Community Based Organisations (CBOs) based in Kajiado county on March 16th came together to share their experiences in executing their mandates and serving the communities. While the CBOs had a full tray of success, they had an equally full tray on the challenges they have been facing.
The CBOs did not only share challenges, but also a number of solutions to these challenges. Africa Solutions Media Hub spent a day with leaders of these 30 CBOs to understand them better. The organisations were meeting were meeting in Ngong town.
What did the organisations say?
The groups are part of the She Leads consortium that comprises of women led community activists and gender champions, to discuss their pre-outcome harvesting strategies. The ultimate goal of this joint effort was to increase the sustained influence of girls and young women on decision-making processes. This will in turn help transform gender norms in both formal and informal institutions.
During the meeting, participants began by evaluating their individual achievements across a wide range of pursuits in the communities they serve.
These included beadwork, photography, storytelling, financial literacy coaching, mentorship programs, entrepreneurship, soap making and baking among others.
“It is important to conduct a thorough evaluation of our advancement, analysing potential areas for improvement. Furthermore, we must not overlook the obstacles at hand in order to collaboratively devise innovative approaches to overcome them,” said Jackline Saleiyan, founder of the A Pack-A-Month organization.
The members of the group shared their experiences, creating an environment of collaboration and mutual support.
Laureen Mulecho, one of the participants, took the chance to share how she has since acquired various small-scale economic skills from the work of the CBOs, that led her to explore entrepreneurial ideas.
“I have been able to provide for myself and my child with great pride by selling bags, peanuts, biscuits, and yogurt – all of which keep me afloat. Sometimes we go overboard on eating the biscuits and drink the yoghurt meant for sale, but it has still been a good experience,” said Mulecho with a chuckle.
Another participant, Mitchell Jelagat, also shared her experience as a musician. She took pride in contributing to the development of talent among young people in her community.
“I’m a rapper, and through rapping, I motivate other young people. That is how I contribute to talent development in my community,” said Jelagat.
The accomplishments of the CBOs extend beyond their utilisation of talent and entrepreneurial awareness.
They have also expanded mentorship programs to previously inaccessible areas, while collaborating with local leaders on various platforms within Kajiado.
What are the challenges?
Each step along the way has been celebrated but not without challenges.
Although they have expanded their reach to previously inaccessible areas, the effectiveness of delivering lessons through technology is limited.
This is due to lack of electricity in some areas. For instance, the participants said, some CBOs operate in areas where mobile signal does not exist or is very poor.
This hinders effective communication including use of phones for training or following up on projects being implemented.
Members of come CBOs not being very aggressive in pursuit of opportunities was also identified as a challenge.
It was noted that some members display a dismissive attitude when presented with opportunities, specifically in regards to grant applications.
“There have been opportunities available for us but there is low participation from most of us. Some of us believe that the work we are doing is not good enough and it cannot be picked let’s say for a grant. This is limiting our exposure and blocking many opportunities for many CBOs,” commented Louise Baya Founder, Director at Ignite.
Poor media coverage
Participants also shared their struggles in getting their stories published by some media houses they reached out to.
This demeaned the visibility of the social impact work being done by these CBOs.
“Money becomes a factor whenever media is involved, a challenge for us to get our stories out there. Sometimes you reach out to a media house or reporter having a very good story to share but they ask for money to push your story forward,” lamented Judy Purkei Omom from Elite Foundation.
Discussions pertaining to social media content were also addressed, particularly with respect to unauthorized use of images.
“It is crucial to bear in mind the importance of safety. As members of a vulnerable community, the cases we cover, and those we may become involved in, are often considered sensitive,” advised Joy Katunge – Legal Officer at Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children and Lead Implementer at She Leads Kajiado County.
“It is imperative that we seek permission from our subjects before capturing or sharing their images on these platforms. By doing so, we can help prevent instances of online harassment and legal issues related to consent,” added Katunge.
Solutions?
One of the solution proposed by the participants to address issues raised include partnerships and working together.
CBO’s explored the possibilities of further collaborations among themselves including developing special programs such as mentorships, trainings and incubations of ideas.
It was also noted that CBO’s should share skills and expertise that is within their members and cross share assistance.
Louise Baya, who is also a digital media branding expert, informed the participants that she is ready to support them with skills to organize their social media pages for free.
“I specialize in social media branding and marketing, with a focus on supporting young women, particularly those working within disadvantaged communities. I offer my services free of charge for this group and encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity as a stepping stone towards leveraging partnerships,” said Baya.
