We have partnered with Dandelion since 2014, initiating health programmes and increasing demand and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services across the remote Rift Valley in Kenya.
During the visit, discussions took place around many of Dandelion’s programmes, how they are provided and the positive impact they have. Key areas included:
- Community Health, providing healthcare for women and girls in remote, rural communities
- Women’s Livelihood and Economic Empowerment, supporting initiatives to promote independent livelihoods and economic sustainability
- Youth Engagement, reaching young people (both in and out of school) to provide suitable access to and uptake of SRHR services and empowerment
- Advocacy, to eliminate Gender Based Violence (GBV) through formal and informal engagement (predominantly via police and elders within the community)
Francis Kadiri of CHASE Africa working with the Dandelion Africa team
Over the course of the visit, Francis attended a Backpack Nurse (BPN) outreach site,. These are located in remote areas where there are no static health facilities and the community is a considerable distance away from the nearest health centre. In order for the BPN clinic to have the highest impact, Community Health Promoters within the community will provide education and raise awareness about the clinic before the nurse is in place to ensure members of the community know what services are available and when the clinic will be in place.
During the visit a group of Male Champions had gathered to review their work, impact and collaboratively identify the challenges they faced and solutions they had identified. Male Champions remain critical in providing long-term, sustainable positive change in many areas, where patriarchal community leadership remains. Without the support of the male members of the community, the empowerment of women and girls can often prove difficult. The Male Champions discussed additional ways to build their capacity to engage other men, both to support women and girls but also to access SRHR and other health services themselves, to support and build collectively healthier communities.
The visit also involved meeting a group of Dandelion’s Youth Peer Educators, who support young people, in and out of school, with education and awareness around sexual health and rights and opportunities. Among the group are those who themselves have transitioned from being part of the programme to delivering it. The group spoke about their own reasons for becoming youth peer mentors and the positive effect their influence has had.
To complement their health programmes, Dandelion supports a number of community Self-Help Groups. During the visit, Francis visited the Makutano Self-Help Group, in Eldama Ravie. They carry out environmental conservation work, planting seedlings of indigenous trees which are sold to the community, local government and other non-profit organisations, in order to generate income.
Francis with some of Dandelion's Youth Peer Mentors
Makutano Self-Help Group, in Eldama Ravie
Importantly all of Dandelion’s programmes involve collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to ensure consistency and effectiveness and aim to strengthen the existing Community Health structures and systems that exist, including building community capacity to advocate for their needs.
“This was the first time we’ve had a donor visit that involved interactive training and technical input, rather than just monitoring. We greatly appreciated the time spent with our programmes and after the visit the team commented that they would like more visits to be run in this way.”
Wendo Aszed – Founder. Dandelion Africa