages.

· Establish community co-operative marketing Center.

Environment/Conservation

· Planted 1.1m trees and catalyst 350 home and 1 larger community tree nurseries

· Training and promotion of use of natural remedies

· Rehabilitated 40 acres of degraded land in Pokot district.

· Adoption of tree planting by at least 1000 families

· 1500 others will have adopted new techniques in soils water conservation-measures.

· Over a million trees planted.

Health and HIV/AIDS (education, water, sanitation, clinic)

· Protected 7 water springs

· Constructed 10 storage water tanks and 798 pit latrines

· Construction of a clinic

· Theatre plays on HIV/AIDS

· Operate a clinic serving 30-100 outpatients per day

· Provide clean water to the community by digging 30 shallow well.

· Develop Stay Alive programs



Contact information: Common Ground Program. PO Box 2487 Kitale 30200 Kenya. Tel: 254 720 626 482 Email:tcground@gmail.com. www.villagevolunteers.org – go to Village Programs, Click on Kenya then Common Ground Program.