Your Money At Work
Below are examples of some of the work Trócaire has funded with the generous donations it has received.
Food Security - Sustainable Agriculture For Food
Location: Tharaka and Meru South Districts, Kenya
Cost: €50,000
Lack of food affects 200,000 people within the Taharka and Meru South Districts in Kenya. This is caused by low and unreliable rainfall, high rate of soil erosion, poor crop and animal husbandry, inadequate quality seed, poor marketing strategies and recurrent droughts. The effects of the above are low crop production, low family income, environmental degradation and poor nutrition. This level of poverty means that most people cannot access basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, health, water and education.
Trócaire has funded a project to construct water capture systems to benefit 1,000 households in Tharaka and Meru South. This water is for domestic use and for livestock. The project helps farmers to achieve a higher level of crop production through training in new farming techniques, seed provision and better crop storage methods. It also provides the farmers with irrigation systems for their crops and helps them to engage in soil conservation techniques.
Clean Water - Water Management Programme
Location: Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala
Cost: €200,000
The Water Management Programme started during the severe drought that stuck Central America in 2001. Drought presents a serious threat to food security in Central America. In 2001 the drought had a severe impact on 600,000 people located in rural areas where poverty levels are highest, including a large number of female-headed households, children and elderly living in the least fertile areas.
The 2001 drought came after a series of disasters – drought in 1997, hurricane Mitch in 1998, floods and landslides in 1999, floods in 2000 and earthquakes and floods in 2001. These shocks have progressively increased the vulnerability and poverty of the poorest communities. The areas most severely affected by drought are southern Honduras, northern Nicaragua and eastern El Salvador.
This programme assists communities from these regions in gaining access to a reliable source of drinking water and irrigation systems working through 14 local partner organisations. The project installs irrigation systems and better water catchment systems, it develops wastewater recycling and provides for water conservation techniques. The programme results in farmers increasing the type of crops they can produce and allows them to sell surplus crops, thereby improving diets and income availability. The programme is carried out in very close association with the benefiting communities, ensuring that families receive training in maintaining and taking ownership of the resources developed.
Health - Community Health Programme
Location: Ica, South Peru
Cost: €72,432
The city if Ica in south Peru has a population of 250,000 with a large number of shanty towns developing as a result of migrants from rural areas settling in the city to seek employment. The people living in the shantytowns have extremely inadequate healthcare services. The Spanish Missionary Institute has set up three small health centres in conjunction with local communities and has developed a community health programme to address the larger health problems in some of Ica’s shantytowns. These include: high infant and maternal mortality, a prevalence of preventable diseases, tuberculosis and lack of clean water and sanitation.
The Institute, supported by Trócaire, will develop its work with 14 poor urban and 30 rural communities, it will work to provide quality healthcare through the three health-centres and establish nutrition and health committees within the communities. The centres will prepare educational materials about healthcare to distribute among the communities and conduct awareness-raising campaigns about better healthcare, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS, TB and malnutrition.
Income – “Lulu” Livelihood Programme
Location: Sudan
Cost: €148,981
In Sudan, ‘lulu’ refers to shea butter, which is produced from a nut that grows on ‘lulu’ trees. Trócaire has been working with an organisation called MEDIC since 2002 to provide support to poor rural women in producing shea butter for sale so that the women can earn an income and provide for the basic needs of their families such as food, education and healthcare.
To date, the project has been very successful. Collection, grinding and processing centres have been established in 16 communities. Training for women is provided in processing the lulu to make shea butter and soap, allowing them to earn an income. The women are also developing the skills required to run their business and to improve their position in their respective communities.
Literacy classes are provided, enabling women to read and new areas and markets in which the women can sell their produce are developed. By increasing their skills, women are better placed to generate more shea better products in less time, and by learning to read, they can better understand their rights and have a greater standing in their communities.