Kajiado County is Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL) and is faced with frequent cycles of multiple, often overlapping climate-induced disasters and other crises which significantly impact the well-being of its population.
The county is home to the predominantly Maasai pastoralist community which depends on livestock and subsistence farming as their staple sources of livelihood. However, drought and floods pose significant recurring risks in equal measure, which are brought about by climate change, leading to death of livestock, loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, health shocks and spikes in malnutrition.
Pastoralist populations, in particular women, girls and children, are disproportionately affected by climate-induced disasters, especially those who have pre-existing vulnerabilities because of structural inequities. Additionally, women in pastoralist communities are most often constrained by cultural norms and gender roles that perpetuate Gender-Based Violence (GBV) during disaster, depriving them of time, information and access to the financial resources necessary to improve their livelihoods.
It is against this backdrop that Forum for Women in Development, Democracy and Justice (FODDAJ), with the generous support from Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), is implementing a project dubbed “Responding Effectively to Violence in Disaster-Affected Populations.”
The aim of the project is to provide long-term recovery strategies and build resilience of disaster-affected communities in Kajiado by supporting them to build capacities of national and county administrations, including security officers in the 5 sub-counties, in addressing GBV during disaster and emergencies.
As part of this strategy, FODDAJ has partnered with gender-based working group CSOs under the leadership of County Department of Gender to develop a GBV prevention and response policy.
The project also has sensitized 15 members of the Kajiado County Assembly on the urgency of the GBV policy and establishment of a publicly-funded safe house for many survivors of violence.
The project also has supported 3 women groups in 3 villages (Entashat, Lelurjat and Esonorua) with livelihood-resilient strategies such as providing 20 drought resistant breeds of goats to each of them in a village banking approach to replenish lost stock, enhance nutrition and reduce vulnerabilities that predispose women to violence.
This holistic approach has fostered an environment that promotes comprehensive and innovative solutions to enhance community resilience, improve food security and establish sustainable livelihoods.
The project also supports women, vulnerable groups and communities themselves to enhance their land management skills, leadership abilities and financial access by promoting community investment in sustainable land management, as well as adaptability and response to climate change.
Consequently, this has enabled communities to re-examine social norms that perpetuate violence during crises by strengthening capacities of community champions and institutions to establish strong community-based response mechanisms that generate community-led action to address violence against women, girls and children occasioned by disaster and climate-related crises.
By Obegi Malack
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