The Pokot is a pastoral tribe in the remote Rift Valley Province of Kenya, coping with challenging living conditions: prolonged droughts result in scarcity of water and food, while subsequent heavy rainfalls wash away their fertile soil. Moreover, they are facing health issues due to lack of knowledge about personal hygiene, Female Genital Mutilation, malaria and HIV/AIDS.
To improve their situation, the community of the Pokot has requested the East Pokot Medical Project (EPMP) - a Kenyan NGO that provides basic healthcare to the Pokot since the 1980's – for a place where they can gather and learn about health issues and entrepreneurship and where they can gain skills to employ and enhance local resources. This request has led to the need for a facility that can house these activities: the Pokot Resource Centre.
Preliminary Design of the Pokot Resource Centre
2011 a former student group from this minor program, Team Pokot, investigated the possibilities for such a centre. Together with the community and the EPMP they developed a program of requirements, selected the building site and developed the concept for the initial design of the centre. In 2012 the Team Pokot raised a large sum of money for the project. Hereafter they decided to put the project on hold and first finish their studies in Delft before continuing the project.
In 2016 the EPMP and this team again started fundraising for the realisation of the centre. Before the realisation will start Team Pokot and the EPMP will be joined with four students from Delft. Their main task will exist of construction preparations and water engineering.
More information can be found on the website: http://www.pokotcommunitycentre.nl
