HISTORY
Village Life Matters (VILLIMA, INC) was founded in 2020 by the president, Sylvester Ochieng. VILLIMA, INC germinated out of Sylvester’s love and passion for the forgotten poor whom he has been meeting and working with throughout his life journey. He has met and worked with the forgotten poor within the rural villages and inner Cities of Africa, within the “Bible Belt” States and within the inner cities of the United States.
Before coming to the United States, Sylvester lived and worked with the forgotten poor of Gallapo village and of the inner city of Arusha-Tanzania. Likewise, he lived and worked with the forgotten poor of Uyoma Village and of the inner city of Nairobi-Kenya. Upon his arrival in the United Sates, the love and passion for the forgotten poor took Sylvester to the “Bible Belt” States where he had first-hand experience with poverty while living and working with seasonal immigrant workers and the Native Americans. Sylvester later relocated to the Nation’s Capital, Washington DC, where he came face to face with the urban poor and poverty.
Throughout his life, Sylvester has been moved by the firsthand experience of harsh living conditions of the poor and has developed a natural sense of community and service. He reports, “living among the forgotten poor has shaped my values and the direction of life. Wherever I travel to, I always find myself in the midst of the poor. And as a rule of nature, I have learned to assimilate with them and to live for them”. Sylvester believed that there was no other better way of fighting poverty in his life journey but through VILLIMA, INC, Thus, VILLIMA, INC was legally founded and incorporated in the State of Maryland as a Tax-Exempt non-stock corporation.
OUR MISSION
To Build Back Better forgotten poor communities and to bring them at par with modern standard of living.OUR VISION
To be the trusted leader in fighting poverty among the forgotten poor communities.OUR CORE VALUES
Service Oriented — We are pro-actively striving to anticipate and meet the needs of poverty-stricken communities with love and compassion
Community first — We strive to deliver the best services in every community we serve.
Integrity — We conduct ourselves according to the highest ethical standards and communicate openly and honestly, while building trust.
Respect — We treat every single person living in the poverty-stricken communities and all human beings with the highest professionalism, dignity, love and compassion.
Innovation — We embrace change and work to improve all our services in a fiscally responsible manner, leaving behind a lasting legacy of tangible changes in communities.
EDUCATION
At VILIMA INC, We fight poverty among the forgotten poor beginning with education. We provide educational tools and resource to our students from High school, Vocational school, college/universities, until they find meaningful employment. We pride ourselves on the accomplishments of our alumni and their willingness to give back to their Alma Mater in any way they can.
HEALTH
At VILIMA INC, we fight poverty among the forgotten poor by aligning stakeholders from local healthcare providers, government, and the communities with a goal to improve health. We invest in understanding what drives community-level needs and how those needs impact individuals in the community. Continuously, we build targeted networks of resources; medical equipment, medication, and personnel know how that meet the unique needs of every community we serve. In every community where we are present, our targeted centers include service to the elderly, HIV/AIDS patients, disabled children, addiction centers, nutrition centers, and other social health services.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
At VILIMA INC, we do believe that leaving the environment in a better condition than we found it is another way of fighting poverty among the forgotten poor. Across sub-Saharan Africa, human activities such us lumbering and charcoal burning has depleted the soil coverage which can no longer sustain meaningful agriculture. We correct the environmental damages by educating the local communities on restoration practices including; tree planting and restoration of river water drainage systems.
SHELTER
VILIMA INC, is a proponent of Housing First Model (HFM) and we do believe that poverty cannot be fought among the forgotten poor without having a roof over our heads. Having a decent and affordable shelter frees families from physical and mental hardships, increases quality of life, confidence, and self-reliance. We are called to go to the most vulnerable villages and/or inner cities, to evaluate housing needs and to help the families there build and/or improve quality and affordable shelters. Through our services, we ensure that no family gets soaked by rainstorm and incessantly bitten by bugs including mosquitoes.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE & NUTRITION
VILIMA INC continues fighting poverty among the forgotten poor by planting seeds of brighter future through sustainable agriculture. Being moved by the harsh reality of poor families, we have concluded that providing them with food donations alone will not solve their problems. We are present in the forgotten poor communities providing families with tools like hoes, fertilizer, irrigation kits, and harvesting equipment. We train families on improved and modern farming methods with emphasis on fast-growing, drought-resistant seeds.
CLEAN WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE
VILIMA INC would not accomplish her mission without addressing scarcity of water, sanitation, and hygiene among the forgotten poor communities. Be it cholera epidemic or Waterborne illnesses spread by unsafe drinking water; we diligently work to reduce the number of complications that has led to death of many family members. We strive to provide families with clean water source, save lives and build healthier communities. We educate families on sanitation and hygiene and also provide them with water wells, purification systems, hygienic sanitation facilities, and cisterns.
CRISIS INTERVENTION
VILIMA, INC take pride in fighting poverty among the forgotten poor by replenishing resources of families whose finances has already been depleted by crisis. We meet families with unique set of challenges; death of a family member, behavioral and emotional difficulties, relationship problems, violent or threatening domestic situations, loneliness, depression, chemical dependency issues etc. that at times requires instant intervention. We assess case by case crisis culturally and intervene competently using strength-based approach to aid recovery, and re-gain confidence. We teach families who are going through crisis mental health awareness and provide them with supportive counseling.