Kenya Leads Africa Rural Connect in Third Round
National Peace Corps Association
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
November 9, 2009
PRESS
RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Africa Rural Connect (ARC), a new online community
hosted by The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA),
announced today the third-round winners of its online
contest to select the best ideas submitted on how to help
solve rural Africa’s greatest challenges in agricultural
development. The first- and second-prize winners were from
Kenya, while third prize went to a resident of the United
States.
The top two winners were a result of a surge
in postings from Kenya after a news article about the
contest ran in The Daily Nation last month. With 2,564
visits during the third round, Kenya continues to draw the
most traffic to the site outside of the United States.
Though most come from Nairobi, some are from the Nakuru,
Eldoret, and Mombasa regions.
“It’s inspiring to
see how many new ideas we received from Kenya in such a
short period of time,” says Molly Mattessich, manager of
Africa Rural Connect and a former Mali Peace Corps
volunteer. “We think there is a lot of untapped potential
in other African countries, and we hope to see those ideas
in the next round.”
The third round winners of the
ARC online contest are as follows:
Kenya-1st prize:
$3,000 project seed money
Electronic Agriculture in Kenya’s Arid and
Semi–Arid Lands (ASAL) Schools
Kenya-2nd prize:
$2,000 project seed money
Dehydration of Vegetable
Products
United States-3rd prize: $1,000 project
seed money
Irrigation is the Key for Africa to Take
on Drought
“Billions of dollars have been poured into development projects in Africa over the decades, but they haven’t translated into reducing poverty in any meaningful way,” says Macheru Karuku, who is executive director of Seanet International, a registered NGO in Kenya and the first-place winner of the third round of the Africa Rural Connect online contest. “The ARC approach is very different because not only does it solicit wide support from community members and stakeholders, but it also incorporates ideas and improvements from all over the world, which creates transparency and accountability.”
Powered by
a unique software platform called Wegora, the site (http://www.AfricaRuralConnect.org) continues to serve
as a valuable resource for discussing issues, identifying
problems, and building viable solutions to some of
Sub-Saharan Africa’s most entrenched problems The ARC
online contest supports the growth of these discussions and
serves as a platform where people propose plans of action,
spurring other ideas. Through November, cash prizes to
implement ideas are awarded monthly, with the top three
ideas receiving $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. One
grand prize of $20,000 will be awarded before the end of the
year.
“The next month is the last chance for people
to submit new ideas to help rural Africa before the final
round in this contest,” adds Mattessich. “We hope to get
even more suggestions from people around the world before we
choose the overall winner.”
The NPCA is a
non-profit, membership-based organization that serves all
returned Peace Corps Volunteers and former staff, as well as
Peace Corps family, friends, and
supporters.
ENDS