What We Do

IT IS THE MISSION OF LIVING TESTIMONY INTERNATIONAL TO HELP THE ORPHANS OF KENYA!

These wonderful kids lack a lot of the opportunities that other children take for granted. In fact a very special treat for the children in the above picture was just getting a handful of cheese puffs and three slices of plain white bread. When these kids heard that we were coming to visit them they waited for over ten hours just to meet us, not that we were anybody special. Because there are no living facilities at most of these locations the kids are "farmed" out to relatives and just anyone that has a warm heart and a place to sleep. At the end of the day the children were given the option of going to their "homes" or waiting for us. Almost every child chose to wait.

One of Living Testimony's goals is to provide facilities and staffing to provide round the clock care and education for the children to prepare them for a brighter tomorrow. Please remember that each child already knows heartache, having already lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS. And they all know the pain of going to sleep with too little food in their stomach. It will be through the out pouring of generous hearts such as yours that we can reach this goal and can offer them hope for tomorrow.

Our work is primarily in the out-laying villages and orphanages of Kenya helping to feed, clothe, and educate the children who were left without families by the HIV/AIDS crises. These children do not fall under governmental support and their only hope for survival and to reach their full potential is through the generous support of good people such as you.

One such children’s home is the Matuu Vision Orphans Centre catering for 180 children aged between 3-10 years. It was started to address the plight of the increasing number of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in Yatta District formerly part of Machakos District of Kenya. These Children are taught, fed and clothed by LTI/LTO.

We have an ongoing feeding program that is currently impeded by lack of financial resources. We ask that you seek God’s guidance in your decision as to how you can help. Living Testimony is a charitable organization so you can rest assured that the maximum amount of every shilling or dollar donated will go to help the children.

Yatta is one of the 10 Districts in Eastern Province of Kenya. It lies within the foreland plateau between Rift Valley and Nyika Plateau. It is a semi-arid area where it receives rain for only 2 months in the year (from mid October to mid December), with the rest of the year being dry. The area receives less than 250 mm-500mm (10") of rainfall per year with average temperatures of 290 to 360c (840 to 970f) resulting to very low yields or even at times, no harvest is realized at all; prompting the Government to provide relief food to the people. Thus, poverty levels are very high in the area. A baseline study undertaken by LTI in June 2007 revealed that 74% of the population in Yatta District depends mainly on agriculture for their livelihood. The almost complete reliance on agriculture and absence of other livelihood options makes the community particularly vulnerable to natural disasters like drought and ill- health. Crops planted in this area include maize, beans, sorghum, pigeon peas, cowpeas, cassava, green grams, millet, cotton, mangoes and bananas. In addition, 76% of households keep livestock for beef and milk. The off-farm sector also contributes to household income, particularly during non-farming post-harvest months. However, within the population, 69% experience periods of food shortage. Food insecurity in Yatta District is primarily caused by poverty resulting from productive activities that do not generate enough income or food. In the proposed project area, households’ level of income is between 1000-3000 KSH, (i.e. USD $12 to USD $38 per year). The rural poverty line is 1238.86 Ksh (USD $110.00) and poverty Incidences in the rural areas are 52.93%.

Whereas many farmers have extensive pieces of land, they do not have the relevant techniques for modern farming In December 2007, LTI in collaboration with REFUGE OF HOPE CHURCH, and affiliated communities set up a demonstration farm for demonstrating agricultural technologies to farmers who otherwise faced poor harvests due to unreliable rainfall, poor planting techniques, low quality seeds and poor soils. This pilot project provided a platform for incorporating best practices from farmers and modern techniques from research and academic institutions into the farming process so as to improve food production of upto10 000 households in the project area. Crops piloted were watermelon, maize, and pepper.

Service Delivery Plan: LTI plans to implement this project using a two-pronged approach. The community will systematically receive training and capacity building in all planned activities that support the proposed objectives. This will seek to increase food availability and utilization. They will receive training in agro-processing technologies and specialty crop development. LTI will facilitate linkages and networks and form Farmer’s Associations (FAs) to develop sustainable systems for farmers to increase income earned from improved production activities. While these back stopping activities will be going on, LTI will assist FAs and elect Community Own Resource Persons (CORPS) to initiate new proposed activities in HIV/AIDS and Nutrition.