MARIGAT CKC OPEN DAY

Marigat CKC held an Open Day on 21st ,August, 2009 at the Divisional Livestock Office from 10.00 .pm. The key objective of the Open Day was to reach out to more community members in a bid to inform them about the services offered at the centre. The function which involved Stakeholders in Marigat District offered them a chance to meet the community members and inform them on their products and services. This was also a good platform for them to reach out to community members as the District is still new and members of the community have yet to familiarize themselves with the stakeholders. The event also presented a good opportunity to Stakeholders to interact and exchange ideas among themselves.

Guests

The guests of Honour that day were Marigat District Commissioner Geoffrey Taragon, ALIN Board of Director from UK Peter Cranston and his wife Margaret Cranston. Also present was Marigat District Officer Lincoln Chege and Area Councilor Isaac Bowen.
In his speech the area D.C expressed appreciation for what ALIN has done to enable the Marigat community to keep pace with the rest of the world as far as ICT is concerned. He was particularly thankful for the computer services he got from the CKC when he was still new in the District. He encouraged the participants to make good use of the internet services available at the center.
Peter Cranston applauded what ALIN has done in rural ares such as Marigat in bringing information closer to the people and bridging the digital gap in ASAL areas.
Alex Kiprono a representative from Kari thanked ALIN for the partnership they had with the Center saying it had been very useful to the institute in terms of acquiring information. He challenged community members to take advantage of the services offered at the service in order to improve their livelihoods.
Also addressing the gathering James Maina from the Ministry of Livestock who hosts the center thanked ALIN for creating partnering with them saying their relationship had been beneficial to both sides .He encouraged more Government Ministries to partner with NGOs in order to achieve good results.

Exhibitions
The Exhibitors present on that day included Kenya Agricultural Research Institute(KARI),Kenya Forestry Research Institute(KEFRI), Ministry of Agriculture,Ministry of Youth, Kenya Commercial Bank(KCB), KADET Microfinance, Baringo Teachers Sacco and Kenya Marines. Also present were Community Based groups such as MIDS, Kirambach Womens group and Kapchereren Womens Group.

Other participants included members from other Alin's centres in Kenya namely Kyuso, Kakamega, Ndhiwa, Isiolo, Nguruman, Lukwanga and Shinyanga in Uganda and Tanzania respectively. All participants had a stands where they showcased their products and services. Guests and members of the community moved through the stands viewing displays.
KEFRI's main exhibition was products made from the prosopis tree which was introduced in the area to combat desertification but has raised mixed feelings among locals in the area, since its is invasive with the locals feeling that it has done more harm than good. The aim was the exhibition was to show that the tree can be exploited to produce useful products.

KARI displayed their varied knowledge on agricultural and livestock products that are adaptable to local environment.

In the Ministry of youth stand guests were taken through how the Ministry was working with the youth in the District in a bid to improve their livelihoods through such initiatives as Kazi kwa Vijana program which gives young people jobs on a short term basis.

KCB and Baringo Teachers Sacco each had a stand on product and services offered at the Banking Institutions. KADET a micro -finance subsidiary of World Vision Kenya had a display on which they provide financial services to the low income entrepreneurs thereby contributing to poverty reduction by supporting small and micro enterprises.

Mainyoto Ilchamus Integrated Development Society a community based organization from the Ilchamus (Njemps) community ad on display some of their cultural attire. They also guests demonstrated to the guests how to preserve grains using vegetable oil.

Kirambach Womens group who have started a project of using Aloe -Vera to make medicines and soaps displayed some of their products. Kapcherren Womens group who are involved in bee keeping displayed some of their bee products.

Among the CKCs Kyuso CKC had a display on the use of OISAT in their center in order to inform farmers on the dangers of pests and also how to make mango juice. Lukwanga CKC demonstrated how to make avocado juice using ripe avocados and how to start a mushroom garden. Shinyanga CKC showcased their knowledge on herbal medicines and pesticides. Nguruman CKC showcased some of the services offered at the centre and also how to grow aloe-vera.

The guests also had a chance to visit Marigat CKC and get acquainted with the services offered at the centre. They also learnt about the information resources available at the centre which include books,magazines posters and the Open Knowledge Portal(OKN).


Attendance
A total of approximately 200 people attended the event,this included exhibitors,guests and community
General Description
The colorful event was marked with entertainment from traditional groups such as Beatrice dancers, Turkana dancers and Yatoi women group .Though the attendance from community members was lower than expected those who attended learnt a lot from the displays including how to make chapati using mathenge seed pods. The day also played a significant role in promoting the CKC and we expect more people to pay a visit to the center in order to take advantage of the services offered.