House of Hope Kitongo and the road towards Sustainability

Income Generating Activities (IGA) set a new course for Kitongo’s Sustainability and Youth Empowerment.

At the House of Hope, as part of their learning and development activities, The CHT team practices mixed farming. They employ smart, yet affordable ways to raise livestock and apply permaculture to create a self-sufficient and sustainable agricultural ecosystem. Most of the parents residing at the home are subsidiary farmers. Apart from accommodating these parents and their children, the home is also meant to be self-sufficient and set an example for those parents. Food for the home can be harvested from the farm, and if there is surplus, it can be sold as a source of income (IGA). CHT learns a lot from these parents, and in return, the team helps them sharpen their knowledge as farmers and entrepreneurs. As for the House of Hope, The goal is to transform it into a completely self-sustainable home.

According to Kitongo House of Hope’s 2023 annual report, The HoH manager, Mr. Peter David and his team have succeeded to involve youth in these programs. Five youth work as volunteers (4 females with Spina Bifida and one male with Hydrocephalus). Their tasks are to give moral support to young mothers, educate parents at the house about Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (SBH), Continence Management (CIC), and income generating activities (IGA).

Other achievements resulted from permaculture and adapting to more efficient methods of irrigation including an increase in yield by 20%. Surplus milk is sold to the neighboring community and vegetables at the Bugando Hospital canteen. Also, these activities have created opportunities for economic empowerment where two Parents and two youth have benefited. Two male parents work as paid labor at the farm and livestock ranch and one youth is a paid full-time volunteer.

According to Kitongo HoH’s 2024 plans, a chicken farm project is in progress, and is expected to start on January. Although these are significant developments towards sustainability, The team still believes that there is more that can be done to accelerate the process , such as building a Solar Power System and a water well.