Dear Friend,

During a recent visit to our program in Kenya, one of our board members had a particularly impactful time visiting Savings Groups in Marsabit. Program participants had shared about the devastating loss of over 80% of their cattle, the main source of their livelihoods. By mid-2022, the lack of water and pasture had killed 273,000 livestock in Marsabit.  The situation has improved somewhat since the severe drought has broken, but it will take years to build herds up again.

Many of the regions where Five Talents work in Kenya have experienced severe drought five seasons in a row and now more recently, flooding. Millions of people across the country have lost their livelihoods due to the drought, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Women and girls in particular face increased risks of gender-based violence as they travel long distances in search of food and water and encounter growing tensions in their homes. 

Still, the women in our Literacy and Savings Groups are learning, teaching their children, and saving and investing! Our program model facilitates sustainable development so that communities become resilient even amidst the most difficult circumstances.

Five Talents serves some of the most vulnerable communities in the world, which are facing brutal effects of conflict, gender inequity, food shortage, and global climate change.  From our friends in Marsabit and all around the world, thank you for walking alongside our entrepreneurs.