Stories From The Field
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Food Security

What it Takes to End Hunger

June 11, 2014

By Maggie Black   Vida Aooko Bitta, 30 years old and mother of four, is one of a DIG (Development in Gardening) team of community facilitators in Rongo District, Western Kenya. What she and the team are trying to do is transform the diet, improve the well-being and fill the pocket-books of local farming families. Many of these are among the 240 million Africans who regularly go hungry. Vida’s home is just a mile away from the Lwala community hospital

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Social Cohesion

A True Multi-Disciplinary Approach: Fighting Stigma, Improving Health, and Building Livelihoods in a Sustainable Way

April 15, 2014

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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Kenya

Farewell Tobias!

January 29, 2014

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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Uganda

DIG’s Newest Team Member Takes on Uganda

January 29, 2014

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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History of Our Growth

DIG Farmer Profile: Elaine Dabiré

January 28, 2014

Eliane Dabiré, 28, is a member of the AMES HIV Support Group in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.  DIG’s Local Facilitator, Salam Sawadogo, chatted with her a few weeks ago about her life and DIG.    HIV Status: I was sick for a long time and finally decided to visit the doctor when I began to have sores all over my body.  He advised me to the see the president of the AMES HIV Support Group as well as take an HIV test.

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Social Cohesion

Buwala Orphanage Progress Report

December 11, 2013

  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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Kenya

Home is Where the Heart Is

December 9, 2013

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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History of Our Growth

Through the Lens, Burkina Faso

September 23, 2013

DIG started working with the Lamizana Military Camp in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in March 2013. Our focus was to address the nutritional needs of the hospital’s HIV patients through the construction and implementation of a demonstration garden that focused on training participants in sustainable agriculture and nutrition for people living with HIV. The project is halfway through and we’ve been thrilled with the progress to date. Check out some photos we’ve captured along the way. We have loved working with this group

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History of Our Growth

Home Gardner Spotlight: Millogo Estelle

September 23, 2013

Millogo Estelle is a DIG gardener at our Lamizana Military Camp in Ouagadougou,  Burkina Faso.  She is part of a group called A.M.E.S. which stands for Association Militaire D’Entraide Etde Solidarite. It is an HIV support group that DIG started working with at the end of March 2013.  Estelle’s husband worked for the Burkina Military and died in 2010. For awhile she received food aid to help support herself and the 5 children in her care. Last spring, unable to

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Kenya

Local Facilitator: Sarah Obonyo

September 19, 2013

Meet one of DIG’s stars and amazing Local Facilitators, Sarah Obonyo.    Sarah is the mother of 4 beautiful children and wife to a loving and supportive husband. She lives in Rongo in Western Kenya and has a passion for learning. While Sarah never finished secondary school she is incredibly intelligent and has proven to be a more than capable teacher and an irreplaceable member of the DIG team in Kenya.    Sarah started working for DIG last year after she proved herself to be

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Press

13th Annual Summer of Love Pool Party Benefits Development in Gardening

September 18, 2013

DIG would like to say a BIG thank you to San Diego supporters Paul Davis and Fred Paisley for their creative and festive fundraising this summer!    Love is in the air – at least it was on Saturday, August 17th. Over 100 guests came out to support the 13th Annual Summer of Love Pool Party to benefit Being Alive and Development in Gardening (DIG).  Party Hosts, Paul Davis and Fred Paisley, were excited that the pool party raised approximately

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Help Us Plant The Seed

Help Us Plant The Seed

Your support will grow our capacity to equip uniquely marginalized families with the skills and experience to meet their own needs and improve their well-being through climate smart, nutrient-dense gardening. Help us plant the seeds. Consider a contribution today.

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