Farewell Tobias!

Harvest from the Lwala Hospital Farm

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 agriculture, education and training was contagious in Lwala.  DIG started the project with just 42 members being trained in sustainable agriculture at the hospital.  Shortly, after the training we had a huge influx of community members wanting to be a part of DIG.  It became clear that while Tobias had good agriculture skills, he was also a dynamic trainer and an amazing communicator.  With his community outreach, DIG grew the program and has now trained over 400 community members and it is nearly impossible to walk around Lwala and not find a family who has benefitted from DIG and Tobias.

Tobias (far left) with members of the first training group

While Tobias is notknown for his cooking, his mom is! All DIG staff, including Sarah and Noah, as well as many DIG Visitors from the States have shared a delicious meal in Tobias’ home.  It is that openness and graciousness that allowed community members to trust Tobias and expand our work.    One of the things that DIG will miss most about Tobias, and is probably the reason he got a full scholarship and stipend to continue his education, is the passionate way he articulates DIG’s work and vision in the community.  In this video, you can hear just a few minutes of his passion as he talks about the importance of DIG but (trust us) he can talk for hours about it! The whole DIG team wishes Tobias the absolute best as he continues on his educational path with a scholarship and employment at Kisii University College in agriculture education and extension thanks to his work for DIG and with the Lwala community.    Tobias also had a few words that he wanted to include for DIG and the DIG community that supported him:

 
Tobias with 4K Ag Leader, Evance
 

“DIG has moved and changed the community…from the onset I have met able and willing personnel from DIG who have given their best, thank you DIG and the whole of its fraternity because of the opportunity you offered me.     It was a journey worth while but I realized something new with DIG, it goes beyond employment but rather it take a passion to serve the community, I am one of the lucky few who realized this just because I worked with DIG.  My world was opened and my life was really transformed.  Thank you, DIG and all of the DIG Supporters.”

If you have any words for Tobias feel free to share them on our Facebook Page!