GROW Intern Update: Week 2

Monday: Support Group Visit

On Monday, GROW interns had the opportunity to visit three support groups throughout Kakamega County. The interns practiced their dance moves as each group welcomed them with traditional dances and songs. At each meeting, interns learned about the origins of each group, the challenges they faced in supporting their communities, and their goals for the future of their members.

Examining the “We Have Hope” Support group in further detail can provide a better understanding of the functions of the support groups. 

 The 35-member “We Have Hope” group was formed in March 2025 to help each other with social support, coping with the adjustment to being HIV positive, reducing stigma against their community, and being eligible to receive vital support from WOPLAH. 

The group mentioned their biggest challenges were food security and lack of access to funds to support their community. 

WOPLAH helps address these challenges with numerous projects. The group participates in the Kitchen Garden, providing nutrition to its members and poultry rearing, which provides both food and a source of income. The Village Baking initiative is part of the SECCO program, which allows borrowers to purchase shares and receive business loans equal to three times their investment. The SECCO initiative reduces interest payments, accelerates the impact of community funds, and promotes sustainable development.

The support group hopes these programs can help their community achieve their goal of increasing the self-sufficiency of the poultry rearing and kitchen garden projects, as well as the goal of each member owning a goat or cow. 

GROW interns aim to continue supporting the growth of these initiatives, economically empowering the support groups throughout the remainder of the summer.

Tuesday: Support Group Visit

On Tuesday, we visited three more support groups near the town of Busia Kenya. Upon arrival to each group we danced and sang with the group members. This is a traditional Kenyan practice and we had so much fun being a part of it. After introductions, the director of WOPLAH talked with the group, providing advice and support. Member’s then taught us more about their kitchen garden and table banking programs. These programs provide monetary and physical resources that uplift the community. Psychosocial support is also a key resource fostered in these support groups. Members discuss their challenges living positively with HIV/AIDS. They also provide each other with advice and reminders as they navigate living with HIV. These discussions reduce stigmatization and build a collaborative and empowered group that can then practice self-sustaining methods to further grow the group financially. We were welcomed so kindly by each group and were able to realize the impact of community discussion, and WOPLAH’s supportive programming in building up a group of people.

Wednesday: Visit at the Lubinu Boys School

On Wednesday, we had the incredible opportunity to visit Lubinu Boys School in Mumias, where we were warmly welcomed by students, teachers, and staff. We met with about 140 Form 2 boys and had an engaging, interactive session covering a range of important topics such as the importance of education, the 7 Principles of an Eagle, discipline, and stress management strategies. The students impressed us with their curiosity and openness during the Q&A session, where they shared their personal challenges. One of them being balancing school pressure with family responsibilities during school breaks. Together, we discussed real ways to overcome stress, manage their time, and most importantly stay focused on their dreams. 

Thursday: Day at the Clinic

Last Thursday the GROW interns had the pleasure of going to a level 3 hospital in Mumias which is a short walk away from where we are staying. The interns split into 3 groups and immediately got to work. Ben and Leila immersed themselves in doing necessary paperwork. Leah and Brittany got to work in the nursery learning about early childhood vaccines for children in Mumias. Trevor and Fatima went to work in the laboratory with Paul who is the immunologist for the health center. They tested patients for malaria, worked with urine samples for pregnancy tests as well as to check for any infections, tested stool samples, and checked blood sugar levels. A lot of these tests were rapid tests but Paul also taught them how to look at the blood and urine samples under a microscope to see malaria and certain diseases at the microscopic level. They learned a lot about healthcare in Mumias, learning how to do things efficiently and effectively.  

Friday: Fish Day at the Farm!

Last week on Friday, the GROW interns boda boda on over to the farm where the fish pond had just been harvested. Tilapia and a few catfish were freshly laid out and ready for us to get to work descaling, gutting, and then rinsing. We, plus last year's grow intern and full-time farmer Skye, all took turns trying out different parts of this fish preparation production line. I first tried descaling, with an innovative tool that was essentially a small wooden board that fit in your hand with four metal bottle caps attached spiky side up on the top half of one side of the board. It made descaling the flopping fish much easier for us new fish mongers. After rendering a few fish naked (and many a fish flopping out of my hands), I moved on to gutting the fish. This was honestly my favorite part of this whole process, despite it being the grossest by far. I’d never really seen the inside of a fish or seen a fish’s gills up close, if you’re curious, they’re red and fluttery like a fan. There was a jelly-like see-through green orb in their guts too, a mystery I can’t figure out through numerous Google searches, perhaps it's the spleen? I spent the vast majority of my time pulling out the guts of freshly descaled tilapia. When there were lulls in the scaled fish ready to be gutted, I moved on to rinsing out the gutted fish and putting them into the clean bucket, to eventually be sold or eaten. I tried three times total to use the knife to open up the fish to be gutted. I was unsuccessful twice before my last attempt, where I triumphed over the fish and created a small but usable cut to pull the guts through (woohoo!!). After countless fish and poking my hands on many a spiky fin, we finished our fishy journey, all covered in a little water, mud, and fish guts but also fishy happiness. We ate an amazing lunch prepared by Director Phassy, which included the best lentils I think I’ve ever had. Then we meandered back on home and had a delicious dinner that night, feasting upon two very familiar fish…

Sunday: Stone of Hope

On Saturday, the GROW intern visited Imanga stone of hope. There’s so much greenery here—it almost feels like the rest of the world fades away. The moment we arrived, a bunch of kids who dressed in adorable outfits were playing and laughing on the grass. They performed three full dances for us, and before long we were joining in, trying to copy their moves. It felt so relaxed and fun—I kind of forgot about everything else for a while. After that, we handed out paper and crayons, and spent the afternoon drawing, folding paper, and flying little paper planes with them. We didn’t always understand each other perfectly, but that didn’t really matter. It was still such a beautiful moment of connection.

Later, we walked over to this huge rock nearby—really smooth, and probably about three times my height (I’m 163 cm). The view from the top was amazing. I couldn’t help thinking, if I had grown up here, this would probably be the spot I’d run to whenever I got in trouble or needed space to think. Eventually, the kids brought over a ladder so we could climb down. The sun was strong, but in that gentle, comforting way. And to top it all off, they treated us to taro, and milk tea at the end. It was such a wholesome day.