Kadzo Kenga radiates confidence. She tackles each new day and each new challenge with strength. She works on her small farm, tends to her animals, and cares for her children and grandson. When not working busily at home, she can be found at her community’s “demonstration farm”—where she participates in training in food security—or meeting with the local village savings and loans group. As a single woman in rural Kenya, where women face barriers to equality, Kadzo proudly owns a small piece of land for her family, complete with a small herd of goats and chickens. Here, she grows produce and makes chapati bread to sell at market. She has built a good life for her children, and her mother.
But Kadzo’s life had not always carried such possibility. After her husband abandoned the family, she was left with nothing—without property, possessions, or a place to call home. Unable to feed or adequately shelter her children, she feared she would have to give them up. In an area of Kenya where poverty is prevalent, Kadzo’s situation had grown particularly dire. However, through her involvement with World Renew’s Free a Family®️ program, hope now shines brightly for Kadzo and her family. That hope started two years ago when Kadzo joined World Renew’s food security training and learned to farm for the first time. In just a short time, Kadzo has transformed the land around her home into thriving crops of maize and lush gardens of legumes, tomatoes, okra, and kale. Reflecting on all that she has learned, Kadzo says, “Things would have been very terrible without [these programs]. Especially [for] me. Before… I was in isolation; afterwards my eyes were opened and I started propelling myself [forward].”
Food security is the critical building block upon which the family is establishing its future. Kadzo knew hunger kept holding her family back and robbing her children of opportunities. Besides meeting their nutritional needs, Kadzo’s crops also pay for improvements to their home and the children’s school fees, building an even brighter future for the family. Before, her children went hungry. Now, they can count on their every meal. As Kadzo grows each day in her knowledge and accomplishments, so does her deep love, strength, and determination. Kadzo had very little materially when she started out with Free a Family®️, but she now realizes she always possessed the talents and skills to achieve her dreams. Kadzo credits the training she received through Free a Family®️ with unlocking those skills. In her own words, “[T]hrough their method of learning and them encouraging us to participate, I was able to develop myself with the resources I already had.” Kadzo’s story keeps unfolding—and will for many years to come.
