The African continent has become heavily reliant on foreign aid, and Kenya is no stranger to this. In fact, in 2019, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) listed Kenya as one of the top 10 recipients of Official Development Assistance (ODA), and the Kenya Institute of Economic Affairs estimates that the country received around 3 billion US dollars in aid in 2020. Overreliance on donors does more harm than good as it creates a debt burden and stifles local production.
Developing the model
74-year-old Bishop Titus Masika is one of those who recognised this problem. Determined to change the situation, he resigned from his teaching job and championed Operation Mwolio Out (Operation Relief Out). This is initiative aimed at enabling people to harness the resources within and around them so that they do not have to rely on others for sustenance and can instead be self-sufficient.
Masika’s decision to take an early retirement at the age of 50 was because he no longer wanted to work solely to earn money; he wanted to pursue his real passion – solving societal issues. For him, this was a chance to finally do something to improve the livelihood of his fellow countrymen. His contribution to the Operation Mwolio Out initiative is through his organisation, Christian Impact Mission, where he empowers his fellow Kenyans to believe that they have all the skills and knowledge necessary to improve their livelihoods on their own.
Making a real impact
The 2006-2008 Kenya drought was one of the most severe in the country. Millions of people died of starvation as did huge numbers of livestock, leading the late President Mwai Kibaki to declare it a national disaster. It was this period that triggered Maskia and the residents of Yatta to find a solution to their problems. Through Operation Mwolio Out, they dug water pans that could sustain them throughout the dry seasons and later began to grow their own crops.
Real change comes slowly, and it would take many years for the impact to be felt. However, their dedication eventually bore fruit. By 2009, 1,300 households in the area had water pans. Over the next few years, this number more than doubled to 4,000 as others noticed the success of their neighbours and joined in.
The farmers in the area who once relied on food from foreign countries became able to feed themselves. There was maize, cabbage, tomatoes and onions for the local market and French beans and bullet chilli for export. A programme that began in a semi-arid area solely dependent on food relief, now has almost 50 self-sustaining commercial villages, attracting nation-wide and governmental interest.
Passing on his knowledge
In less than two decades, the farmers in Yatta have broken the cycle of food relief reliance in their region, proving that it is indeed possible to achieve Zero Hunger.
However, this is only the beginning. Bishop Masika operates a training centre in Yatta where others can come to learn about Operation Mwolio Out. The model has been replicated in other areas of the country such West Pokot. In 2016, Masika published a book Mindset Change for Community Transformation. In it he shares the model and provides a roadmap for others to follow.
