Egg-ceptional!

Hi – this entry is from Paul and Cathy Philleo.  We have been traveling with the Chapmans in Kenya this past week, and they encouraged us to post this entry about the One Child One Hen project.  Faith has been involved with this project for over four years, and while we have seen photos and videos, and have heard regular updates from Moses and Emily Osoro, this project has been a bit of a mystery to many of us.  Our primary objective in traveling to Kenya was to visit the project to witness what has been happening here.  We have spent two days at the project:  Sunday after church, when we were mostly by ourselves; and Wednesday, when we participated in the weekly meeting of the sixty community members who are participating in the project. 

Collecting eggs

What we saw is amazing.  There are four chicken coops, each 40-feet by 80-feet, housing about 2500 hens.  It is quite exhilarating to walk through a coop with about 1000 hens fluttering around you – something we all did.  The birds are flourishing, producing 1200 eggs per day on average.  These are easily sold in the local market area surrounding the project, as demand for these eggs is high.  The eggs have developed the reputation as being the best tasting in the region (we sampled some and we concur!).  Sales proceeds are used to help pay project expenses and provide a modest stipend to the project participants.

Sampling the merchandise -- egg sandwiches!

The opportunity to meet with the community participants was very rich.  They uniformly expressed their gratitude for our support of the project, and encouraged us to remain engaged and especially, to help the project grow.  They greatly appreciate access to the quality eggs the project produces, and the stipend provides a most welcome supplementary income.  But what was really evident is the value of the experience.  The project provides technical training in poultry raising/egg production, and also accounting, marketing, and business management.  More importantly, the project is an example of what can be achieved with perseverance, discipline, and determination.  Having overcome early skepticism, the project’s reputation has soared to where there is a waiting list to join, and news of it has spread to adjacent villages.

Maggie and her accounting intern, Agnes

We also have to tell you about Maggie.  She is the niece to Moses and Emily and an accountant who lives in Nairobi with her husband and son and daughter.  She has been involved in the project since it began and accompanied us for our week here.  She is the most wonderful and delightful person you could ever meet, and we have been blessed that she took a week away from her family to be with us. We are so thankful for all she and Moses have done for us this week.