Participants during a past event in Njoro Sub County
Tuinuane Emmanuel Rhonda Women group which comprises 10 members, 9 women, and 1 man, was registered in 2018 with their main economic model being table banking. During this time, they lacked prerequisite information on how they could add more economic activities to their own source businesses and table banking interests.
They heard about the Uwezo Funds but did not take full advantage of the initiative since they did not understand the process of applying and the accompanying procedures for follow-ups.
Their first application was in April 2022.
In 2023, they attended a Sports for Peace and Development activity facilitated by MIDRIFT HURINET through the Electoral Conflict Mitigation and Civic Education Support Program (ECCES) in Hadassah Mwariki located in Nakuru Town West Constituency.
The forum brought together PWDs, Women, and Youth for a capacity-building forum on available affirmative action funds.
They got valuable insights on the fate of their application in 2022 after sharing their experience in the forum.
An official from the Ministry of Youth Affairs took up the matter traced the application details at the office and facilitated its reprocessing.
On 20th December 2023, the group was awarded a Ksh 50,000 loan which they will repay after 2 years.
In a follow-up with the group whose members attended dialogue sessions organized by MIDRIFT HURINET, they narrated how they had used the linkages, information,
and networks to apply and access the available Government funds.
The members were elated and thanked MIDRIFT HURINET through the ECCES program for the opportunity that allowed an engagement with Uwezo Fund officials who
assisted after a long wait.
Another group, the Tujichenge PWD Self-Help Group, has 16 members with permanent disability (9 male and 7 female) and applied for the Uwezo Fund in mid-December
2023 at the Kapkures offices in Nakuru Town West.
The group applied for Kshs 100, 000 and the officer who processed the application said they were eligible for a minimum of Kshs 50, 000 and a maximum of Kshs 100,000.
Tujichenge group had first applied on 19th December 2022 but did not qualify and never got interested in following up.
MIDRIFT HURINET through the ECCES program conducted a Sports for Peace and Development activity on 6th December 2023 in Mwariki Nakuru West where the leadership of the group was present.
They were capacity-built on financial literacy and group dynamics and got an opportunity to interact with the officers including booking an appointment with the Youth Officer where Uwezo Fund is domiciled.
The forum gave them a deeper understanding of the funds and this renewed their spirit to do a follow-up and they received their disbursement in February 2024.
This forum was also attended by the Women Enterprise Fund Officer, the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), and an Officer from the National
Council of Persons with disability.
These forums were made possible courtesy of support from USAID Kenya through ACT.
MIDRIFT HURINET facilitated capacity strengthening & bridging sessions and dialogue forums on financial literacy targeting community members and devolved Funds Managers (Youth Fund, Uwezo, Fund, Women Enterprise Fund, National Government Affirmative Action Fund, National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya and Social
Development Services Officers) during activities implementation are earmarked in creating awareness on the economic opportunities available for organized and
marginalized groups.
This is done through capacity building the Persons with Disability (PWD), Youth, and Women groups on financial literacy and increasing their ability to start and expand their business ideas.
PWDs have also gained from the sessions and forums as they have been informed on how they can register with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities after
a successful medical assessment at the level 5 hospitals.
After successful assessment, they get to benefit from access to empowerment funds and grants from both levels of Government and be able to access assistive devices,
education scholarships, provision of care products, and tax exemptions.
This is under the Electoral Conflict Mitigation and Civic Education Support Program (ECCES) whose objective is to include Women, Youth, and PWDs in democratic governance and decision-making processes by ensuring Electoral and governance institutions are more accessible, accountable, and effective in-service delivery.
It reduces the Youth's vulnerabilities, which diminishes politically instigated violence in their communities, heralding a prosperous society that enjoys Human Rights, Good Governance, Peace, and Security through resilience and sustainability.
MIDRIFT HURINET's core values of Human Dignity and Equity provide a route to the promotion of human dignity by fighting for equality, justice, and inclusion as well as
resisting all forms of discrimination, oppression & violence and promoting equity by advocating for laws and practices that ensure that all people have
equal rights, opportunities, and results, regardless of background, orientation, gender, or other identities.
This is empowered by MIDRIFT HURINET's mission statement of empowering Citizens, State and Non-State actors in fostering a Culture of Human Rights, Good Governance, Peace, and Security in Kenya.
Through a multisectoral and stakeholder approach, the program ensured the networks, linkages, and other community engagements are activated as a continuous avenue
for enhancing civic education, dialogues, and creation of spaces for engagement with PWDs, Youth, Women, and other marginalized groups.
By Jacob Karani
