Introduction

Moraa and the 2nd youngest in Faraja,
Michael

   The Faraja Children’s Home has its humble beginnings in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya, the largest slum in East Africa today. It unofficially began in 2006 when a compassionate single mother, Martha Moraa, rescued, and sheltered two children, one who is HIV-positive, from an abusive home. As word got around in Kibera that a woman was taking in unwanted children people started dropping off their children at Moraa’s - permanently. Touched by the plight of these children, Moraa decided to take them in despite the burden of providing for her own children (3 in total).
  

Some of the Friends of Faraja and the
children of Faraja

   Today, the Faraja Children’s Home is registered with the Ministry of Gender and Social Services as a Community-Based Organization and provides a safe haven for 34 orphans and vulnerable children. However, Faraja still faces many challenges, such as food shortages, an inability to pay the monthly rent and school fees for the children. The orphanage largely relies on the church, some friends and neighbors, and volunteers to fund its programs. Unfortunately, these sources of funding are erratic and inconsistent, and the orphanage continues to struggle financially.

The Kuku Farm

   In August 2009, Moraa’s eldest son, Omari, a final-year civil engineering student at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kakamega Town, Western Province, received a tender to supply 1000 t-shirts to his university. From this endeavor he was able to generate 50,000ksh (Kenyan Shillings). With this money, he built a corrugated-iron enclosure behind the orphanage, and purchased 200 one-day old chicks in February 2010. The plan was to start a chicken farm in order to create a consistent and reliable source of income for the orphanage.

Moraa with her eldest son Omari

   Unfortunately, one month later, around half the chicks died of infection, leaving behind 98 birds.    However, since implementing infection control techniques learned from an experienced chicken farmer, the birds have stopped dying. Daily precautions, such as adding disinfectant to the water, and placing a disinfectant tub at the entrance to the coop to disinfect the soles of the shoes, have brought  infection rates under control. The health of the poultry is also monitored by observing the color of the chicken droppings and the “alertness” of the birds every morning. An experienced veterinarian is called in to vaccinate the birds periodically, treat the chickens and give advice on poultry management as necessary.

   The eldest boys at the orphanage, ages 13-14, are trained to manage the farm. They feed the chickens every morning before they go to school, collect the eggs from the nesting boxes everyday to be sold to local shops in the nearby Ngong Town. Some of the eggs are also kept as a source of protein and meal supplementation. Today, the farm yields an average of over 60 eggs or 2 crates per day. Most of the profits are re-invested in the farm to buy chicken feed and to finish repaying debts previously accumulated from buying chicken feed on credit.

   The remaining profits are used to purchase some food for the orphanage, but are far from sufficient to help the orphanage become financially independent.

   With the viability of the current project Omari will finish paying his debts the week of August 16th, 2010. The kuku farm is supplying local retailers with fertilized eggs at 25ksh per egg and markets with unfertilized eggs at 7-8ksh per egg.

Project Description

The current coop is able to hold up to
400 chickens, right now it is at a
capacity of 98.

   Currently, the existing chicken coop in the orphanage is not being utilized to its full capacity. There are 98 chickens in a coop that can accommodate 400 chickens. The goal of this project is to add more chickens to the coop in order to begin optimization the farm’s egg production output. To do this, 200 1-day old chicks will be purchased and raised to maturity over a period of 4 months, at which point the mature birds will start laying eggs.

   Included in the costs will be expenses for anything needed to bring the chicks to maturity, including medicine and feed. Please view a detailed budget of this proposal HERE.

Project Feasibility

   This project will add more chickens to the existing chicken coop at the orphanage. There is a ready market for the orphanage’s eggs. Currently, eggs are being sold to local shops and restaurants in Ngong Town. The children advertise the eggs to local shops and restaurants. Sometimes, local volunteers refer local businesses to the orphanage. As a result, local businesses have been contacting the orphanage for eggs, asking for between 10-20 crates per day (however, the chicken farm is currently only able to supply two crates per day). Moreover, local businesses have been willing to support and purchase Faraja’s eggs because they understand that the Faraja Kuku Farm Project is for the financial sustainability of a local orphanage.
  
   In long term projections, the 98 original chickens will eventually be sold to market for meat and some can be used to supplement a weekly meal at the orphanage. Any profit made from the meat will be turned over back into the Kuku Farm to purchase more chicks.

Financial Outcomes*+

Omari and Dominick check for unfertilized eggs

  The 200 chicks will mature and start laying eggs at the end of the 4-month period. Five months after of the start of the project, a 70% production output is expected.  Assuming 210 birds are laying eggs everyday, or one egg per chicken, the projected output is 1,540ksh a day (at 7ksh per unfertilized egg). Of this, about 700ksh will be used to buy chicken feed making the net profit 850ksh, a projected increase of 250% over the current pre-project net profit of 240ksh.
 
   With a projected monthly profit of around 25,200ksh (840ksh per day) the orphanage can, and most importantly, afford to pay its monthly rent of 12,000ksh. A portion of the remaining profits will be used to purchase some food for the children, thus guaranteeing the orphanage some food security. Another portion will be set aside to be re-invested in the expansion of the chicken farm or other farming activities. The hope is to eventually enable the orphanage to generate its own income so that it can be financially self-sufficient.

*ksh = Kenyan Shillings

+ 80ksh = $1 USD

Conclusion

Alex and Kefa

   If all goes well, the Faraja Kuku Farm Project will provide the orphanage will a consistent source of income that will provide sustainability for Martha Moraa, Omari, and the children. Finances that were diverted towards rent can now be used for school fees, medicines, food, and other items necessary for the day to day needs of the children. Also, with a consistent form of income in one year time Omari will have a financial history that can make him appealing to micro-finance institutions (MFI) for low-interest loans to further improve the orphanage and begin other entrepreneurial endeavors.

  The project is feasible, since the skills, knowledge, and human resources for managing the farm are already in place, and infection control techniques implemented recently have tremendously increased the farm’s confidence in minimizing infection rates and reducing chicken mortality.

   Significantly, the project creates value for the orphanage, moving it closer to its goal of sustainability and self-sufficiency, while teaching the children at the orphanage some essential farming and entrepreneurial skills. This project will enable the children will learn an economically useful activity that will benefit them in the future. Moreover, this project will move the orphanage closer to its long-term goal, which is to expand the existing coop and build 2 more chicken coops to hold a total of about 1000 chickens. As the project grows, it will create social impact, as the lives of the children will be improved without having to rely solely on charity.