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One of the lessons that CEEC has learnt in the course of women’s empowerment work is that failure to engage men often leads to resistance and even backlash. It is in this regard that CEEC invited a group of male allies during the launch of a women’s Income Generating Activity (IGA) Project at PCEA Kamuyu, Burnt Forest on 30th October 2015. The project Alleviating Poverty in Burnt Forest through Women’s Economic Empowerment is supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nairobi.  It involved training of 26 women on tailoring and beadwork as well as providing them with the necessary tools and materials to enable them run a tailoring and beadwork business. This will help the women earn a decent living thus reducing poverty and vulnerability to gender based violence.

The men who attended the meeting are the women’s male significant family members whose support is key to the success of the project. They were husbands, fathers, brothers and even sons who would take over some of the responsibilities to enable the women participate in the project. Other stakeholders included members of school boards as well as church and community leaders who will help the women in marketing their products. By bringing male allies on board, the project helped the men understand that women’s empowerment is not equal to men’s disempowerment.  That building the capacity of women to contribute to the family income will be beneficial to men as it will take some of the pressure off them. Indeed, by empowering women economically, the project will be improving the economic status of the entire family and communities. Fortunately, all the men who attended the meeting were very enthusiastic and pledged to give the women all the necessary support.

CEEC recognizes that economic disempowerment of women is a major exacerbating factor in women’s rights violations and this is very true of Burnt Forest as well as other parts of Kenya and indeed the world over. This predicament is worsened by feminization of poverty which refers to a situation where women represent a disproportionate share of the world’s poor. Unfortunately, gender based violence does not only affect women, but also men and children. It is for this reason that CEEC with the support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Nairobi launched a women’s income generating project entitledAlleviating poverty in Burnt Forest through women’s economic empowerment in October 2015. This project aims at uplifting the status of women not only economically but also socially and politically. In the process, the project will contribute to poverty reduction therefore improving the living standards of the entire community. The project will also hopefully contribute to a reduction of gender based violence incidents leading to peace in families and the community.

The project was launched with a four days’ training of 26 women on how to run an income generating activity held at PCEA Kamuyu from 27^th -30^th October 2015. In addition to the training, the women were given 5 sewing machines, 2 over lock machines, accessories as well as other materials that are necessary for a tailoring course. The course will be complemented with beadwork so that the women get a variety of skills.

The project has brought together women from eight farms within Burnt Forest namely Lingway, Kamuyu, Rukuini, Rironi/Kaplalach, Ndungulu, Chuiyat, Barekeiywo and Kagongo. They represent the two main communities living in this area, Kalenjin’s and Kikuyu’s whose relationship is characterized by mutual suspicion, mistrust and sometimes outright hostilities. The project therefore aims at contributing to improved inter – ethnic relations and harmonious co-existence.

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On 9th October 2015, CEEC carried out a needs assessment at Kamuyu PCEA Church, Burnt Forest to explore further capacity building needs in the context of gender based violence prevention and response. The exercise was informed by an expressed need for enhanced capacity and community GBV prevention and response structures. The participants were representatives from 8 farms namely: Ndungulu, Kamuyu, Kaplalach, Chuiyat, Rukuini, Kagongo, Baragweiwo and Lingwai.  The team brought out the areas within which they need further training as well as other forms of support that they require in order to serve the community better.

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CEEC with support from CPS/GIZ carried out a four days’ gender based violence prevention and response training for Tarakwa village elders from 5th – 8^th October, 2015 at Deliverance Church Burnt Forest. This was under the project titled,” Building the capacity of village elders to prevent and appropriately respond to gender based violence”.During the training a total of 31 village elders were trained including the chief and his assistant.

The main objective of this training was to make the elders understand the dynamics involved in Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and particularly the connection between flawed masculinities and GBV. Topics covered included Gender Concepts, Masculinities,  forms, types and consequences of GBV as well as legal responses to GBV among others. An expert on alcoholism was also invited to talk to the elders about alcohol and drug abuse which are two vices that are closely related to GBV. Due to the high incidence of GBV committed against minors particularly defilement, early pregnancy and early marriage, a children’s officer was invited to help the elders understand children’s rights better.

The elders appreciated the training which opened their eyes to the fact that they were not presiding over cases in the right way due to limited capacity. They undertook to use the newly acquired knowledge and skills to ensure all members of the community including women and girls enjoyed their rights and where these rights were violated they got the necessary redress.

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On the 27th Of March 2015, CEEC carried out an evaluation of theBuilding the Capacity of Village Elders in Burnt Forest to Prevent and Appropriately Respond to Gender Based Violence project. The evaluation meeting took place at Kamuyu PCEA church and the village elders got an opportunity to share their experiences of how the project had helped them in handling gender based violence cases as well as the challenges they were facing. As a result of the project, changes have occurred at three levels – personal, work place and community. The village elders shared moving stories of personal transformation with one of them confessing that he used to beat his wife but he has now stopped. In the context of their work, two important changes have occurred; first the elders are no longer biased against women due to cultural influence and secondly, they no longer preside over criminal cases and particularly sexual violence. Instead, they advise those affected on how to seek legal redress, sometimes even accompanying them to the police station and hospital. Within the community, the elders, who previously used to wait for cases to be taken to them have now become proactive and in their own words, they are now ambassadors against gender based violence. It is encouraging to note that the elders are also sensitizing their colleagues who were not at the training especially on the importance of not presiding over criminal cases and not discriminating against women.

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On 15th February 2015, CEEC closed the project Building the capacity of communities in Burnt Forest to prevent and appropriately respond to Gender Based Violence with a celebration at Kamuyu Secondary School. The celebration brought together about 200 Community members who included 67 trainees from the eight farms. The chief guest was the Acting Deputy County Commissioner, Chuck Masua. Also in attendance were chief Bitok and assistant chief Biwott from Olenguse Location. Specialists on alcoholism from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital also attended the celebration to enlighten the community on the adverse effects of alcohol. A VCT desk was also in place due to requests from community members.

The guest speaker and the other invited guests lauded the project, saying it had made their work as government officials easier since there is heightened awareness of gender based violence. The community members were urged to change with the times and leave behind cultures that are not helpful.

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On 14th February 2015, CEEC conducted an evaluation of the project Building the capacity of communities in Burnt Forest to prevent and appropriately respond to Gender Based Violence. The evaluation brought together 35 trainees from the eight farms of Kamuyu, Kagongo, Chuiyat, Kaplalach/Rironi, Ndunglu, Lingway, Rukuini and Barakeiywo in Burnt Forest to evaluate the outcome of the project. The trainees shared insights, challenges, lessons learnt, success stories and feedback received from their respective farms

Key learning points

• Flawed socialization lies at the heart of gender based violence.
• It is possible for men to be strong and not use their strength to violate others. Men should use their strength responsibly.
• Both men and women suffer as a result of gender based violence.
• Communication is key in avoiding gender based violence.
• It is important to have gender equality/equity especially in the way children are socialized.
• Alcoholism is a major contributing factor to gender based violence.

Some of the success stories:

• More respect for women
• Women are being more involved in family affairs
• An increased amicable settlement of family disputes
• A number of men confessed that they had cut down on their drinking while others had stopped altogether.
• Many of the trainees informed CEEC that they had now become champions against gender based violence and they were using all available opportunities to sensitize other community members.
• The community has become more alert to cases of gender based violence and they are no longer keeping quiet.
• Families of the trainees have become role models in the community.

The trainees said the project was an idea whose time had come it had hardly scratched the surface. They called on CEEC to ensure that they reach out to as many stakeholders as possible.

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