OUR WORK IN KENYA
South North Nexus is working with Blessed Community Empowerment Organization (BLEC) and Innovative Concepts to empower women to build resilient livelihoods in Turkana, Kenya. A strategy emerged from a joint Livelihood Analysis conducted in 2021 with community members to design and test women-led actions that enhance the resilience of livelihoods and ecosystems. Access to clean water and preventing malnutrition arose as urgent priorities.
Based on the successful pilot, the project will continue in 2022 with a deeper focus on responding to prolonged drought, livelihood adaptation and increased access to resources for women and their families.
Enhancing Women Resilience and Empowerment
The project reinforced the importance of SNN-BLEC’s strategy to put women’s rights at the center of its Kenya program. The EWREP project focused on four outcomes and achieved concrete results related to:
- Increased women’s capacities and skills, their expanded roles, and income generation opportunities.
- Improved management of traditional livelihood assets.
- Increased local government and community engagement to support livelihood resilience.
- Increased access to water for human consumption and community horticulture.
The 9-month pilot project reached 240 women and supported more than 240 small businesses. These vibrant businesses enable women to better manage risk and mitigate the impacts from reoccurring drought.
Stories from women whose livelihoods are more resilient and hopefully will continue to become even more so
Pauline Lonyaman and her children were struggling to put a meal on the table before they became part of the Enhancing Women’s Resilience and Empowerment Project.
“As a family, we have not fully recovered and yet the drought is looming again.”
With the project she now buys chickens and goats, then fattens them to fetch better prices.
“My big appreciation to SNN-BLEC for identifying me and training me, giving me business skills and new opportunities” With her new knowledge she can now afford food for her children.
“As a family, we have not fully recovered and yet the drought is looming again.”
With the project she now buys chickens and goats, then fattens them to fetch better prices.
“My big appreciation to SNN-BLEC for identifying me and training me, giving me business skills and new opportunities” With her new knowledge she can now afford food for her children.
Lokunyuk Lotiono is a widow, her husband another victim of the drought. Before this project she had never been engaged in business or a women’s empowerment group.
“We have only three women’s empowerment groups. These are not enough if we want our community to really advance and not be devastated every time a drought comes.”
Before joining the project, she used to collect firewood and sell it at the fish market. Now firewood is not being collected because it is difficult to access due to the drought. There was no money, only enough to buy maize and she found it difficult to start her small business. With the project she was able to open her little store.
“We are very happy with the women empowerment business training. Please tell the lady (Deborah) not to forget us”!
“We have only three women’s empowerment groups. These are not enough if we want our community to really advance and not be devastated every time a drought comes.”
Before joining the project, she used to collect firewood and sell it at the fish market. Now firewood is not being collected because it is difficult to access due to the drought. There was no money, only enough to buy maize and she found it difficult to start her small business. With the project she was able to open her little store.
“We are very happy with the women empowerment business training. Please tell the lady (Deborah) not to forget us”!
