by Amanda Drollinger, AWC Central Scotland, with Leslie Janoe, AWC Amsterdam
FAWCO support through the Target Program has grown the skills and aspirations of not just the Awesome Blossoms entrepreneurs but also the Safe Spaces organization.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals detail the path to a sustainable future for all. FAWCO support for Awesome Blossoms through the Target Project enabled them to fully deliver the Awesome Blossoms program as designed and, by exceeding the fundraising target, we were able to support the expansion of Gender Equality and address SDG Target 5.a in the purchase of land for a permanent home for Awesome Blossoms hydroponic farming. Owning the land means control and long-term security. Peninah Nthenya Musyimi staed on the Awesome Blossoms Safe Spaces website: “We have now purchased our own land for a Demonstration Farm! We are raising money to put vertical gardens and a learning center on it. Help us grow and spread the knowledge.” Find out more and support their ongoing work here.
SDG Target 5.a aims to “Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.” According to the UN, the latest progress reports show that "In 80 per cent of countries for which data are available, less than half of women have ownership of, or secure rights to, agricultural land. In half of these countries, less than half of men hold such rights. In almost half of these countries, the rate of landownership among men is at least double the rate among women. A global assessment of legal frameworks protecting women’s land rights across 84 countries reveals that 58 per cent of those countries have inadequate measures in family, inheritance and land laws and policies.”
Safe Water Project
The success of our work supporting Awesome Blossoms Safe Spaces inspired the pursuit of other sustainable and environmental projects and dreams for the organization. Unrelated to FAWCO funding, Safe Spaces completed a self-funded water project at their headquarters: a safe city water supply connection and bottling station to sell safe water to the community at a fair price.
As the organization reported, “Safe Spaces Organization drilled a productive borehole into the Nairobi City Council water system which now provides the first water source for residents in Mathare. Its water tanks ensure critical storage to the community during times of water shortage. Ongoing door-to-door community outreach is engaging the community in conversations about water availability and hygiene. The Safe Water Project is already making meaningful strides toward improving hygiene, reducing water-borne diseases (e.g., cholera, amoebic dysentery, hepatitis A), and restoring dignity to daily life through access to a basic human need—clean water. The water is now closer to the people and it is clean, since we use water guards to also purify the water. Most community water is sold by cartels and is contaminated because the pipes run along the sewerage lines, thus people are prone to the many diseases common in our community. Safe Water has a direct pipe connected to the city council pipe systems, thus is clean and safe!”
Dreams for the organization's sustainable future
The dream is to purchase the land where Safe Spaces has its offices, digital library and water service. This land is currently in danger of being sold, which would mean losing all of these services. They have until May 2027 to raise money for the property. Their goal is to reconstruct the facility as an Empowerment Center—a community center where they can put all of their programs under one roof. The Awesome Blossoms land will become their producing and training hydroponic farm and the community center will become a hub to sell their produce and water and develop new skills within the heart of Mathare.
Follow their progress and stay up to date on the Safe Spaces website.
Your continued personal support would be greatly appreciated. Direct donations can be made through the website.
All photos courtesy of Safe Spaces.
