Project of the Month
Written by Kris Kimball--The village women of Mnyenzeni have initiated a project called the "Koin Purse Project" This is a micro-business created by the village women to raise the $60,000 necessary to build a maternity hospital/women’s center in the village.
Right now the women who live in Mnyenzeni give birth in their homes, but when a complication arises they are wheeled the 30 miles in a wheelbarrow, in painful labor, to the nearest hospital. Public transport costs to the hospital are around $12, a luxury most of these women cannot afford. The women face a 1 in 30 chance of dying during childbirth. The women's hospital would employ a full-time doctor, trained in emergency pre and post natal care as well as provide family planning services for the women.
The women sew long and hard to make these wonderful purses out of their native Kanga cloths. The idea behind the purses is to sell them in the US through the Koins for Kenya website with all the profits going back to the women's hospital. While on our expedition, we all bought purses for ourselves to use so that we could advertise and promote their project. My daughter Sarah and I feel proud and honored every time we wear one of these Koin purses because it gives us a way to start a conversation about the wonderful work Koins and these women are doing together.
