Victory Support for the Needy

From Muungano Wa Wanavijiji Makika Network Kisumu

Organization: Faith Rehabilitation Center
Contact persons: Leonard Okello (pastor), Sarah Achieng Ogare (treasurer), George Onyango (secretary)

Victory Support for the Needy is a church led project established under the leadership of pastor as a way of combating dependance on Drugs, Crime, prostitution, street life, single motherhood e.t.c.

As part of the follow up strategy for the project, regional church networks were established across the town, led by pastors people within their respective regions. As part of sustainability approach the Victory Support for the Needy field office came in to give them support and technical assistance to help the setting up of networks within their regions.

In Kisumu the network operates through a secretariat of church members with assistance from university students as volunteers or interns. The members are driven from youth groups with an average 20 members each and churches including schools. Both in schools, churches and at the community the project operates through a church advisory council, led by the pastors of the various churches.It promotes indigenous leadership to analyze local conditions, define goals and formulate strategies that are sensitive to local needs,issues and concerns of young people.

In the past four years we have managed to develop partnership with government institutions and other organizations in designing,implementing and scaling up of projects and programs to achieve measurable increases in drug use,its related crime/violence and HIV and AIDS prevention among youth people, commercial sex work, street families, young aids widows e.t.c.The lessons learnt and findings from annual reports and the mid term reports are the back bone of the development of this project idea.

In Kisumu there was established a Kisumu Peace Forum,as a tool for peace and reconciliation programme for Nyanza Province during the aftermath of the post election violence. The forum created several subcommittees,to spear head it work on peace building. The sub committee on Youth and Education was among them with the mandate of promoting peace amongst youth in and of school, of which the Ministry of Education and Eastern Africa Regional Youth are members.

(For further information about the group and it's proposals, please contact the Makika network)