Woman tills tiny piece of land to fame

[Guest guest]

Woman tills tiny piece of land to fame ________________________________

By Harold Ayodo Her slender fingers do not reflect the status of a

successful farmer who has bagged international awards and millions of

shillings.

Her humble demeanour also belies her grand ideas that have changed

lives. But Ms Fidelis Wainaina can be ranked among the models the

world needs to feed the hungry. She has earned the accolades despite

running a demonstration farm on a tiny piece of land near the equator

in Maseno, Kisumu.

Ms Fidelis Wainaina displays a banana crop at her farm in Maseno,

Kisumu. She won an international award this year and a Sh7.5 million

cash prize for training tens of thousands of households on how to reap

maximum yields from their farms, no matter the size. Picture by Titus

MunalaHer hard work has earned her a Sh7.5 million cash prize, and

international invitations to teach the world how to farm.

As developing nations struggle to achieve the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) by 2015, Wainaina has proved her contribution in ensuring

food security. She has combined work with philanthropy by helping

widows and orphans cultivate their land sustainably.

For this, she is the holder of this year's African Green Revolution

Yara Prize. She won the award jointly with the founder and president

of the General Union of Agricultural Co-operatives in Mozambique, Ms

Selina Cossa, who will also pocket Sh7.5 million.

Wainaina is also a winner of the Fellowship Award (2004)

from the Rotary Foundation. The award is in appreciation of " tangible

and significant assistance for the understanding and friendly

relations among people of the world and Canada " .

Sustainable food supplies

The former agriculture teacher founded Maseno Inter-Christian Child

Self Help Group in 1999 to train widows and orphans on good

agricultural practices.

" I had worked in a children's' home in Kisumu for over five years and

understood their problems, " she says.

Wainaina, who will receive the Sh7.5 million award in Oslo, Norway, on

September 2, has received invitations to deliver talks on agriculture.

" I will present the talks in Scandinavian countries and the UK, " says

the soft-spoken woman.

Wainaina says Kenya can produce sustainable food supplies and export some.

" It is not expensive to practice good farming with the little one has.

A large portion of our land is fertile and we can become

self-reliant, " she says.

Cossa, who like Wainaina is a former schoolteacher, has empowered

thousands of Zambian small-scale farmers to generate sustainable food

stocks.

Wainaina says she did not expect to receive the prestigious award, set

up to recognize efforts aimed at achieving the MDGs and a " Green

Revolution in Africa " .

" I read the letter bearing the good news in disbelief, " she says.

Presentation at UN workshop

The award is given annually to individuals who have shown excellence

in the fight against hunger and poverty, towards the achievement of

the MDGs. Wainaina will stay in Europe for a month after receiving the

award, which will be presented by the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign

Affairs, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro.

She says she has helped families, which previously harvested only one

bag of maize, to harvest about 10 bags from the same piece of land.

" A quarter-acre piece of land can sustain a family of five or more, " she says.

Her tiny farm, which is frequented by small-scale farmers, lies on a

quarter-acre piece of land along the Kisumu-Busia Road. Here, she

rears chickens, cows and goats and has planted vegetables.

Her recognition stems from statistics showing that women in Africa own

less than one per cent of the land but produce 80 per cent of the

food. Women also receive less than 10 per cent of credit advanced to

small-scale farmers.

Wainaina's inspiration was driven a notch higher last year when she

received a standing ovation after making a presentation at a United

Nations workshop in the US, attended by UN Secretary-General Kofi

n, among other dignitaries.

" Following a request by the UN Task Force on Food Security and Hunger,

I presented a paper on reviving agricultural extension services, " she

says.

Gender revolution

The presentation could not have come at a better time — in the

presence of n — who has argued that a " green revolution " will

happen in Africa only if there is a " gender revolution " . This means

that women have to be empowered to own land to exploit it fully.

When she was an agriculture teacher at Vihiga Boys' High School,

Wainaina transformed the school farm into a vibrant asset, making the

institution depend on it wholly for food.

" I involved students in the project, to make it a success, " says Wainaina.

But a longing to become a philanthropist finally saw her put down

chalk in 1995 and apply for a two-year unpaid leave to learn community

service.

She started working with street children while still studying and

resigned as a teacher in 2000 and began sensitising families ravaged

by HIV/Aids on sustainable livelihoods.

" While I was a teacher, some orphans remained in school during

holidays, saying they had no food at home. I found this strange since

most of Western Kenya is fertile, " she says.

Breaking cycle of famine and starvation

Wainaina, who is nicknamed Nyar Okuyu (daughter of the Kikuyu) by

villagers, says the plight of widows and orphans inspired her to take

her philanthropy seriously.

" I did not see the need to establish an orphanage. Confining

disadvantaged minors to an institution would not help them, " she says.

Wainaina, whose childhood ambition was to be a medical doctor, says

there are about 320 children's homes catering mainly for Aids orphans

in Kisumu District. She adds that over 70 per cent of street children

in the area hail from the neighbouring Chavakali, Mbale, Luanda and

Emusire in Vihiga District.

Her work involves visiting homes headed by orphans and widows to teach

them good farming practices. She travels with a few field officers.

" We have covered about 10,000 households without funding since we

began our project in 1999, " says Wainaina, whose role model is Nobel

Peace Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai.

She joined Maathai's Green Belt Movement in the early 1980s. But her

journey up has not been without challenges. She was initially shunned

by some people for being a member of the Greenbelt Movement, which was

perceived as a political outfit.

But hers is an example that should be emulated by other farmers to

break the cycle of famine and starvation in the country.

By Harold Ayodo Her slender fingers do not reflect the status of a

successful farmer who has bagged international awards and millions of

shillings.

Her humble demeanour also belies her grand ideas that have changed

lives. But Ms Fidelis Wainaina can be ranked among the models the

world needs to feed the hungry. She has earned the accolades despite

running a demonstration farm on a tiny piece of land near the equator

in Maseno, Kisumu.

Ms Fidelis Wainaina displays a banana crop at her farm in Maseno,

Kisumu. She won an international award this year and a Sh7.5 million

cash prize for training tens of thousands of households on how to reap

maximum yields from their farms, no matter the size. Picture by Titus

MunalaHer hard work has earned her a Sh7.5 million cash prize, and

international invitations to teach the world how to farm.

As developing nations struggle to achieve the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) by 2015, Wainaina has proved her contribution in ensuring

food security. She has combined work with philanthropy by helping

widows and orphans cultivate their land sustainably.

For this, she is the holder of this year's African Green Revolution

Yara Prize. She won the award jointly with the founder and president

of the General Union of Agricultural Co-operatives in Mozambique, Ms

Selina Cossa, who will also pocket Sh7.5 million.

Wainaina is also a winner of the Fellowship Award (2004)

from the Rotary Foundation. The award is in appreciation of " tangible

and significant assistance for the understanding and friendly

relations among people of the world and Canada " .

Sustainable food supplies

The former agriculture teacher founded Maseno Inter-Christian Child

Self Help Group in 1999 to train widows and orphans on good

agricultural practices.

" I had worked in a children's' home in Kisumu for over five years and

understood their problems, " she says.

Wainaina, who will receive the Sh7.5 million award in Oslo, Norway, on

September 2, has received invitations to deliver talks on agriculture.

" I will present the talks in Scandinavian countries and the UK, " says

the soft-spoken woman.

Wainaina says Kenya can produce sustainable food supplies and export some.

" It is not expensive to practice good farming with the little one has.

A large portion of our land is fertile and we can become

self-reliant, " she says.

Cossa, who like Wainaina is a former schoolteacher, has empowered

thousands of Zambian small-scale farmers to generate sustainable food

stocks.

Wainaina says she did not expect to receive the prestigious award, set

up to recognize efforts aimed at achieving the MDGs and a " Green

Revolution in Africa " .

" I read the letter bearing the good news in disbelief, " she says.

Presentation at UN workshop

The award is given annually to individuals who have shown excellence

in the fight against hunger and poverty, towards the achievement of

the MDGs. Wainaina will stay in Europe for a month after receiving the

award, which will be presented by the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign

Affairs, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro.

She says she has helped families, which previously harvested only one

bag of maize, to harvest about 10 bags from the same piece of land.

" A quarter-acre piece of land can sustain a family of five or more, " she says.

Her tiny farm, which is frequented by small-scale farmers, lies on a

quarter-acre piece of land along the Kisumu-Busia Road. Here, she

rears chickens, cows and goats and has planted vegetables.

Her recognition stems from statistics showing that women in Africa own

less than one per cent of the land but produce 80 per cent of the

food. Women also receive less than 10 per cent of credit advanced to

small-scale farmers.

Wainaina's inspiration was driven a notch higher last year when she

received a standing ovation after making a presentation at a United

Nations workshop in the US, attended by UN Secretary-General Kofi

n, among other dignitaries.

" Following a request by the UN Task Force on Food Security and Hunger,

I presented a paper on reviving agricultural extension services, " she

says.

Gender revolution

The presentation could not have come at a better time — in the

presence of n — who has argued that a " green revolution " will

happen in Africa only if there is a " gender revolution " . This means

that women have to be empowered to own land to exploit it fully.

When she was an agriculture teacher at Vihiga Boys' High School,

Wainaina transformed the school farm into a vibrant asset, making the

institution depend on it wholly for food.

" I involved students in the project, to make it a success, " says Wainaina.

But a longing to become a philanthropist finally saw her put down

chalk in 1995 and apply for a two-year unpaid leave to learn community

service.

She started working with street children while still studying and

resigned as a teacher in 2000 and began sensitising families ravaged

by HIV/Aids on sustainable livelihoods.

" While I was a teacher, some orphans remained in school during

holidays, saying they had no food at home. I found this strange since

most of Western Kenya is fertile, " she says.

Breaking cycle of famine and starvation

Wainaina, who is nicknamed Nyar Okuyu (daughter of the Kikuyu) by

villagers, says the plight of widows and orphans inspired her to take

her philanthropy seriously.

" I did not see the need to establish an orphanage. Confining

disadvantaged minors to an institution would not help them, " she says.

Wainaina, whose childhood ambition was to be a medical doctor, says

there are about 320 children's homes catering mainly for Aids orphans

in Kisumu District. She adds that over 70 per cent of street children

in the area hail from the neighbouring Chavakali, Mbale, Luanda and

Emusire in Vihiga District.

Her work involves visiting homes headed by orphans and widows to teach

them good farming practices. She travels with a few field officers.

" We have covered about 10,000 households without funding since we

began our project in 1999, " says Wainaina, whose role model is Nobel

Peace Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai.

She joined Maathai's Green Belt Movement in the early 1980s. But her

journey up has not been without challenges. She was initially shunned

by some people for being a member of the Greenbelt Movement, which was

perceived as a political outfit.

But hers is an example that should be emulated by other farmers to

break the cycle of famine and starvation in the country.

________________________________

[Guest guest]

Woman tills tiny piece of land to fame ________________________________

By Harold Ayodo Her slender fingers do not reflect the status of a

successful farmer who has bagged international awards and millions of

shillings.

Her humble demeanour also belies her grand ideas that have changed

lives. But Ms Fidelis Wainaina can be ranked among the models the

world needs to feed the hungry. She has earned the accolades despite

running a demonstration farm on a tiny piece of land near the equator

in Maseno, Kisumu.

Ms Fidelis Wainaina displays a banana crop at her farm in Maseno,

Kisumu. She won an international award this year and a Sh7.5 million

cash prize for training tens of thousands of households on how to reap

maximum yields from their farms, no matter the size. Picture by Titus

MunalaHer hard work has earned her a Sh7.5 million cash prize, and

international invitations to teach the world how to farm.

As developing nations struggle to achieve the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) by 2015, Wainaina has proved her contribution in ensuring

food security. She has combined work with philanthropy by helping

widows and orphans cultivate their land sustainably.

For this, she is the holder of this year's African Green Revolution

Yara Prize. She won the award jointly with the founder and president

of the General Union of Agricultural Co-operatives in Mozambique, Ms

Selina Cossa, who will also pocket Sh7.5 million.

Wainaina is also a winner of the Fellowship Award (2004)

from the Rotary Foundation. The award is in appreciation of " tangible

and significant assistance for the understanding and friendly

relations among people of the world and Canada " .

Sustainable food supplies

The former agriculture teacher founded Maseno Inter-Christian Child

Self Help Group in 1999 to train widows and orphans on good

agricultural practices.

" I had worked in a children's' home in Kisumu for over five years and

understood their problems, " she says.

Wainaina, who will receive the Sh7.5 million award in Oslo, Norway, on

September 2, has received invitations to deliver talks on agriculture.

" I will present the talks in Scandinavian countries and the UK, " says

the soft-spoken woman.

Wainaina says Kenya can produce sustainable food supplies and export some.

" It is not expensive to practice good farming with the little one has.

A large portion of our land is fertile and we can become

self-reliant, " she says.

Cossa, who like Wainaina is a former schoolteacher, has empowered

thousands of Zambian small-scale farmers to generate sustainable food

stocks.

Wainaina says she did not expect to receive the prestigious award, set

up to recognize efforts aimed at achieving the MDGs and a " Green

Revolution in Africa " .

" I read the letter bearing the good news in disbelief, " she says.

Presentation at UN workshop

The award is given annually to individuals who have shown excellence

in the fight against hunger and poverty, towards the achievement of

the MDGs. Wainaina will stay in Europe for a month after receiving the

award, which will be presented by the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign

Affairs, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro.

She says she has helped families, which previously harvested only one

bag of maize, to harvest about 10 bags from the same piece of land.

" A quarter-acre piece of land can sustain a family of five or more, " she says.

Her tiny farm, which is frequented by small-scale farmers, lies on a

quarter-acre piece of land along the Kisumu-Busia Road. Here, she

rears chickens, cows and goats and has planted vegetables.

Her recognition stems from statistics showing that women in Africa own

less than one per cent of the land but produce 80 per cent of the

food. Women also receive less than 10 per cent of credit advanced to

small-scale farmers.

Wainaina's inspiration was driven a notch higher last year when she

received a standing ovation after making a presentation at a United

Nations workshop in the US, attended by UN Secretary-General Kofi

n, among other dignitaries.

" Following a request by the UN Task Force on Food Security and Hunger,

I presented a paper on reviving agricultural extension services, " she

says.

Gender revolution

The presentation could not have come at a better time — in the

presence of n — who has argued that a " green revolution " will

happen in Africa only if there is a " gender revolution " . This means

that women have to be empowered to own land to exploit it fully.

When she was an agriculture teacher at Vihiga Boys' High School,

Wainaina transformed the school farm into a vibrant asset, making the

institution depend on it wholly for food.

" I involved students in the project, to make it a success, " says Wainaina.

But a longing to become a philanthropist finally saw her put down

chalk in 1995 and apply for a two-year unpaid leave to learn community

service.

She started working with street children while still studying and

resigned as a teacher in 2000 and began sensitising families ravaged

by HIV/Aids on sustainable livelihoods.

" While I was a teacher, some orphans remained in school during

holidays, saying they had no food at home. I found this strange since

most of Western Kenya is fertile, " she says.

Breaking cycle of famine and starvation

Wainaina, who is nicknamed Nyar Okuyu (daughter of the Kikuyu) by

villagers, says the plight of widows and orphans inspired her to take

her philanthropy seriously.

" I did not see the need to establish an orphanage. Confining

disadvantaged minors to an institution would not help them, " she says.

Wainaina, whose childhood ambition was to be a medical doctor, says

there are about 320 children's homes catering mainly for Aids orphans

in Kisumu District. She adds that over 70 per cent of street children

in the area hail from the neighbouring Chavakali, Mbale, Luanda and

Emusire in Vihiga District.

Her work involves visiting homes headed by orphans and widows to teach

them good farming practices. She travels with a few field officers.

" We have covered about 10,000 households without funding since we

began our project in 1999, " says Wainaina, whose role model is Nobel

Peace Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai.

She joined Maathai's Green Belt Movement in the early 1980s. But her

journey up has not been without challenges. She was initially shunned

by some people for being a member of the Greenbelt Movement, which was

perceived as a political outfit.

But hers is an example that should be emulated by other farmers to

break the cycle of famine and starvation in the country.

By Harold Ayodo Her slender fingers do not reflect the status of a

successful farmer who has bagged international awards and millions of

shillings.

Her humble demeanour also belies her grand ideas that have changed

lives. But Ms Fidelis Wainaina can be ranked among the models the

world needs to feed the hungry. She has earned the accolades despite

running a demonstration farm on a tiny piece of land near the equator

in Maseno, Kisumu.

Ms Fidelis Wainaina displays a banana crop at her farm in Maseno,

Kisumu. She won an international award this year and a Sh7.5 million

cash prize for training tens of thousands of households on how to reap

maximum yields from their farms, no matter the size. Picture by Titus

MunalaHer hard work has earned her a Sh7.5 million cash prize, and

international invitations to teach the world how to farm.

As developing nations struggle to achieve the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) by 2015, Wainaina has proved her contribution in ensuring

food security. She has combined work with philanthropy by helping

widows and orphans cultivate their land sustainably.

For this, she is the holder of this year's African Green Revolution

Yara Prize. She won the award jointly with the founder and president

of the General Union of Agricultural Co-operatives in Mozambique, Ms

Selina Cossa, who will also pocket Sh7.5 million.

Wainaina is also a winner of the Fellowship Award (2004)

from the Rotary Foundation. The award is in appreciation of " tangible

and significant assistance for the understanding and friendly

relations among people of the world and Canada " .

Sustainable food supplies

The former agriculture teacher founded Maseno Inter-Christian Child

Self Help Group in 1999 to train widows and orphans on good

agricultural practices.

" I had worked in a children's' home in Kisumu for over five years and

understood their problems, " she says.

Wainaina, who will receive the Sh7.5 million award in Oslo, Norway, on

September 2, has received invitations to deliver talks on agriculture.

" I will present the talks in Scandinavian countries and the UK, " says

the soft-spoken woman.

Wainaina says Kenya can produce sustainable food supplies and export some.

" It is not expensive to practice good farming with the little one has.

A large portion of our land is fertile and we can become

self-reliant, " she says.

Cossa, who like Wainaina is a former schoolteacher, has empowered

thousands of Zambian small-scale farmers to generate sustainable food

stocks.

Wainaina says she did not expect to receive the prestigious award, set

up to recognize efforts aimed at achieving the MDGs and a " Green

Revolution in Africa " .

" I read the letter bearing the good news in disbelief, " she says.

Presentation at UN workshop

The award is given annually to individuals who have shown excellence

in the fight against hunger and poverty, towards the achievement of

the MDGs. Wainaina will stay in Europe for a month after receiving the

award, which will be presented by the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign

Affairs, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro.

She says she has helped families, which previously harvested only one

bag of maize, to harvest about 10 bags from the same piece of land.

" A quarter-acre piece of land can sustain a family of five or more, " she says.

Her tiny farm, which is frequented by small-scale farmers, lies on a

quarter-acre piece of land along the Kisumu-Busia Road. Here, she

rears chickens, cows and goats and has planted vegetables.

Her recognition stems from statistics showing that women in Africa own

less than one per cent of the land but produce 80 per cent of the

food. Women also receive less than 10 per cent of credit advanced to

small-scale farmers.

Wainaina's inspiration was driven a notch higher last year when she

received a standing ovation after making a presentation at a United

Nations workshop in the US, attended by UN Secretary-General Kofi

n, among other dignitaries.

" Following a request by the UN Task Force on Food Security and Hunger,

I presented a paper on reviving agricultural extension services, " she

says.

Gender revolution

The presentation could not have come at a better time — in the

presence of n — who has argued that a " green revolution " will

happen in Africa only if there is a " gender revolution " . This means

that women have to be empowered to own land to exploit it fully.

When she was an agriculture teacher at Vihiga Boys' High School,

Wainaina transformed the school farm into a vibrant asset, making the

institution depend on it wholly for food.

" I involved students in the project, to make it a success, " says Wainaina.

But a longing to become a philanthropist finally saw her put down

chalk in 1995 and apply for a two-year unpaid leave to learn community

service.

She started working with street children while still studying and

resigned as a teacher in 2000 and began sensitising families ravaged

by HIV/Aids on sustainable livelihoods.

" While I was a teacher, some orphans remained in school during

holidays, saying they had no food at home. I found this strange since

most of Western Kenya is fertile, " she says.

Breaking cycle of famine and starvation

Wainaina, who is nicknamed Nyar Okuyu (daughter of the Kikuyu) by

villagers, says the plight of widows and orphans inspired her to take

her philanthropy seriously.

" I did not see the need to establish an orphanage. Confining

disadvantaged minors to an institution would not help them, " she says.

Wainaina, whose childhood ambition was to be a medical doctor, says

there are about 320 children's homes catering mainly for Aids orphans

in Kisumu District. She adds that over 70 per cent of street children

in the area hail from the neighbouring Chavakali, Mbale, Luanda and

Emusire in Vihiga District.

Her work involves visiting homes headed by orphans and widows to teach

them good farming practices. She travels with a few field officers.

" We have covered about 10,000 households without funding since we

began our project in 1999, " says Wainaina, whose role model is Nobel

Peace Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai.

She joined Maathai's Green Belt Movement in the early 1980s. But her

journey up has not been without challenges. She was initially shunned

by some people for being a member of the Greenbelt Movement, which was

perceived as a political outfit.

But hers is an example that should be emulated by other farmers to

break the cycle of famine and starvation in the country.

________________________________