We've got . Now a presentation from Ripple Effect, which are obviously the hopeful, Participants, sorry, the, the, the people who are gonna get the, the money from Simon's Memorial sustainability summit, because we've actually got a, it's not a just giving page, Mulo page I think it's called, and I know that . Rebecca or or Amelia will put the the link up for people to make contributions .

You know, we're obviously talking about sustainable agriculture, but also that one health thing that Simon was so interested in. He was doing amazing work in also making sure that in in countries, you know, where they are developing more, that agriculture is seen as a really important part of raising people up and also doing it in an environmentally sustainable way in a sort of regenerative agriculture way. And so I'm gonna let Paul actually .

Introduced Meshak, who is on er the ripple Effects team out in Kenya, Jambo Meshark. Jambo Jambo Kilau Asante sana. That's, that's great.

Thank you so much for coming on and Paul, I know you wanted to say a few words, one about Simon, but also about the charity, and then obviously. Meshach, if you want to pull your slides up, we're going to be talking about one health in action with rural Africa, farming communities. I, I know Meshach Simon was a great friend of you as well.

So I'm really looking forward to the presentation, but Paul, you know, please feel free to say a few words and then we'll pass on to Mashark to, to share the amazing work that you are doing in Africa and elsewhere. Great, I hope you can all hear me OK. I will just say a few words.

I won't say too much because, Meshach is, is dialling in from Nairobi, where it's, I think 7:30 in the evening, so there's real commitment, there from him to join us. . So my name is Paul Stewart.

I'm the CEO of Ripple Effect, I'm, I'm, I live in Bristol. Thank you very much, Anthony, for inviting us to this, webinar today. And, we've found it really exciting to hear about all the initiatives that are being done by the sector to create a more sustainable future for, for animals, people, and, and planets.

So I think you're achieving your goals, and it's a real honour to be here. It's great that you're calling it the the Docherty Sustainability Summit. Simon's connection with all of us at Ripple Effect, across the, the six countries in Africa and in the UK was profound.

And we heard from Anthony and John how much Simon touched their lives and deeply. And I know countless other people on this call today would have similar stories. Simon was.

So many things for me and to me. And he was always generous. He was a very warm person and, as Anthony said, enjoyed a good crack, a good chat.

And, was always very positive. And as with, I think it was John who shared earlier, I've certainly shed tears over the last few months and, and miss his friendship. I met him just over 11 years ago, shortly after I joined Ripple Effect, which at the time was, was previously known as Send a cow.

And over that time, he was always very committed amidst all the other things he did, across the sector. He was a super ambassador for us. He was on our UK steering group.

He was on the international board as vice chair, and also on our Africa board. And we were really delighted when he was named World Vet of the Year and, and won the one health category in 2024. It it says something of his generosity that on his way to collect the award in South Africa, he, he took time to visit the team in Nairobi and and and spent some time with Meshach and other colleagues.

So, I'm, yeah, I'm really pleased, Anthony, that you've mentioned hope quite a few times, and the fact that we can make a difference. I, I was at Trafalgar Square yesterday for an event remembering Nelson Mandela and his great speech 20 years ago, to the day, as part of the Make Poverty History campaign. And some people may remember that, people may be at, my sort of age.

And we were reminded that despite great progress, extreme poverty persists. So 800 million people go hungry every day. They don't know Whether they will eat tomorrow, they don't even know whether they will eat tonight.

And Nelson Mandela said, poverty is not natural. It can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. So again, just reiterating the importance of hope and that we can do something.

As Misha will share in a moment, One Health is integral to the approach of ripple effect, and it is a route out of poverty for many families and communities living in Africa. In fact, Simon often used to describe the ripple effect approach and our work as one health in action. I can see the links being posted on the chat and I'm sure it can be accessed through the webinar vets summit page and there'll be a QR code later, which Mishach will show at the end of his presentation.

He will talk a bit more about what we do and, and the way that One Health works at Ripple Effect. I would encourage everyone attending, if you knew Simon, please do share. A memory or a photo, or you can even light a virtual candle, on the much loved page.

And if you can do, give generously to this fund. If you've got any ideas on how you might be able to help, please reach out to us. We've had a good connection with the veterinary sector over many, many years.

And I'm hoping my colleague Ryan would put his, details on the chat, but also do contact me. We're really determined. To see Simon's work, influence and passion be kept alive.

I know from talking to his family over the last month to 6 weeks that they're really pleased that we're remembering him in this way. So, Simon, I, I trust that if you are looking down, you'll be smiling at this event and the . What we're all trying to do in creating a, a green revolution, and, to build a more sustainable planet.

So I'm gonna hand over to to Meshach now and thank you everyone, again, really appreciate the opportunity to share a bit about the work of Ripple Effect and to hear all, all that you're doing. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Paul, and thank you, everybody. So I'll briefly talk about one health in action with the rural farming communities. And And in my presentation, I'll just basically talk about 3 items.

I'll talk about a little bit about introduction, then ripple effect, one health practises as we do it with ripple effect and farming communities in Africa. Then I'll talk a little bit about the lessons that we, we, we want to scale. So, I have personally interacted with Doctor Doherty.

And Doctor Doherty, as Paul said, visited Africa and we interacted in Nairobi for some time. We visited other partners as well. We had discussions around one health and how we are doing one Health and ripple effect.

And Doctor Doherty, within that short period of time that we interacted, he shared with us a lot of information. Most importantly, he gave me as the focal person for Ripple effects leading the sustainable agriculture, thematic area. He shared with me these three documents which I went through, and I found them to be very, very interesting and very informative.

The 2nd 2 documents are actually the 2nd, the 2nd and 3rd document were actually his previous presentations which he felt that he needed to share with me. But one most important quote I took from Doctor Doha the lad is that one he is a root out of poverty. And I think this reckons very much with what we are doing.

As ripple effect because as ripple effect we work more with the farming communities, equipping them and inspiring, you know, them to be able to transform lives and protect, the planet. So I thought that that was really, really was very important. It's something to us, it aligned very well with what we are doing.

So as ripple effect. Equipping and inspiring and building the capacity of communities to be able to transform life on the planet at the centre of our heart. And specifically, we are looking at how communities can access efficient, safe and nutritious food, how people can increase more income and become financially secure.

We are looking at how communities can adapt it better and effectively to climate crisis. I think there was a mention, I think Anthony, is your opening remarks you mentioned about challenges of climate crisis. And then ensuring inclusion, the youth, you know, the women, the gender issues, and, and the inclusion of marginalised communities in development.

But we're also looking to be a catalyst for change as, as an organisation. So, I think. Africa, Africa's small haul of farming is quite challenging and it is in a unique context.

Just as it was mentioned, climate change has become the most difficult, phenomenon that, you know, small holder farmers in East Africa are dealing with. Ranging from extended periods of droughts, you know, a lack of water for animals, lack of food, to extreme levels of lads and landslides that wash away the farms and destroy the infrastructure. It's almost becoming, you know, a day to day phenomenon that small holder farmers who are resource limited are, are dealing with.

But also on top of that, one of the challenges that, you know, farmers have, and that's why we are coming in, is the education, the awareness and the understanding on how to protect the climate, how to conserve the environment, the farming, and how to, you know, keep the animals in a sustainable way, how to improve their health so that the animals can support them. Livestock is a very important common component of the, you know, small hauler household within East Africa. Almost every household has a livestock.

Either pets or, or a cow or, or, or a goat or a poultry and so on. So these are very important part of the household economy. And that is why small holder farmers need the skills, they need the capacity to be able to manage these important resources that can support their livelihoods and even improve their resilience to climate crisis.

So in our work with the communities in Africa, we are looking at one health in 3 sectors or in 3 pillars. So one is animal health. Second is human health, and thirdly is environmental health.

And I have seen in my, I mean, in, in, in previous presentations in this webinar, I've seen very, very interesting and, and, and very good presentations on environmental health, you know. So even with animal health, for example, I mean, one presenter talked about the nutrition for the pets, which is critically important. So we are looking at animal health, how to improve the welfare of animals, how to improve the feeding, how to improve their overall health, how to look at pest and disease control.

Human health is very important. Pauly just mentioned where, you know, 2 million people going hungry and then more than I think most people have been affected in Africa. Facing hunger because of the challenges I mentioned.

And because of that, there are high levels of malnutrition, and we know that malnutrition affects the overall health of people. So human health is very important. So we are looking at, you know, the health of food, the balanced diet, sanitation and hygiene, zoonotic disease prevention and so on.

And then environmental health, looking at, you know, agroecological approach to farming, soil health, landscape restorations. Indigenous crops and renewable units. So these are the three most important pillars and they're integrated.

So when we're working with the households, we we integrate these 3 important pillars. Let me talk a little bit about the health of animals. So when it comes to health animals, we are looking at all kinds of animals, be it, you know, the equine, be it the, small livestock, small ruminants, the goats, and, and so on.

But we're also looking at, you know, the pets such as the dogs. Because dogs have a, you know, the rabbit, for example, is a very, you know, problematic area when it comes to East Africa, because of the rabies and the dog bites, and so on. But basically, we are looking at fair treatment of animals such as the donkeys.

We are looking at, you know, appropriate feeding, like I mentioned, and we're also looking at appropriate housing. So that the animals can live in a good, you know, and, and, and, environmentally good environment. But you're also looking at husbands with welfare where communities can be able to improve the productivity of their animals within that land.

Then we're also looking at animal health service providers. This is very important because one of the gaps that we have, when it comes to, you know, the animal welfare and animal health. Is where farmers do not have the, you know, adequate access to veterinary services.

The general services in governments, most of them are underfunded and therefore, the capacity for outreach programmes for communities is very limited and farmers do not have the skills. So what we are doing is that we are building the capacity of community people, the young people, such as the ones you see here, Grace from Rwanda and Peter from Kenya. So we are building the capacity of these young people.

Who have basic education to be able to be community animal health service providers and who can work side side side by side by farmers. But not just making sure that the skills that there is capacity within communities, but also ensuring that these young people are creating, you know, incomes out of these services. So it is, it is, it is a a a pay for service scheme.

Where after they are qualified and they can be able to, you know, advise, and then farmers can go to them and the farmers can pay them. So it is also an income element. It's an inclusion because of women and youth.

So it's an integrated kind of a programme. So, and we are doing this just to ensure that farmers have access to information, farmers have have access to advisory services, but also these people are earning income. And also they are included in this because of the gaps that exist.

So the animal health work service providers are very important and key people in our work because they offer, you know, last mile advisory services to farmers. But also just to ensure that these animal health service providers are sustainable and, and they're growing, then we are also supporting them to form associations, associations of animal health service providers. Through that, then they can learn better from each other, they can share experience.

They can also, you know, provide their own schemes where they can even engage governments, they can create connections, and they can also formalise, you know, their association so that they can be able even to access credit and expand their work. So these are very important sustainability mechanisms that can, you know, support animal health service within communities. The second element I talked about is the health of people.

So with the health of people, we are looking at nutrition. Very, very important. When small children lack, you know, adequate nutrition, there are negative implications that can, you know, affect them, including mental, effects.

And this can affect them in their lifetime. So we are looking at how communities can have, you know, adequate safe nutritious food through sustainable farming methods. Transformation is very important within the farming, you know, framework that we do.

Now, Mr. Duri here, I keep using him as an example because I visited his farm from Western Kenya. Mr.

Du was living with HIV AIDS. He was hopeless. He had given up in life.

He became alcoholic and so on. So when we started working with Mr. Ow.

We took him through a series of trainings, but most importantly, mental kind of counselling. We connect, we connected him, we linked him to the public health service providers. They trained him on sanitation and hygiene, nutrition.

We trained him on how to do sustainable farming. We linked him to the peer groups that are also getting counselling, other people who are affected by HIV AIDS. He was able to be with others.

He developed confidence and so on. But most importantly is that now, when Mr. Toor adopted sustainable farming and with all those trainings, now Ms.

Tour is a supply of vegetables. The stigma that was there before is no longer there because you can imagine somebody who was stigmatised because he's living with HIV AIDS. Now he's a supplier of vegetables and and fruits within the community and not only a supplier, but people are coming to his home to buy those vegetables.

What that tells you is that the stigma has gone down. So the people element, the people capacity, the change of attitude and the economic empowerment that comes with that is a very important element of human health. But not only that, but also a very important element of farming and ensuring that nutrition and human health is achieved.

The other technology, I think, let me just talk about this briefly, the push technology, which is an ecological, ecological technology that prevents weed and pest management in maize. The picture you see here is called al Aworm, which is a very bad pest for maize. It can actually destroy like 90% of maize farm.

And therefore, what farmers will normally do is that when they see pest, they will go to the, you know, shops, agriculture shops, and they will buy the chemicals and they will come and spray and spray. And this has negative impacts on the environment, on the farms, in water sources, pollution. When when rain, you know, comes, falls, and, and then the water is washed down, the chemicals are washed down to water sources.

Some of the communities and livestock take water from the natural streams. So if these natural streams are polluted, you can imagine, and we have had those incidences. So push pool is an ecological way of pest management where maize is integrated with a legume crop called called desmodium.

And then outside the farm, we have this grass called braaria grass. So it is bracaria grass outside the farm, and then we have maize intercropped with the Desmodium. What happens with the Desmodium is that the Desmodium produces chemicals that actually push the pest out of the farm, and the braaria has the chemicals that do the opposite, attract the best out of the farm.

At the end of it is called push pool. So the ma farms that are intercropped with Desmodium and braaria, you know, they become safe. I mean, there's a push of them, so they are not affected by these pests.

That is an ecological way of pest management rather than buying chemicals and spraying and, you know, destroying the whole ecosystem, the biodiversity and causing pollution. This farmer here is a champion of push pool because when we worked with her in Western, Uganda, her farm was completely unproductive because of that problem of, you know, for anyone. Now, when we worked with Josephine and she adopted the pushpul, she has become a champion of pushpul.

The, the, the, the man you see there is a, is, is her husband. He had gone to Kampala to look for a job because life was very difficult. Josephine was able to recall, and to call back her husband to come back so that they can work together.

And most importantly and most exciting is that Josephine, is not just like he's a champion of post, but he's also doing business. You see, the wheelbarrow that you see there, she has prepared seedlings of Desmodia. And she's actually selling them and earning income.

At the same time that some reaching out to other farmers and encouraging them and the other farmers are also coming to her farm, to see how Bush pool is working. So this is exciting, but this bush pool is also a very nutritious fodder for livestock, very nutritious fodder for livestock. La dairy cows that feed on fodder increase, increase milk production by 25%, between 20 to 25%.

And that is why other farmers who are keeping livestock are also lacking. So you can imagine having, you know, an ecological way of producing nutritious fodder, but also, you know, protecting crops against pests. Key lessons that we intend to scale up.

One is we need more education and awareness. This, this is because in East Africa, not many people have internalised, not many people are completely aware of the role of one health to poverty reduction. And so we need more awareness, we need more education on how one health works and how one health can create.

You know, a complementary ecosystem that has multiple benefits. 3, we also need to strengthen multi-stakeholder solidarity, particularly bringing on board, you know, research and other stakeholders. Then we also need a multilayer approach from local to global and then working together with the government more and more and more.

I know some governments have developed one healthy strategies. But these strategies is, is a challenge to, you know, operationalize them because different sectors operate differently. They allocate budgets differently.

And these are the issues that we are working on as a ripple effect to support communities, but also stakeholders. So thank you for listening, but if you scan this code, you can learn more about Simon Dohaty's legacy, and you can also leave a message in his memory as you support the One Health Action Fund, like Paul said. Thank you very much for listening.

Messia Cassante San. What a fantastic presentation. I love push pull.

I think this is where, you know, a holistic approach, using less chemicals, protecting the planet, protecting the people who, you know, have to drink the water. It's an amazing system, so. Thank you so much for that.

I know, Sibra obviously just won our awards and I've chatted to them in the past about their Pule Bilet system and Burkina Faso, you know, creating, chickens that can breed successfully in Africa. Not only are they meat producers, but obviously they produce eggs. And obviously if we can put eggs into children's diets in Africa, it helps with .

You know, preventing stunting of growth helps with their mental capacity as well, so the work that you do, my shark is truly inspirational. Thank you for everything that you are doing and thank you for a fabulous presentation. Thank you.