Unwavering 2020 Annual Report
What part of 'liberation for women' is not for you? ~Caitlin Moran
Table of Contents Foreword
Our Year in Review
A Changemaker in Action
Upholding the Right to Education
Girls’ Shadow Pandemic
Collaborating to End Gender-Based Violence
Innovation for Education
Unearthing African Feminist Mentorship
Young Feminist Spotlight
Our Impact
Financials
Our Campaigns
Who We Are
Appreciation
Foreword 2020 was significant, full of new endeavours, challenges, and victories. We’ve remained dedicated to reimagining our work in the wake of the pandemic, as it lifted the veil on deep-seated inequalities in our society. We learned how to lead and program for a changing environment, adaptively, more inclusively, effectively and cognitively. Despite the pandemic, we were unwavering on our mission to ensure that more African women continue to lead. All year, we equipped young women and girls to safeguard and uphold their rights – through mentorship, capacity building, leadership training, and advocacy. Through a campaign dubbed ‘A Letter to My President’, adolescent girls called upon the government and other stakeholders to prioritize and actualize girls’ rights. Through yet another campaign dubbed ‘I am my grandmother’s wildest dream’ we extrapolated the importance of generational dialogues, how significant mentorship is, and how impactful and sustainable it can be. We saw more young women leaders from across East Africa engage in transformational training on leadership; participating in critical conversations and collaboratively driving change. Further, we had a successful Wasichana Wa Afrika summit, seated at the front row, listening to girls from across North, South, West, and East Africa. This powerful summit taught us so much as an organisation that continues to iterate and include young women and girls in our mission and this year 2021, will be an exceptional year of implementing girl centred leadership. Within the year, we conducted three studies, assessing the ‘Prevalence of gender-based violence on campus’, ‘Feminist mentorship pedagogies and praxis’ and ‘The prevalence of teen pregnancy in ten counties in Kenya’. The results of these studies were all significantly impactful, as they plug into the broader development agenda. Lastly and significantly, we are grateful for all the support we have received from our donors and stakeholders in 2020, the thought leadership, the many women and girls that left indelible marks of growth, resilience and strength, we indeed continue to stand on the shoulders of incredible women. Our work would not have been possible without your continuous support. As you review our 2020 annual report, you will get to experience some of our key highlights in the past year and celebrate with us, as we were able to do so much in an uncertain period. Here is a toast to an unwavering 2021.
Sankara Caroline Gitau Executive Director, Akili Dada
When the rhythm of the drumbeat changes, the dance steps must adapt. ~ African Proverb.
Our year in review Graduated 40 young women leaders from the East Africa Young Women Leadership and Mentorship Initiative
Co-Hosted an Adolescent Girls’ Webinar with She’s The First on Reopening Shelter Schools
Jul
y
Jun
e
Launched Akili Dada Book Clubs
Welcomed Sankara Caroline Gitau as Executive Director
Ma y
Ap ri
l
Mar ch
Feb
Jan
Hosted a Career Symposium for 125 adolescent girls
Conducted an internal study on Teen Pregnancy.
Trained recent high school graduates on University Preparedness
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De
c
Co-Hosted the the Girls First Summit in collaboration with She’s The First
Oct
Sep
Aug
Convened over 600 adolescent girls and allies for the Wasichana Wa Afrika Summit
Nov Conducted the African Feminism Pedagogy & Praxis study
Undertook a study on Prevalence of Gender-Based Violence in Universities.
Launched Dadas Rise, a Capacity Building program for budding female heads for organisations accross East Africa.
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A Changemaker in Action In Turkana, adolescent girls heavily rely on the government and nongovernmental organizations for menstrual products. However, with the unexpected closure of schools, distribution was abruptly cut. The heavy financial burden upon families before and during the pandemic presented them with the difficult decision of having to choose between Girls living in low-income communities have limited access to sanitary products, clean water and sanitation facilities. As a result, girls suffer stigma and period shame and are sometimes forced to lose on school days during their menstruation days. At the onset of the pandemic, putting a meal on the table and providing menstrual products for girls. On this backdrop, 17-year-old Rhoda, an Akili Dada scholar, was concerned about the lack of access to sanitary towels within her community. She quickly noticed that girls were resorting to unsanitary practices to manage their monthly period due to diminished supplies. Having identified a need within her community, Rhoda began to rally her friends to join her in a fundraising campaign that would help meet the needs of their fellow sisters. The fundraising drive was not easy to do as many Turkana residents had lost their main means of their livelihoods. Additionally, some residents treated Rhoda and her collaborators with suspicion as they were unfamiliar with her cause. Despite the challenges, Rhoda did not relent in her desire to support girls in her community. She still managed to mobilize support and raise funds for her initiative. On International Day of the Girl, Rhoda brought together 30 girls from within her community where she conducted a personal hygiene class and distributed 30 sanitary kits to them. Each kit consisted of sanitary towels, toilet paper, body oil and washing soap. In her own way, Rhoda is making her community a much better place for girls to live and thrive in. Rhoda hopes to continue conducting personal hygiene sessions with adolescent girls and mobilizing donations for sanitary towels and other hygiene products for girls within her community. She believes that no girl should be held back because of their period.
Rhoda, an avid menstrual champion and young changemaker.
8 Rhoda, avid menstural champion and changemaker
Upholding the Right to Education Mukuru Kwa Reuben community has more than 18 schools, but only two of them have reasonably equiped libraries, which leaves students from the remaining 16 schools with no access to library facilities. Claris Nadini, a Paza alumnae, founded Badili Zone, an organization based in Mukuru Kwa Reuben Slum, Nairobi Kenya, to uphold education, empower and mentor students from the slum to become goal-driven young leaders. With the closure of schools and learning almost coming to a halt, Claris and her team embarked on renovating a community library to create a safe and peaceful learning environment for children living in the community. The library is digitally equipped to accommodate e-learning and research opportunities for students using the facility. The center is installed with internet services and has received laptop donations from wellwishers. This was followed by an introduction of a girls’ corner which serves as a distribution spot for sanitary towels and mentorship for girls. As a result of the expansion of the services offered at the library, Claris has noted that there has been an increase in the number of children accessing and using the facility from 30 children per day to an average of 70 children in a day.
Children at the library
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Girls’ Shadow Pandemic The factors driving adolescent pregnancy in Kenya are complex, varied, and manifest from deeply rooted gender inequalities, social norms, and poverty. Akili Dada undertook an assessment to understand the contextual factors attributed to adolescent pregnancy, consequences of adolescent pregnancy and strategies that can be employed to reduce adolescent pregnancy in ten selected counties with moderate to high teenage pregnancy rates in Kenya.
377 Adolescent girls Interviewed
31%
24%
16-17 years
18 - 19 years
45%
13 - 15 years Other aspects mentioned regarding teenage aversion to early pregnancies included sensitizing the community on existing laws against certain practices such as Female Genital Mutilation abolishing implementation of the school re-entry policy and ensure that girls are maintained in schools even after giving birth, encouraging the use of contraceptives, abolish cultural practices that promote teenage pregnancies including night vigils. It's with these insights that Akili Dada is packaging a contextual, relevant, comprehensive Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights toolkit. The toolkit applies a mix of context-specific intervention strategies to reduce adolescent pregnancies across identified communities across Kenya. The toolkit is informed by an assessment in ten purposively selected counties with high adolescent pregnancy rates in Kenya: Bomet, Bungoma, Busia, Homa- Bay, Kisii, Kisumu, Kwale, Meru, Narok, and Siaya. There is a need for more effective and contextualized interventions to be implemented to reduce adolescent pregnancy and early motherhood.
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Key findings from the research
Claim to be sexually experienced
Reported that sexual education at schools is not adequate
Believe that cultural taboos inhibit discussion on sexuality and sex education.
45%
41%
Attributed poverty to be a leading contributor to teenage pregnancy.
15%
34%
respondents have ever used contraceptives
Cited parents were to blame for adolescent pregnancy.
42%
45%
Factors Contributing to Teenage Pregnancy
67%
20%
22%
Acknowledge that community practices encourage teenage pregnancies.
Stated that lack of alternative sources of livelihoods contribute to adolescent pregnancy,
cited peer pressure as a cause of adolescent pregnancy.
Download the full publication here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f0WIv3LiF1eVqNoTZMmfAjnFaK9Bj3xV/view?usp=sharing
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Collaborating to End Gender-Based Violence in Universities A growing body of research suggests that experiences of sexual harassment and violence are widespread in university communities. We conducted a study across three Universities in Kenya: Pwani University, Maseno University and the University of Eldoret. We interviewed students, both male and female, reviewed policy documents and university records, and talked to key people in universities including deans of students, security and health personnel, student leaders. The objective of the research was to determine causes and forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in public universities, document the number of reported cases across the three universities in the last three years, identify policy gaps and other university frameworks on preventions and responses to gender-based violence and to propose areas of revision in policies and recommend best practices on policy formulation from other universities.
29%
of the respondents
Thought that gender based violence was only physical or sexual & did not perceive psychological or economic abuse as forms of abuse.
From the study, it is clear that perceptions about GBV are varied and while perceptions towards physical violence were positive, a major concern was perceptions held towards sexual-based violence. A number of students indicated that sexual violence was as a result of the way women dressed. There were differences in perceptions between male and female students, however, there were no major differences across universities for most of these perceptions.
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2 formally reported
4 told a friend or relative
For every 10 students
3 took no action
Only about half the students knew the procedures for reporting Gender-Based violence
Students displayed general knowledge on the forms of GBV, they identified different forms of verbal abuse, leaking of nude pictures, denial of freedom of movement as gender-based violence. Other forms of subtle gender-based violence such as stalking were considered as violence by very few students. Both male and female students agreed that GBV was more common for women than men, and that most perpetrators were men. This was confirmed by recorded cases by universities of the last three years. More than a third of male and female students had experienced GBV, and a majority did not formally report, only telling a friend or a relative or doing nothing. Major reasons for not reporting were fear of stigmatisation, fear of backlash and retaliation, and a belief that even if they reported the case, nothing would be done. While the universities had GBV policies in place, the policies were in some instances inadequate and others ineffective. All three cited that sensitization activities are sporadic, uncoordinated, and lacked resources, reporting mechanisms not respecting the dignity and confidentiality of those that report GBV cases. Students called for enhanced collaboration in advocacy, awareness creation, and empowerment of students, including research and reinforcing gender issues during the development and review of university departments' curriculum. Additionally, there is a need to improve on the GBV case reporting, execute a gender monitoring and evaluation system; develop GBV reporting, monitoring, and tracking tools; install complaint boxes; incorporate regularized desk reviews to track actions taken, type of action taken, length of time taken from reporting to action and recommendations for all the GBV cases said to enhance gender equity. Download the full publication here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c2nZ6hbnm9AljKoMkzkSkPfkfZAs9Gsa/view?usp=sharing
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Your power is your radical self. Find it. ~ Aya Chebbi
Innovation for Education Across many African countries, parents have numerous financial household priorities, Beatrices’ reality depicted that at an early age, as her parents educated her four siblings and herself. She recalls days that she stayed out of school as her parents struggled to raise tuition fees, among other basic needs. As a social worker in her community, she has continued to witness children experience worse circumstances than those she faced in her childhood. This current reality has fast tracked her initiative on the background that, most parents have no plans to fund the education of their children often leaving the children at the mercy of limited scholarship opportunities, bursaries, and well-wishers. Kenya has a dominantly informal economic sector, and access to credit facilities has always been hindered, as the prequalification often excludes low-income earning parents. As a result, many children from low-income Kenyan families miss school days, affecting student morale, poor academic performance, education retainment, future prospects amongst other merits of staying in school. This context led to the founding of Impertimus Education Investment (IEI), a Kilifi based financial social enterprise, that equips parents and guardians from lowincome households with financial skills and tools to educate their children with ease and meet the costs involved during the transition from primary to secondary school levels. IEI is founded by two young women, Beatrice and Katama. Together, they partnered to forge an innovation that would ensure and enable families to plan for their children’s education. Since its inception, IEI has launched a digital money lending platform, giving parents access to cash loans to meet termly costs of tuition fees. Prior to issuing loans, IEI conducts financial background checks of the respective parents to assess their level of income and credit worthiness. Additionally, parents are required to be active members of a ‘chama’. The enterprise has a flexible loan repayment plan that parents are free to choose a suitable plan not exceeding 6 months. As a result, children in the community have had uninterrupted learning which has significantly improved learning outcomes. Ultimately, the goal is to achieve an overall increase in the number of pupils and students who can access education. We celebrate Beatrice, an Akili Dada Community Leader who was also a 2020 finalist on the Top 35 under 35 Youth Agenda.
Beatrice Kache, a Community Leader in Kilifi County
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Unearthing African Feminist Mentorship Transformative Feminist Mentorship is a long-term process that builds empowering reciprocal relationships of solidarity, mutual learning, and support; that enable us to better advance the larger goals of feminist social transformation in our own lives, in our work, and our social contexts. It is the exchange of energy between feminist mentors and their mentees, which rejuvenates and re-energizes the feminist movement through intergenerational dialogues and conversations. . Akili Dada employs a theory of change with mentorship as a primary contributor to feminist leadership. Through mentorship, girls and young women can define what success means to them; have access to role models and peer mentors who play critical roles in breaking stereotypes about women leaders and have access to continuous learning and support. Akili Dada conducted an African Feminist Mentorship Pedagogies and Praxi study to: -
•
• •
• •
• • •
•
Challenge the frontiers of western knowledge on mentorship by interrogating traditional theoretical, conceptual, and methodological frameworks on mentorship for their capacity to capture African women’s experiences and their world view. Enrich African women’s experiences on mentorship, through sharing and collaboration with African Women. Bring African women’s experiences into mainstream knowledge development by pushing the frontiers of knowledge and creating African feminist knowledge related to mentorship by women and girls in Africa. Inform mentorship related policies and institutional development for those training institutions focused on mentorship. Influence mentorship civil society organizations that focus on women and girls through the utilization of African women’s experiences, perspectives, and worldview to develop a toolkit on African feminist approaches to mentorship. Document African women’s historical and contemporary experiences on/with mentorship in Africa . Distill African women’s knowledge on/with mentorship in Africa . Identify strategies and key features embedded in women’s knowledge and experiences that may help us model/develop effective mentorship styles/models that respond to African women and girls’ realities. Document strategies for sustaining African feminist mentorship practices. .
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A masterclass session of Young Women Executive Directors in Tanzania held by a Leadership coach in the Dadas Rise Project.
Feminist mentoring relationships differ from other models of mentorship. They are collaborative and mutually enhancing and value subjective ways of knowing and honouring each woman’s diverse lived experiences. They encompass all the major dimensions of women’s lives. They reflect that the personal and professional dimensions of women’s lives are interwoven and cannot be separated. This approach to feminist mentorship leads to creating and strengthening intergenerational networks of women and skills-building through interaction with mentors and regular participation in a structured program.
Download the full publication here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z3qBHAx2v6m4N7oqdFAf0PrrQAh70W--/view?usp=sharing
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If not me, who? If not now, when? ~ Emma Watson
Young Feminist Spotlight of the most frustrating things about conversations around Gender-Based “ One Violence (GBV) is that everyone seems to agree that it is a big problem that needs to be addressed. Still, there is little tangible effort to actually eliminate the vice.
Neema Robert Mgendi My community continues to suffer high levels of GBV, and women continue to be excluded from socio-economic development. Why are we so bent on building a world that is so hostile to half the population? Robert Mgendi I work in advocacy, women empowerment, and community mobilization because I believe that systems must be changed from the ground up. I want to substantially address GBV and other issues that keep women and girls down, preventing them from living their best lives. I envision a just, democratic, and inclusive society that we can only achieve by fighting for gender equality and women’s rights. My feminist journey has taught me that women can do just as much as men if presented with the same opportunities. I have unlearnt that feminism is for women only. Men can contribute to the cause by participating in the planning and implementation of interventions to fight for women’s rights. My feminist dream is to be among the best feminist leaders from Tanzania advocating for the right of girls and women through Okoa New Generation Institute while engaging men, communities, social institutions and the private sector along with the government leaders to ensure the rights of girls and women in Tanzania and Africa are protected, defended and sustained.
“
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Our Impact $10,000
Worth of Seed Grants Disbursed
$15,731
Worth of Care packages distributed including food supplies as well as facilitation to bridge the digital divide for girls and young women.
Over 700
Girls and Young Women Mentored and trained
311
Teletherapy sessions Conducted
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Help us recruit 50 new scholars who may be at risk of dropping out of school. $20,000
$120,000
$10,000
Mentorship.
Tui�on fees
Psychosocial support
$200,000 = 50
New scholars who may be at risk of dropping out of School
$35,000
$15,000
Leadership development
which will go to teacher training
Give now at: givingway.com|akilidada or MPESA Paybill 981640 Account: Scholarships
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“There is no equality without empowerment There is no empowerment without knowledge Our job is to foster opportunities so that every woman, child and adolescent can own and demand their rights.” ~ Wangari Maathai
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Financial Overview We had a financially healthy year in spite of the global challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. We received $1,814,182 in grants and donations and spent $711,158.
2020 FINANCIAL YEAR EXPENSES
$1,814,182
During the year, expenditure was $711,158 of which was spent on Programs, Communications & M&E, Administration, Operations and Covid response.
Grants and Donations Received in 2020
COVID RESPONSE 1.9% ADMINISTRATION FINANCE/OPERATIONS
13.4%
54.9%
PROGRAMS
15.5% 13.4%
COMMUNICATION M&E
EXPENSES PER QUARTER Expense during the year was lowest in Quarter 2 and Quarter 3. 40.00%
30.00% 20.00%
10.00%
0.00% 01
02
03
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In 2020, we were privileged to engage with girls and young women from the following countries: Morocco
Nigeria South Sudan
Liberia
Kenya
Rwanda
Tanzania Malawi
Zimbabwe
Representation of Adolescent girls at the Wasichana Wa Afrika Summit
Tenacious
Brave
Strong
Go Getter
Blessed
Confident
Ambitious
Lovely
Capable
Our Campaigns
We recognize the voice and agency of girls and young women in accessing their well-deserved rights. Here is a toolkit for use to help us advocate and end gender- based violence. If you would like to to access an e-version of the toolkit, please email us on info@akilidada.org.
An Open Letter to My President As the Kenyan government continues to put in place measures to address and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to center the voices and lived experiences of adolescent girls in informing these measures. Through our Young Changemakers program, Akili Dada put out a call for open letters from adolescent girls across the country to articulate girls’ views, stories, and experiences, regarding education, health care, and social issues.
To My President, As a result of the temporary closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of the girl child being exposed to harmful practices has greatly increased. The school has always acted as a protective shelter for girls against harmful cultures such as early marriages, FGM, and child labour. The rate of sexual harassment is increasing with time leading to very many teenage pregnancies. Also, with the country's economy going down, children are being forced to work to provide for the family. The girl child has ceased being protected by the school until the pandemic is over. The fact is that no one knows the actual time. Mary, Precious Blood Riruta
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I am Grandmother’s Wildest Dream My Grandmother’s Wildest Dream Campaign, celebrated the women who came before us through amplifying their achievements, and sharing stories of determination, defiance, and progress that have brought us all closer to enjoying a more equal world. It’s not too late to join the campaign. To share your story on ‘I am my Grandmother’s wildest dream’ please email us on info@akilidada.org. #HerStories are rarely celebrated, let us use our power to change that ..
“Today, I am living Shosho’s wildest dream as she takes pride in the fact that I have completed my education and gone ahead to become a lawyer. She sometimes calls me, ‘Wakili Wakwa’ (Which means my lawyer).“ Excerpt from Naomi Mwangi, Akili Dada Mentor
A Letter to My Younger-Self Given the opportunity to mentor your younger self, what would you say? In commemoration of the Day of the African Child 2020, we ran a campaign dubbed ‘A Letter to my younger self’ where we invited Akili Dada staff to write reflective, optimistic, inspiring, or comforting letters to their younger selves.
A Letter to My Younger-Self Be an inspiration that no matter what life offers you, you can overcome challenges and build a better world for you and everyone else. Mistakes and failures are part of the life process. Do not let them weigh you down. Take responsibility for your actions, learn from them, and forge ahead like the queen you are. Where you come from and the color of your skin does not and should not determine your trajectory in life. Excerpt from Rebbeca Birech
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Stand up for what you believe in, even if you stand alone. ~Sussy Kassem
Who We Are Akili Dada envisions a world where African women leaders are actively participating in key decision-making processes across sectors. We apply a holistic approach to educating and cultivating leadership movement building, advocacy, and mentorship. By selecting from and building the capacity of some of Africa's most diverse groups of girls and young women to have solutions that act as a catalyst towards its vision of having more women occupy critical decision-making spaces in Africa and beyond.
We strategically invest in the empowerment of talented girls and young women from underserved backgrounds meeting the urgent need for more African women in leadership as well as the overarching need for creative and empathetic leadership to transform the African continent.
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Appreciation Akili Dada is grateful for the generous support provided in 2020 by: Anonymous Donors Individual Donors African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) Ford Foundation Forum Civ Global Fund for Women Novo Foundation Oracle One World Children’s Fund Segal Family Foundation She’s the First Urgent Action Fund We Trust
I am a feminist,I’d be stupid if i wasn’t on my side. ~Maya Angelou.
AkiliDada
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www.akilidada.org info@akilidada.org +254 721 552 120
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Physical Address Akili Dada Saachi Plaza B7, Argwings Kodhek Nairobi, Kenya.