OUR WORK IN KENYA
Empowering communities
to break the cycle of poverty.
WE CHARITY'S FIVE PILLAR MODEL
WE Charity’s five-pillar development model empowers communities to break the cycle of poverty over, on average, a period of five to seven years of construction and local skill-capacity building, with a goal of long-term sustainability. Projects are focused on education, clean water, health care, food security and economic empowerment.
This holistic model starts with education, usually building schools or school rooms (including classrooms, libraries, kitchens, teachers’ accommodations, and school offices), that are then supported by other infrastructure needs key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Building new schools or school rooms (or renovating existing structures where possible) are not the only inputs into the five-pillar development model. To date, WE Charity has built or renovated over 850 schools or school rooms in rural Kenya. Each school room is furnished with the necessary supplies, such as desks and chairs, libraries with books, and other essential items for teachers’ offices and accommodations. Funds are also allocated to critical program needs that ensure quality services are delivered. For example, teachers must be trained and housed, students need healthy meals, and health care facilities (training and supplies) are necessary to look after the health needs of both faculty and students. You can explore our regions here.
This model and needs extend to all the pillars, such as training for those maintaining water projects; education of community and family leaders on agriculture and healthy food; recruitment, training, and housing of medical staff; and the cost of economically empowering the women of the communities to ensure the development model is financially self-sustainable.
WE Charity’s records and finances have been reviewed annually by independent auditors, and WE Charity has undergone a special review for its international activities from a respected forensic auditor, confirming that WE Charity operates with the highest financial integrity.
EDUCATION
WATER
HEALTH
FOOD
OPPORTUNITY
PHASES OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Before breaking ground on any project, we work closely with community members for a period of approximately one year to establish strong relationships, while building trust and collective engagement among key community leaders and the local government. The local community leads key decisions on their needs, assets, and multiple aspects of the development model.
PHASE 1
PARTNERSHIP & FOUNDATION BUILDING
Building on the investment in Phase 1, we then begin the tangible execution of projects and programs across the five pillars, designed in partnership with the community. Infrastructure construction and capacity building are paced over, on average, five to seven years to meet community abilities and capacity training. During the program delivery phase, the community continues to take a leadership role in program implementation, problem-solving, and growth.
PHASE 2
DEVELOPMENT &
PROJECT DELIVERY
After, on average, five to seven years, WE typically exits day-to-day engagement with the communities, leaving the future of the projects under the leadership of the community members. Local community groups are established to manage key assets, such as a committee to manage the water projects and a committee for parents actively involved in school management. WE monitors the projects to ensure continued management and engages on a more infrequent basis. In this phase, evidence of transformation becomes apparent as communities and groups take their own actions with confidence and drive further development.
PHASE 3
TRANSFORMATION &
SUSTAINABILITY
EXPERT EVALUATION OF OUR DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS
Dr. Jason Saul is the Executive Director of the Center for Impact Sciences at the University of Chicago and the founder of Mission Measurement, an agency that provides expert evaluations and measurement of non-profit outcomes. Mission Measurement conducted a four-month evaluation about the WE Village development model, including visiting WE Village locations overseas, and reported the following:
“After examining the practices of leading international development agencies and organizations, reviewing academic literature on best practices in human and economic development and in consideration of results from WE Villages communities, we have found that WE Villages is effective at producing a range of development outcomes that puts communities on a path to economic self-sufficiency, prioritizing education and gender equality."
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