Searching for the next zone

The search for a new zone involves introductory visits to local administrators, and plenty of walks through a sampling of different neighborhoods.

A working group of staff members representing each UKR department has been visiting new areas in search of the organization's next zone.

They're trying to find the least-served communities within a practical distance of UKR’s offices. The effort involves studying data and visiting in-person to understand the needs of each community. What the team is learning is that it’s areas they don’t see day-to-day, those places far off main roads and sometimes inaccessible by car, that present the best opportunity for UKR to make a transformational impact.

A zone for UKR is also known as a “ward” on Kenya’s maps, and it’s typically an area that’s five or ten miles on any one side, with a population of about 2,000 households. UKR seeks to serve 30 families in each zone who fall within the bottom few percent of the socioeconomic ladder.

After making a final decision on what community comes next, UKR will work with its village managers to identify 100 or so individual families that can really use assistance the most. From there, social workers will visit those families to meet them, see how they live, and gather data for a rigorous assessment process that decides which families qualify for Family Care.