Community Benefits from Nets at the Maarifa Centre from Osano Maternity Nursing Home.

The intimate relationships between parasites or viruses, and their vectors, hosts and natural environment make this ecological web extremely sensitive to disturbances.Therefore, environmental and socio-economic changes, such as global warming, deforestation, commercial development and construction of water-control systems, are expected to exert a huge impact on the transmission of viral and parasitic diseases,such as Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, schistosomiasis, filariasis and malaria.
Theoretically, one infective mosquito bite is enough to acquire an episode of malaria. Clinical symptoms may range from mild, such as fever, abdominal pains, nausea and vomiting, to severe and life-threatening, such as anaemia, renal dis-function and cerebral malaria.
It is out of such research and experiences that Mrs. Emmy Osano  took the initiative of having a talk with the youths at the Maarifa Centre on the of malaria causes and impacts  to a society like this. After the short briefing, Mrs. Emmy served them with free mosquito nets  for the implementation surety of her desire to have a malaria free community. Thanks a lot for her motherly care!

How Can the Reading Culture be nurtured in a Community.

It only matters how much one values the degree of knowledge that a parent seeks for the best education foundation for his/her child.
Child’s reading promotion is a complicated systematic project which involves a complete process from creation, publication, recommendation to marketing and procurement.
The promotion involves participation by households, kindergartens, schools, communities, libraries and book stores and is affected by the reading atmosphere at the whole society.
Public library, as an important part of child reading, plays its unique role and indispensable part in the whole process and that is why Ndhiwa Maarifa Centre is encouraging parents to allow the young ones access the free library services at this early age to give room to the reading culture in these minds.

Lake Victoria Chokes under the Water Hyacinth

Water hyacinth was introduced to Africa over a century ago, but it did not become a problem in Lake Victoria until the early 1990s.
It covered substantial areas of the coastline, particularly in Uganda, blocking waterways, disrupting hydro-power, and decreasing the profitability of fishing.
Hyacinth also provided refugia for some species from the introduced Nile Perch. It largely disappeared from the Lake in the late 90s, perhaps, but not clearly, due to the introduction of a weevil used for biological control. It experienced a resurgence in the early 2000s.
Now following a wet year, which increased nutrient runoff into the lake in 2010, the spread of the weed has been tremendous covering the largest bit of the lake.
Currently, the lakes pollution has been worsened by the continuous rotting hyacinth that has made this water pathetic to the lakeside communities.
HomaBay residents stand out to be the most affected since they rely on the lake as the source of their daily income and for drinking water too. As per the current situation, the economic standard of this town has dropped by almost 35% as compared to 1992.

Going it the Green way...

Each year, farmers in East Africa struggle from a shortage of tomatoes and other horticultural crops. Devastating rains cause the problem, and the fruit shortage causes tomato prices to shoot drastically higher.
Green house production is one of the technologies that were rarely realized in Nyanza province in the past decades, but as evolution and information hits on hard on technology, green house production has taken root in the region and soon after the first harvest, farmers shall reap what they sow.

Organizations such as Seminis, Amiran Kenya and APHIA II USAID  are answering East African farmers’ call for help by finding a solution to the devastating issue of climate by supporting the growing tomatoes in a greenhouse.  “I strongly believe this is the way forward for enhanced food security and farmer incomes,” says Peter Francombe, Seminis Africa Lead and General Manager in East Africa who has been a major contributor in moving this project forward.

A New Friend of the Centre

It is until when you have a new friend coming in from a different region, that you learn of how much you understand of your society.
Frida is a college student in Sweden taking African studies as a course. On her visit to the Maarifa Centre,  she was able to learn a lot from us especially now that she was on a research mission on the African culture and causes of the increased rate of poverty both nationally and locally.
From the 3 hour inter-ruction, i learned that being well versed with whatever goes on around your environs should  be the most credible thing one can ever embrace for you never know when you will be the point of reference. God bless Africa.