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28/05/2024 admin

Peace and Conflict Resolution

ENA has been at the forefront of peace-building initiatives across the Country since 2011. The Initiative has implemented programs in peace and conflict interventions, women participation in electoral processes as well as media engagements.

It was successful in strengthening peace building initiatives through local community interventions that helped to prevent, mitigate, and respond to politically instigated conflict. ENA has used media platforms to enhance constitutionalism among Kenyans through the national values and principles of governance using of peace messaging.

Through this interventions communities were empowered to take full ownership of their own safety contributing significantly to their overall security hence becoming important partners with government security agencies.

In this area ENA works with partners with enormous experience in peace building, human rights, inclusion constitutionalism, rural livelihoods and gender issues .

Overarching Objective

To contribute to national peace and entrench a sustainable peace movement through active and inclusive public participation of women to cultivate a culture of constitutionalism in Kenya. Peaceful, fair, and Just Society.

Objectives

To increase the participation of women in Peace processes.
Women in informal settlements championing peaceful co-existence.
To accelerate the growth and expansion of peacebuilding and conflict resolution in at least 10 counties.

Community Resilience and Livelihoods

28/05/2024 admin

Community Resilience and Livelihoods

Echo Network Africa’s journey in empowering women through aquaculture began in the year 2010 to date. This Focus Area’s Overarching Objective is to:

Enhance meaningful participation of women in the aquaculture and other food security-related value chains for sustainable Socio-Economic Livelihoods.

The project is implemented by Echo Network Africa with support from Open Society Foundation. The project is currently being implemented in Homa Bay County in 4 beaches namely Litare, Wakula, Kaugege and Mrongo targeting 100 women. Prior to the project the women engaged as traders along the aquaculture value chain particularly in processing and marketing which made them vulnerable to exploitation by the fishermen who frequently requested for sexual favors in exchange for fish.

This sex for fish vice commonly known as Jaboya has been rampant leading to a high prevalence of HIV AIDs and other Sexually Transmitted Diseases. ENA has trained women on aquaculture Cage farming, Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. This trainings have built their capacity in starting businesses that will generate income for their families. The Initiative also has a gender and rights based approach to address HIV related human rights violations, gender biases, harmful cultural sexual gender based violence among the women. There are 4 gender desks established in each beach to create awareness and education on HIV and sexual reproductive health rights. Each beach has a gender responsive BMU policy and a gender sensitive service charter for the BMU’s to lobby for inclusion of women in the BMU networks both at Sub County and County level.

Key Achievements

Replication of Aquaculture anchor cluster model.
Enhancing Food security mechanisms and systems in counties where ENA has presence.
Lobbing & advocating for cleaner & greener environment in areas where ENA has presence (Flora & Fauna).
Accelerating growth and expansion for communities’ resilience in Counties where ENA

Our Objectives

Build capacity of women to gainfully engage in aquaculture in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.
Offer mentorship in the aquaculture chain
Enhance collaboration with all stakeholders in the aquaculture value chain
Develop and implement revolving fund that will enable women in clusters to access finance to begin aquaculture farming through group co-guarantee mechanism.
Employ a gender lens approach to implementing initiatives that (address HIV related human rights violations, gender biases, harmful cultural sexual gender based violence along the aquaculture value chain.

Empowerment Of Rural Women

Sustainable Livelihood

Girls Excel Initiative

28/05/2024 admin

Girls Excel Initiative

From FGM, Period Poverty, Teenage pregnancies & Early Marriages to excelling in STEM

Over the past 39 years Echo Network Africa (ENA) has addressed issues that impede on Girls and Women’s social, economic and political inclusion in Kenya.

Girls in Kenya and especially those living in rural areas face four main challenges; Female Genital Mutilation, Period Poverty, Teenage Pregnancies and Child marriages. These challenges affect the girls physical, mental, social and psychological being and have led to poor performance in Education, especially Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Through the Girls Excel Initiative, ENA seeks to catalyze acceptance and commitment by communities to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation, Period Poverty, Teenage Pregnancies and Early Marriages through accelerating the performance and uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects among girls.

The overall goal of the Girls Excel Initiative is:To Eradicate FGM, period poverty, teenage pregnancies, and early marriages and support girls to excel in STEM and contribute to a safe and just society in which girls are free from harmful cultural practices and are excelling in STEM.

From 2008 to date, ENA has been working in Meru, Homa Bay and Narok counties to address the afore mentioned issues while catalyzing the acceptance and commitment to promote STEM education of girls in the target communities.

ENA targets both Primary beneficiaries (Young girls aged 5-20 Years including teenage mothers) and Secondary beneficiaries (County government representatives, Parents, and Communities) to eradicate the retrogressive practices and to promote the uptake and performance of STEM subjects though the establishment of Hesabu Clubs, mentorship, community dialogues and economic empowerment of parents through the ENA revolving loan fund.

Objectives

To promote acceptable result-based community approaches for combating Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Narok and Meru Counties and support increased performance in STEM subjects by girls.
To increase retention of school-going girls in the 22 target counties
To address women’s rights abuses across all areas where ENA has a presence.
Mobilize resources to implement and sustain the initiative