Central Rift Community Development Program

As we mark Safe Internet Day 2026, a global initiative dedicated to creating a safer and more empowering digital world for children and young people, this year’s theme, “AI Aware: Safe, Smart, and in Control,” calls on all of us to ensure that children are equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate an increasingly AI-driven digital environment safely and confidently.

At Central Rift Community Development Program, we recognize that as internet access continues to expand across our communities, so do both the opportunities and the risks facing children online. Through our child protection programming, digital literacy sessions, safeguarding trainings, and community sensitization forums with parents and caregivers, we work to promote responsible internet use, strengthen awareness on online risks, and empower children to speak up when they feel unsafe. We also integrate child online protection into our broader advocacy efforts to ensure that digital safety remains a priority in community spaces.

Safe Internet Day is a reminder that digital safety is not a one-day conversation but a continuous responsibility. As technology evolves, our commitment must evolve with it so that every child is not only connected, but protected, informed, and in control of their digital experiences.

In Marigat, where climate change continues to place immense pressure on agriculture through erratic rainfall, prolonged dry spells, and declining soil productivity, Central Rift Community Development Program (CRCDP), in partnership with KickStart International, trained 72 smallholder farmers on climate-smart agriculture as a practical and sustainable pathway toward resilience. The training focused on equipping farmers with hands-on skills in efficient water use, improved soil management, and adaptive farming practices that enable them to produce more food despite limited resources and increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. To further strengthen adoption and translate knowledge into action, selected farmers were provided with MoneyMaker starter pumps, enabling access to affordable irrigation, reducing overreliance on rain-fed agriculture, and allowing farmers to grow crops more consistently throughout the year. Through this intervention, farmers are better positioned to increase crop yields, stabilize household food supplies, and generate reliable income to support essential needs such as education, nutrition, and healthcare. Beyond immediate livelihood gains, the adoption of climate-smart practices promotes long-term environmental sustainability by conserving water, restoring soil health, and building resilient farming systems that ensure smallholder agriculture in Marigat remains productive and viable for future generations.

This past week we conducted an extensive livestock focused farmers training in collaboration with experts from the county’s Department of Livestock and Agriculture where participants explored in great depth the economic importance of dairy goat breeds such as Galla, Toggenburg and German Alpine as well as Dorper sheep which are highly valued for their resilience, high milk and meat yield, fast growth rates and the strong market demand that makes them reliable sources of income for rural households. Farmers were engaged in practical sessions on understanding different livestock production systems and how to select the most suitable system for their environment, proper housing and routine management practices that enhance comfort and productivity, record keeping for tracking production trends and making informed decisions, and effective kidding and lambing techniques that reduce losses and improve survival rates of young ones. The training further covered essential areas of livestock nutrition and feeding where farmers learned how to formulate balanced rations using locally available feeds to boost milk production and growth performance as well as comprehensive disease and pest control strategies aimed at minimizing morbidity and ensuring healthier herds. A strong emphasis was placed on value chain development where farmers were guided on how to position their milk, meat and breeding stock within competitive markets to increase profitability. To support these efforts a total of 134 farmers received dairy goats and Dorper sheep selected according to their specific climatic conditions to ensure the animals thrive and contribute meaningfully to improved livelihoods and long term economic stability.