Help vegan activist feed flood-displaced people in Kenya

Kenneth Odhiambo Ndonga is feeding vegan food to Kenyan people displaced by flooding. Kenneth reports that since Friday evening May 3, he has supplied “vegan foods to 450 people camped at school. I distribute vegan foods such as baked rice with veggies, ugali from corn, fresh fruits, millet porridge, and tomato sauce.”

Towns across Kenya have been subjected to intense flooding. As of Sunday afternoon May 5, Reuters was reporting at least 228 people dead due to the floods, with hundreds of thousands displaced across East Africa’s largest economy. A local news story reports that in Ahero, a few miles northwest from Sondu up route A1, “Ahero market, Ahero Girls High School, the local hospital, and police station were all submerged in water.” 

This is a late-breaking update to one of our stories (below) in the Spring issue of issue of American Vegan magazine that is currently at the printer, so we are sharing that with you now. Kenneth Odhiambo Ndonga has been on a mission to increase vegan gardening and vegan living in his hometown of Sondu, Kenya, as detailed here. Now he has moved from cooking classes and community outreach to a more urgent mission of feeding displaced people and those struggling through this crisis in his town and nearby. 

To help Kenneth Ndonga with the costs of acquiring and distributing this food, donate via the PayPal account odhiambokenneth2022@gmail.com.
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Magazine article, p24, written earlier:

VEGANISM – Blooming in Kenya

Kenneth Odhiambo Ndonga, VCLE, with Cherie Hans, VLCE

I have been growing vegetables since I was a child in this rural area. I started my vegan journey in 2022 for health reasons, became an advocate for animal rights, and began vegan farming.

I launched the Sondu Vegan Support Center (SVSC) group in 2022 to help fellow citizens transition to vegan diets and grow their own nutritious food. The SVSC includes a library, and I teach veganic gardening and healthy cooking classes. Traditional dishes we prepare include mixed vegetables and ugali (cooked corn flour), baked sweet potato and porridge, soy milk, tomato-bean soup, baked bananas, cassava chips, chapati and cooked green grams, lima bean roast, fruit salads, pancakes, pizza, and much more. SVSC has a strong focus on helping people improve their health and is run out of the Nyabondo Rehabilitation Center hospital in Sondu.

As the first vegan activist in my community, veganism and its advocacy were initially met with skepticism and even disapproval. This began to change when people began to experience health improvements and local doctors started recommending that their other patients join the group which now has 37 active members.

Community outreach educational events are held Tuesdays and Thursdays, mostly attended by children and elderly, although everyone is welcome. The food served is locally sourced, traditional fare, made vegan.

I am hoping to collaborate with international volunteers who can help support my mission and take it to the next level. For instance, someone can volunteer from abroad to help with grant writing and fundraising. Even small grants can go a long way.

I would like to provide seeds to aspiring gardeners in my community as well as more cooking classes and workshops. Seeds include carrots, collards, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, beans, corn, millet, sweet potatoes, cassava, green grams, soy, chickpeas, avocados, mangoes, oranges, cucumbers, sunflower, peanut, and more. I also hope to buy flour mills and oil presses to produce products that will continue to help fund the Center. Another way for volunteers to help is by organizing an international vegan book drive for a community that has few vegan resources and poor network access. I am also eager to have volunteers visit Kenya to help teach community workshops.

More info: sonduvegan@gmail.com