By Donald Ndahiro, Team Leader

In 2006, the Mayange cluster faced many challenges. The biggest was famine that forced the migration of local people to other areas and was the result of erratic rainfall, inadequate farming techniques and poor soils. A large number of people depended on food aid from the government, or its partners. There was one malfunctioning health center serving an area of about 25,000 people. Sufficient access to clean, safe water was also a big challenge. Therefore, the focus of the Millennium Villages project was on community organization, the supply of farm inputs and training, soil and water management and on improving health services and the existing schools.

With increased food production, priorities switched to establishment of community food storage systems, diversification to drought tolerant crops, introduction of rain water harvesting techniques and improvements in the management of health and education services. The cluster also began to integrate MVP interventions with government structures by creating local administrative units and by jointly developing, implementing and monitoring common development plans.

Current priorities focus on building the capacity of the community and the government institutions to assume control and sustain the achievements to date. The cluster is working to strengthen the linkage between community groups and individuals to finance institutions. It is also continuing to focus on high value crops like fruits and vegetables, pursuing possibilities for irrigation, supporting the development of cooperative businesses and targeting support to specific, vulnerable groups. The Mayange cluster also continues to pursue key infrastructure developments such as water and electricity connections.