Stories From The Field: Community Transformation
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A True Multi-Disciplinary Approach: Fighting Stigma, Improving Health, and Building Livelihoods in a Sustainable Way

By: Maggie Black Joseph and Rugina Abok have an uphill struggle to make ends meet. Both are living with HIV, which in Rongo district, Western Kenya, has a 16-20% prevalence rate, well above the national average of 12%. Of their five children, four are now married and off their hands, but their youngest son, Meshak, 14-years-old is still in primary school. His future is what concerns them most.             Being open about HIV is still difficult because of the stigma

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Farewell Tobias!

It is with very mixed emotions that DIG says farewell to our Local Facilitator, Tobias Owour.  Tobias has been with the DIG since the very beginning of our Lwala Hospital Project. He was our first hire in Lwala and we could not have made a better choice. Tobias came to us with high recommendations from his grandmother who said, “I decided long before he was grown that he had a gift for working with the ground.”   Tobias’ passion for

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DIG’s Newest Team Member Takes on Uganda

Thanks to a group of supporters in Denver and a grant from Project Redwood, Steve Eggers joined DIG as our newest program intern in October 2013.  Of course DIG immediately liked him because of our fond affection for ‘Steves’…but beyond that he impressed us with his thoughtful questions about our work, his agriculture experience, and his general attitude towards life and development.     Steve spent two months with the DIG Kenya Team learning about the program and agriculture in Western

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Buwala Orphanage Progress Report

  It’s mid-December, and the children at St. Paul and Rose Orphanage in Buwala District near Jinja, Uganda, have just finished their fall term at school.  They are looking forward to Christmas as they enjoy their holiday break.  This has been a terrific year for everyone at the orphanage where, thanks to the generosity of DIG’s donors, a new pit latrine has been installed to replace the old one.  It may not sound glamorous, but it is truly a gift

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Home is Where the Heart Is

Lucille Otieno is what we call a true matriarch. She is a mother, grand mother, and great grandmother several times over and has been the primary provider for her large family for several years. Due to several unfortunate circumstances, Lucille supports two of her granddaughters, Selena and Florence, as well as all of their children, each of whom have found refuge in her small home.   Lucille is a small scale farmer by tradition. She got involved with DIG because of a

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DIG’s Inspiring Youth

A report on the Kuna DIG School Garden from the students who manage it.  DIG’s Kuna School Garden lies west of Nairobi in the Nyanza Province. With over 800 students and only 12 teachers, this government run school struggles to meet the needs of its population.    Through a partnership with the Lwala Community Alliance, the Segal Family Foundation, Starbucks, the International Youth Foundation, and Rotary International, DIG was brought in to help the school develop a garden education program

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What’s Up Uganda!

If you have ever been to a Reap Life DIG Event before you have probably heard Sarah tell the story of Patrick.  His story is amazing and it just keeps on getting better!    I had the chance to meet Patrick for the first time this summer and was blown away by the amount of work he is doing for his community and for DIG.   First Patrick, brought me to his home, a 15-minute bike ride from Bujagali, Uganda to

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Kuna Primary School

Kuna Primary school is situated 12km from our main site at Lwala Community Hospital, and can be easily accessed by Pikipiki (motorcycle taxi).  It has a total of 810 students with 14 teachers. It was the best performing school in its School Zone in 2011. Mr. Enoch Owenje Ngoje is the head teacher of the school.  He is motivated and engaged with the project.   The school has grown maize and bananas before but nothing else.  They are excited to

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Supporter Spotlight

DIG is grateful to everyone who has given their time and financial support to help us meet our mission. After almost 6 years, Development in Gardening (DIG) continues to grow and thrive for two reasons: 1) the dedication to the project from the local DIG communities in Africa and 2) the amazing support from the DIG community in the United States.

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A Partnership Worth Watering

Fred and Milton Ochieng were born and raised in Lwala. Their parents, who have now both passed away from HIV, supported the two brothers to study medicine in the United States. Now the two medical students formed the Lwala Community Alliance (LCA) to give back to their community.

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DIG’s new digs!

It’s official!  We have moved into our new offices in Midtown Atlanta! We owe a big thanks to Bill Watts (DIG Board Member), Judy O’Brien (Head of Sutherland’s Pro Bono and Public Service Committees) and Sutherland Law Firm.   Sutherland Law Firm in Atlanta has given us 2 Pro Bono offices on the 16th floor.  Our productivity has already increased and we can not show enough gratitude to Judy and Bill who helped facilitate this arrangement.   If anyone is ever in

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