The power of networking

NAIROBI, Kenya – A few days into 2008, Joyce Oneko was at home when she heard gunshots from nearby Kibera, one of Nairobi’s largest slums. The bullets were not aimed at thugs but ordinary Kenyans protesting the results from the country’s presidential elections, which had been announced a few days earlier. Hellbent on wrecking havoc and destruction on anything they could get their hands on, rowdy youths were giving the boys in blue a run for their money and anti-riot police used all means possible to disperse the crowds.

Rather than cower in the relative safety of her own home or join the long queues of Kenyans who were stocking up for the uncertain times that lay ahead, Oneko decided to stroll to Jamhuri, a nearby showground that had become a temporary shelter for hundreds of internally displaced persons. Oneko, who founded the non-governmental organization Mama na Dada Africa (Swahili for “mother and sister”) in 1998 as a community-based organization in Bondo, her ancestral home in western Kenya, after working with the Nairobi law firm Archer & Wilcock Advocates for 25 years, knew that many of the people fleeing from post-election violence in nearby slum areas had sought refuge there.

She wondered how she could help. The trained psychological counselor figured that if nothing else, she could at least lend an ear and a few words of comfort to those who really needed it. At the shelter she learned of a women in another slum, Mathare, whose husbands had been killed. Without a second thought to safety she set out to see for herself, with her daughter and another female companion in tow.

Before she even got to her destination, she encountered a group of women and children gathered at the Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, a bustling estate in Nairobi. They had lost nearly everything and were ready to return to their ancestral lands when Oneko began counseling and, through Mama na Dada Africa, managed to raise support for a knitting project. During the nine months Oneko worked with the 37 women, they moved to Mathare chief’s camp. When that was disbanded in September, IDPs were relocated but production continued.

Oneko partnered with Diplomatic Spouses Association, which gave 60,000 shillings to buy the wool used for weaving and which bought some of the finished product. She also received support from Safaricom, a local, blue-chip company that gave 311,000 shillings towards the project. The two organizations heard about Oneko’s work during visits to the refugee camp. The British Council contributed as well; Oneko is a member of its “interaction leadership program,” which trains locals to bring about positive change in their communities.

Their first exhibition opened July 5 at the British Council. It was fairly successful - goods worth 58,000 shillings were sold. Another two-day exhibit in September only yielded 28,000 shillings. Oneko attributes the lower sales to poor event marketing, a problem she is grappling with to date. To ensure a more stable income, Oneko and the women’s group may begin to sell on a highly popular open air market held five days a week.

Starting from scratch

Oneko has been driven by a need to provide a better life for local women and girls, many of whom are being forcibly withdrawn or voluntarily dropping out of elementary or high school. Oneko’s mission is to promote school enrollment and retention of girls and to empower women through development and self-sustaining projects.

But she found that operating as a community-based organization was somewhat restrictive and opted to elevate it to a non-governmental organization. To accomplish this she applied for registration in 2000 under the Kenya’s Non-Governmental Coordination Act, which falls under the Office of the President. She received the certification in May 2001 after proving that she had an office in Bondo, ongoing projects and “clear evidence of what I wanted to do with the organization,” Oneko said. She also underwent an interview.

Through a local fundraising drive, Oneko managed to raise enough money to start building a high school for girls, one classroom at a time. The school was started in 2001 with only seven students. Today there are 176, and the Kenyan government is providing teaching personnel from the Teachers Service Commission. Some 20 girls currently receive scholarships, Oneko said.

In order for an NGO to successfully carry out its mandate, it needs money. Oneko set about seeking these funds by looking for it close to home. She approached the District Development Committee to find out which international organizations were working in the area. It was through the committee she got to hear of Futures Group, a European organization that ran a project in the area. The group came on board and trained community health workers for a home-based care program Mama na Dada was setting up, and they provided funds for the care of people living with HIV/AIDS. She worked with the organization form late 2001 to 2004. In 2005 her home-based care program morphed into the Circle of Hope Day Care Centre for AIDS orphans and vulnerable children aged three to six.

Up until 2007 the program was supported by Plan International, which heard about Mama na Dada in the course of implementing some of their own projects in the area. These days, Oneko relies on support from one key ally, Global Partners for Development, a U.S. non-profit that has been working with East African communities since 1989.

She got in touch with Global Partners through Elizabeth Stephenson and Kathleen Kraemer, current Mama na Dada board members she met at a 2002 Women of Vision and Action conference in San Francisco.

The NGO also operates a youth program in Nairobi that incorporates voluntary HIV testing and counseling on substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections and family planning. The program, set up in 2003, was initially funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development through Family Health International. More recently, however, Oneko has found it difficult to secure funding - too many proposals and funding requests but not enough money to go around, she said.

“One has to find out who is available where, when seeking funds,” she said. “Most donor organizations keep changing their focus and it is a big challenge for small NGOs, especially since they are the ones who do most of the grassroots-level work. It may be more advisable to have the vision, get the funding and then carry it out.”

Since overhead expenses and salaries are rarely covered by grants, most Mama na Dada projects are carried out by volunteers. Oneko runs her own law practice on the side, specializing in commercial law and conveyancing, and often diverts personal funds to Mama na Dada.

Oneko has received no support from the Kenyan government despite numerous attempts. But that has not dampened her spirits. If anything, it may have increased her passion to help women and girls succeed.