Lakeside Community Netherlands
Lakeside Community Netherlands is an organization that was started by Lakeside community members who felt the need to pool together to find ways to address their social, political and economic needs in the Diaspora and by extension back home. The organization has been in operation for the last 5 years. Whereas LSCNL is well placed to address the needs of its members it needs to strengthen its strategic outlook and operations so as to create a more measurable impact.
Although LSCNL has limited activities the yearly Lakeside cultural event organised by members has proved to be very successful and is a much awaited for social event amongst the Kenyans living in the Netherlands and amongst our Dutch Friends. Besides the yearly cultural event has also continued to be the only channel through which relationship amongst members has been fostered. In the last few years, we also had guests coming from as far
away as the UK and Belgium. Thus the potential to scale up this event is huge. LSCNL will explore ways to make this event a landmark event in the Schengen yearly events calendar.
Despite the limited activities, members are engaged with communities and families back home at personal levels in different ways. They remit school fees, funds to take care of daily livelihoods and hospital bills. Some members are engaged in community development projects supporting initiatives such as schools, water projects and home-based care projects.
Challenges
LSCNL has nevertheless faced quite some challenges which have impeded scaling up of activities and meeting the prescribed needs of the members except for the Annual cultural get together. As a result, there is lethargy within the membership, low commitment and low motivation.
Strengths
Whereas most Diaspora organisations experience fragmentation and lack of cohesiveness, LSCNL by its very nature and composition is not susceptible to fragmentation since in the face of threats marginalisation and profiling by the Kenya central government organs, the members now than ever have a deep-seated need to pool resources and strengths together in order to improve their wellbeing and the wellbeing of the Lakeside communities and families back home.
Thus the potential to scale up LSCNL activities is very high being that members are aware that in the current political dispensation, we have to rely on our own strengths to build and improve our wellbeing. And the most effective way to achieve this is through developing a strategy that will enable us to empower ourselves through, pooling our skills, resources and strengths together and strengthening operational and leadership structures.
