Magnet Effect Supports First Community Strengthening Project

Flying Kites Magnet Effect Program received a donation to fund a rabbit-rearing project proposed by the SWORD Group, a local Njabini support group. Co-founded by seven community members, including Flying Kites Kenyan manager Francis Mbugua and his wife, Jane Muthoni, the SWORD Group supports single parents, widows and widowers, orphans and disabled children. The organization currently has 38 member families who pay a nominal membership fee to belong. While working with Francis and Jane, Flying Kites volunteer Hannah Wesley learned about their efforts to initiate a rabbit-rearing project. Realizing the powerful potential the project had to provide impoverished families a source of sustainable income, Hannah decided to procure the funds to help SWORD jump-start the program.

The poorest families in Njabini don’t have the large plots of land required for grazing animals; therefore the cattle rearing programs that have been successfully initiated in other developing countries aren’t practical. For that reason, the rabbit rearing project is much more realistic; rabbits can be bred very quickly and when grown can be sold for fur and meat. They can also feed the families if necessary.

The program will begin with one initial breeding hut (located on the managing partner’s land) in which the first male and female rabbits will live. As they breed – like rabbits – over the next three months, the group will accumulate enough rabbits to distribute to the member families. To ensure all members are financially invested in this commitment, they will be responsible for purchasing the male rabbit; the SWORD Group will offer a repayment plan for those families who are not able to produce the funds required for the purchase.

The beauty of the rabbit-rearing project is that there is such quick turnover. Once member families begin breeding their rabbit pair, within three months the first group of rabbits will be mature enough for sale. As profits begin to accrue, families can continue breeding and building their rabbit herd. While the amount of money each family can expect to bring in initially will vary (depending on the agreed upon repayment plan for the male rabbit), the results will be measurable for all.

The SWORD Group will maintain 100 rabbits in the initial hutch to breed and sell to cover operating costs and raise funds for reinvestment. The group will also provide donors with periodic updates on the project’s progress; updates will be relayed during scheduled meetings with Flying Kites’ in-country Magnet Effect coordinator. The SWORD Group will have total control over future investments made with profits of the rabbit project; the group has already begun planning for a goat-rearing project and a bio-gas venture with cattle. The SWORD Group’s two-year goal is to open a centre for disabled children; many children with disabilities in rural Kenya are turned out on the street or locked away, viewed as a disgrace to the family. Since the SWORD Group was founded in part to help the plight of the disabled in South Kinangop district, raising the funds necessary to open such a centre would bring them closer to fulfilling their mission.  The credibility along with the profits the SWORD Group obtains through the success of their first venture will enable the organization to receive larger grants in the future to fund these promising projects.

** Hannah Wesley, who has been volunteering with Flying Kites since November 2009, was initially interested in assisting the SWORD Group and was able to contribute half of the money for the project; fellow volunteers Reuben Hartwell and Bettina ­­­­­­Kjergaard Lange were also inspired to donate. Additionally, Torben Drauschke, a friend of Bettina’s, was so moved by an e-mail she had written that he also asked to contribute; Jim McPherson, a colleague of Hannah’s father in Massachusetts also contributed funding for the project. The money was donated in memory of Jim’s late brother, Peter V. McPherson, from a Foundation established in his honor.