About Our Sustainable Approach
We don't want communities to rely on us forever. We want to give them the skills and confidence so they can thrive.
Our commitment to sustainable development means that our projects will be around forever without relying on external funding. Collaborating together with our communities in East Africa, we're working towards improving education, child wellbeing, women's empowerment and health care, so that communities can thrive long term without our support. Keep reading to learn about some of our amazing projects which have entered our Sustained phase...
About Our Sustainable Approach
We don't want communities to rely on us forever.
We want to give them the skills and confidence so they can thrive.
Our commitment to sustainable development means that our projects won't be around forever. Collaborating together with our communities in East Africa, we're working towards improving education, child wellbeing, women's empowerment and health care, so that communities can thrive long term without our support. Keep reading to learn about some of our amazing projects which have entered our Sustained phase...
Miti Mingi Village Reintegration and Reunification
Country : Kenya
Project Status : Sustained
Project Impact : Reintegration of 120 vulnerable children into loving, financially stable homes.
Previously, So They Can had supported the creation of 15 loving, safe, non-institutional family based homes for 120 orphaned and vulnerable children being nurtured by a dedicated full-time ‘mama’ giving these children a true sense of security and stability.
As part of our development work, this project has reintegrated all children into their communities and now supports the families through the development of entrepreneurial skills, life skills and seed funding for income generating activities in order to ensure the children are in a safe and loving environment.
Project Goal : Our goal is to ensure a happy and healthy upbringing for all students so that they can focus on their studies and thrive.
About Miti Mingi Children's Village : Miti Mingi Children’s Village, meaning ‘many trees’ in Kiswahili, provided a home and family for those who do not have or are unable to remain with their family of origin. Miti Mingi Village provided a safe and loving home for 120 orphaned and vulnerable children who were cared for by a team of dedicated ‘mama’s, our Village Director and Village support team.
The Village was a bright, colourful and safe place with 15 individual family homes, each with 8 children ‘siblings’ and each with a nurturing ‘mama’ who was committed to being with the children for life.
So They Can is now looking at alternative uses for this village to continue to provide support in the community.
Sew Women Can
Country : Kenya
Project Status : Sustained
Project Goal : As part of our Women's Empowerment Program, Sew Women Can's goal was to create a true social business that elevated women through education, skills creation and employment opportunities to improve their lives and those of their families.
An additional layer to the Sew Women Can project was bibi&me, a social impact brand that was established to showcase and build a marketplace for artisan products, handmade by more than 50 women working together in weaving cooperatives in rural Kenya.
Project Impact : In 2021, after 6 years of success, we handed over the reigns of our Sew Women Can project to the incredible women who we have trained, allowing them to run and grow the business independently moving forward.
Following our Sustainability Plan, the Sew Women Can team is now empowered with both the sewing skills and the business — this means they are able to continue to generate their own income, while also providing and creating new opportunities for their community.
Sew Women Can will always be close to our hearts, and we have every intention of continuing to be its best customer. The team at Sew Women Can now make our NIA Dignity Kits, as part of our Keeping Girls in School project, allowing girls to feel comfortable and confident to attend school while on their period.
Mamire Teachers' Training College
Country : Tanzania
Project Status : Sustained
Project Outline, Goal and Impact: We all remember our favourite teacher. So They Can knows the value of those special people who shape, form and inspire us to achieve.
Mamire Teachers’ Training College was designed in response to a major teacher deficit, to create quality teachers for our students in East Africa. The Public Private Partnership model is the first teachers’ training college of its kind for the Tanzanian Government, who in partnership with So They Can has made a commitment to making it a model educational institution.
Today the college graduates up to 100 quality teachers each year who progress to employment in local government primary schools. Collectively these teachers go on to provide quality education for thousands of children every year.
As our first sustained facility in our Education program, our focus has moved from construction to enhancing the Government’s curriculum by providing access to wifi and water, opportunities for practical teaching experience, academic support from our international university and facilitating internships through our partner schools and Silverleaf Academy.
Since the College opened in 2016, our students have consistently achieved some of the best results in the country, which in turn helps us attract quality candidates to the College. Mamire Teachers’ Training College is currently ranked #1 out of all 70+ private and public colleges in the country.
New Canaan Health Clinic
Country: Kenya
Project status: Sustained
Project Outline, Goal and Impact: In 2015 we created a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health, Nakuru County, to support the New Canaan Health Clinic and provide essential services to the local community (10,000+ people), based in the middle of what was an Internally Displaced person camp.
Since the project's inception, the overall health of the community has improved significantly with a reduction in childhood mortality and illness due to the immunisation program with family planning information helping to educate the next generation. So They Can's support has enabled the clinic to see 24,000 patients a year.
In 2022, the clinic entered So They Can's sustained stage, having been supported by our organisation for 9 years. Initially, the clinic was offering only basic curative services. Support from So They Can enabled the clinic to broaden the services to include family planning, ante-natal and post-natal services, child welfare and immunisations, laboratory services, HIV Testing and community support and follow up services.
At the time of So They Can's exit, the facility was serving about 2,000 patients every month. This saw the health of the community greatly improve. Due to the support from So They Can, the clinic was able to greatly improve services and increased access especially for the children and the elderly with ready access to prescribed medicines at no cost.