Women Voice and Leadership (WVL)

60

Years of
Implementation

Feb 2019 – Mar 2024

20

Key
Achievements

50

SDG
Goals

140

Implementing
Partners

300+

Counties
of Operations

Uraia Trust is currently implementing a five-year Women Voice and Leadership (WVL) programme supported by the Global Affairs Canada (GAC) through CARE Canada and Care – Kenya. The programme aims to contribute to gender equality and increased enjoyment of human rights by women and girls in Kenya by improving the governance, management, programming, and sustainability of local Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs); enhancing their ability to deliver quality services and increasing the effectiveness of WROs platforms to effect policy, legal and social change.

Uraia Trust is currently implementing a five-year Women Voice and Leadership (WVL) programme supported by the Global Affairs Canada (GAC) through CARE Canada and Care – Kenya. The programme aims to contribute to gender equality and increased enjoyment of human rights by women and girls in Kenya by improving the governance, management, programming, and sustainability of local Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs); enhancing their ability to deliver quality services and increasing the effectiveness of WROs platforms to effect policy, legal and social change.

The programme strategy focuses on institutional capacity strengthening by improving the governance, management, programming, and sustainability of local Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs); enhancing their ability to deliver quality services and increasing the effectiveness of WROs platforms to effect policy, legal and social change.

Key Achievements:

1. Progressive institutional capacity strengthening of twelve (12) Women Rights Organizations toward advancing Gender Equality. This have been achieved through support in the procurement of technical systems to support in the implementation of the WROs activities i.e., Office equipment like furniture, Laptops, Internet systems, Visibility materials like banners, T-shirts, development of websites and social media sites.
2. Provision of technical support to the WROs to review and develop organizational policy documents i.e., Strategic Road Maps, Leadership and Governance Policies, Finance and Procurement Manual, Human Resource Management Systems, Resource Mobilization Strategies, Improvement of their Institutional Monitoring and Evaluation systems, Institutional Gender mainstreaming in programming through the development of Gender policies and Gender action plans and Women Mentorship Plans.

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SDGs

Progress photos

Canadian High Commission Team during a Monitoring and Evaluation Visit to Siaya Muungano Network on 23rd and 24th September 2021.

Photo coutesy of Matilda Onyango-Siaya Muungano Network

Participants group photo during the Pre-Award Workshop for cohort 2 WROs at Kasarani Sports View Hotel Kasarani held from 9^th-12^th November 2021 

(©Uraia Trust).

Participant’s group photo for WROs, Uraia Staff, and Care Kenya Staff during the pre-award workshop held on 9^th-12^th November 2021 at Sports View Hotel Kasarani. (Uraia 2021).

Democracy Trust Fund (DTF) Women Aspirants during a workshop organised by Echo Network Africa.

Ongoing activities during the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, including handing over of Siaya County GBV Policy at Malaika Justice Centre in Sega- Siaya Muungano Network supported and participated in the event.

Launching of the 16 Days of Activism and the unveiling of Sexual Gender-Based Violence Policy in Kakamega County (25/11/2021) at Golf Hotel organized by County Government of Kakamega, Women Pillar Alliance, and other CSOs Network Members.

Kakamega County Minister for Sports, Women Empowerment & Culture awarding the best team during a two-day Mentorship Tournament organized by Women Pillar Alliance (WOPA) as one of the awareness strategies against SGBV during the 16 Days of Activism.

List of the 25 WROs

No	NAME OF ORGANIZATION	REGION OF OPERATION	INTERSECTIONALITY
13 COHORT 1 WROS
1	Kirinyaga Women Empowerment Programs (KWEPS)	County-based: Kirinyaga	Women and girls girls with cerebral palsy
2	Sauti ya Wanawake Kishushe Chapter (SYWK)	County-based: Taita Taveta	Women and girls
3	Kenya National Deaf Women Peace Network (KNDWP)	County-based: Nairobi	Deaf women and girls
4	Siaya Muungano Network	County-based: Siaya	Women and other marginalized groups
5	Pokot Women Empowerment Organization (POWEO)	County-based: West Pokot	Women and Youth
6	Women Pillar Alliance (WOPA)	County-based: Kakamega	Women, Orphans’, and vulnerable children
7	Women for Peace and Development	County-based: Mandera	Women, girls, local structures such as the elders, the religious leaders, the women, and youth groups.
8	Raia Development Initiative	County-based: Wajir	Women local leaders, Council of elders, religious leaders, influential community elders, youths, and women groups based at ward levels
9	Participatory Research and Innovation Program (PRIP)	Regional: Siaya, Kisumu, Busia, Homabay, Migori	Women, Girls, Widows, Disabled women, and women in leadership
10	Rural & Urban Community Initiative Support Organization (RUCISO Kenya)	Regional: Nairobi and Embu	Women and girls
11	Rural Education and Economic Enhancement Programme (REEP)	Regional: Busia and Kakamega	Women and Girls
12	Women Educational Researchers of Kenya	National	Women and girls Vulnerable, marginalized out of schoolgirls and boys, Local leaders Education leaders Children in emergencies Strengthening Management and Programming Capacities of Women Rights Organizations (WROs) In Kenya
13	Echo Network Africa	National	Women with disabilities, women from marginalized and minority communities, and young women.
12 COHORT 2 WROS
14	Kafawe Women Group	Nandi	Rural Women and Girls
15	Agile Plan to Integrated Resilience for Girls, Women, and Youth – APIR Turkana	Turkana	Marginalised Women and Girls, Refugees
16	Endorois Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (EIWEN)	Baringo	Endorois Indigenous Women Empowerment Network. The strategic focus is to work for the rights of Endorois Indigenous women, persons with disabilities, and girls.
17	Justice, Advocacy and Empowerment Centre	Murang’a	Minority Women groups (Widows) and OVCs, women in prison, and formerly imprisoned women.
18	Mama Ni Mama Women Group	Kisumu	Special interest groups (Persons with Disabilities, elderly women, and young mothers)
19	Rural Integrated Community Development Organisation	Migori	Marginalised groups, vulnerable, disabled, women and youths.
20	African Israel Nineveh Church Women Group	Vihiga	Marginalised Women and Girls, Women from Independent churches
21	Centre for Domestic Training and Development (CDTD)	Nairobi	Domestic Workers, Migrant Women, Refugees & Asylum Seekers, Persons living with disabilities and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
22	Faza Youth Action Group	Lamu	Women and girls in the insecurity hot spot areas in Lamu east.
23	Mobilization Agency for Paralegal Communities in Africa (MAPACA) Trust	Makueni	MAPACA has previously worked with women, girls’ persons with disability, commercial sex workers, teenage mothers, women groups through households
24	Forum For African Women Educationalists Kenya Chapter.	Nairobi, Turkana, Siaya, Kajiado, Narok, Kakamega, Homabay, Kisumu, Busia	Women and girls in Education from marginalized areas.
25	Muslims Women Advancement of Rights and Protection (MWARP)	Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Tana River, Lamu and Garissa	Women and girls from marginalized communities including People living with Disability, PLHIV/AIDS.

WVL WROS Logos

Success Stories

Success Stories

A voice for the marginalised women – Wajir county (by Raia Development Initiative (RDI)

Ubah Abdikarim, a former nominated member of County Assembly of Wajir county has decided to use her story to challenge the community discrimination in political leadership. She uses all the forums available to share her first-hand experience of suffering as a nominated MCA. During the stakeholder engagement forum organised by RDI through the WVL program which brought on board male community leaders, Ubah openly quoted that ‘politics in this county is 100% male dominated and women leaders are frustrated with demeaning campaigns, threats, discriminations and other acts of violence such as cyber-bullying, electronic type attacks on their morality, and intellectual capacity. At the family level, female leaders & candidates experience various forms of violence, including disinheritance and divorce for choosing to compete against men in an election, Personally I was divorced because of my commitment to my work and challenging the patriarchy & negotiated democracy, endorsements, deviation from traditional the normalized gender roles for Somali women’. Ubah supports women leadership and out of the forum the leaders signed a pledge to support women participation in leadership positions.

Signed Pledge to Support in women in Leadership in Wajir County.

Echo Network Africa Senior Management and Women Aspirants during the Launch of the Democracy Trust Fund Strategic Plan.

Success Stories

Building a financial kitty for women to increase their preparations and participation in elections by Echo Network Africa.

Echo Network Africa is a women-led and women serving institution set up over thirty-seven y

ears ago to advocate for the full inclusion of women in all spheres of the life of society. In 2018, ENA re-casted her focus and rebranded from being an implementing agency to a catalyst that empowers, positions, and advocates for women (including women with disabilities, women from marginalized and minority communities and young women) towards the 

attainment of their full potential. One of the key areas of

 focus for the re-branded institution is the Positioning and Democracy Program which seeks to bridge the gender gap in women’s leadership by identifying, pr

eparing, and positioning women to participate in democratic processes. In line with the strategic approach of being a cataly

st, ENA founded the Democracy Trust Fund (DTF) as a vehicle for implementing programs under the Democracy and Positioning Program.

Through support from URAIA, the institutional establishment of DTF continues to take shape as evidenced by the development and adoption of the DTF Strategic Plan covering the period 2021 to 2026 and the Finance Manuals (Finance Policy Manual, Savings Policy and Funds Management Manual, Savings Fund Registration Form) marking great milestones for DTF.

During this reporting period, ENA has successfully streamlined a mechanism through which members’ savings are invested to generate interest and thereafter disbursed to the members on or before the campaign period. This has been made possible through a clearly outlined Fund Management Policy Manual that will greatly aid the actualization of the Participatory fund concept. Three DTF members have already started saving for their political campaigns; Ksh. 450,000, Ksh. 51,000 and Ksh. 80,000 respectively, totalling to Ksh. 581,000 a clear indication of the willingness of women aspirants to adequately save for their political campaigns.

Currently, at least 100 (one hundred women aspirants), have shown interest in running for political office in the 2022 General Elections. The recruitment of a Membership/Finance and Administration Officer has greatly contributed to these heightened activities and interest in DTF. Separately, ENA has been able to raise Ksh. 500,000.00 (Five Hundred and Thousand Shillings) from the new registered members. This has again demonstrated that women are willing to contribute to their campaigns and that a participatory approach to the women leadership program is indeed possible. Participation is at the core of the DTF approach. ENA intends to pursue this approach more aggressively in the third quarter of the project as part of the institutional sustainability mechanisms and for resource mobilization. Besides, the Membership fee goes a long way in enhancing ownership and sustainability of both the candidature and the institution of DTF.

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning failure.
– OLIVER SANDERO